Music

A Lot of Music... (2008-04-17)
This soundtrack has multiple versions of the 10 songs in the film. The first are done by the characters' voices and then Burl Ives does a repeat of all the songs as well. It's not a bad thing; just a whole lot of music. Fun, lively soundtrack that reminds me of the movie and makes me feel cheery. I recommend the CD; just be prepared for a lot of repetition and a lot of Burl Ives!

He went down in history. (2007-12-30)
This is the soundtrack to the classic puppetmation TV special. Although the album is credited to Burl Ives, he actually only sings on four of the tracks here. All of the songs were written by Johnny Marks. This is classic music from a classic TV special that you all know and love. But when the soundtrack album was produced, they ran into a slight problem. The total running time of all the songs was only about 15 minutes. So, to fill up the second side of the album, instrumental versions of all the songs from the special (plus some other Christmas songs written by Johnny Marks) were recorded. These instrumentals aren't bad, but most people probably won't want to listen to them too often. But the CD is worth getting just for it's first half. It should be noted that Rudolph and Hermey's duet "Fame and Fortune" is not on the album, because it was added to the special the second year it was broadcast, and hadn't been recorded when the album was released.

"There's always tomorrow for dreams to come true..." (2005-12-08)
Originally released as a Decca record album (with Burl Ives' "Holly Jolly Christmas" released as a single--and apparently a slightly longer version that the one heard here), this Rankin/Bass TV special holds a warm, intimate place in many hearts, young and older alike. I particularly love Clarice's song, "There's Always Tomorrow" and the anonymous female voice who croons it so sweetly sad. The songs, all written by Johnny Marks (the unsung hero of the special) are wonderful ear-candy for the holidays. The CD adds lushly orchestrated versions of these classics, perfect for a night by the fire or wrapping presents. "Believing is not far away..."

The Original Recordings From The Acclaimed TV Special (2004-12-21)
Crediting this collection merely to Burl Ives has probably caused many to bypass it and assume it does not contain the original recordings from the Rankin-Bass tv special performed by all of the artists (not just Ives), when actually it does. These nine tracks are found at the beginning of the cd (the remaining ten are instrumental versions of the songs).

This is the only cd where you can get all of the Rudolph special's recordings. The holiday collection Rudolph, Frosty, and Friends comes close as it contains all but the instrumental overture and finale). You can also get five of the tracks from the Rudolph soundtrack spread out over Nick At Nite's A Classic Cartoon Christmas and A Classic Cartoon Christmas Too.

Whichever collection you purchase (I own them all), I guarantee they will make you feel like a kid again, no matter what your age is.

Burl Ives Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer (2004-10-16)
This is one of Burl Ives greatest holiday albums.It's actually the soundtrack to Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer but will sound great during the holidays.This cd also has Instrumental Lush versions of these songs which is why I bought it.The Decca Concert Orchestra does these superveley.One of these songs Holly Jolly Christmas(instrumental version with the Decca Concert Orchestra)got played on beautiful music stations in the 70's and 80s.The vocal version of Holly Jolly Christmas by Ives on this cd is similar but not the same as the one on his other Christmas album it sounds a little different on this album.Most stations play his other version.Both versions of it's the most wonderful day and silver and gold are my favorites on this cd.I highley recommend this cd to Burl Ives fans as well as people that listen to beatiful music from the Decca Concert Orchestra.Other artist Christmas albums I recommend include Percy Faith,Roger Williams,Mantovani,The 101 Strings,Johnny Mathis,Tony Bennett,Kenny G,The Carpentars,Radio City Music Hall,Manhatten Transfer,Air Supply,Frank Sinatra and James Last just to name a few.