Artist: Ray Conniff
     Album: We Wich You A Merry Christmas
     Label: Columbia/Sony BMG Music Entertainment
     Year: 1962/2003
     Genre: Easy Listening
     Format, bitrait: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 71,6 mb
     Total time: 31-11

Уважаемые Господа! Поздравляю ВСЕХ с Наступающим Новым Годом и Рождеством Христовым!
Новодние Дни Вместе Ray Conniff!


Ray Conniff was only a step or two above Lawrence Welk, where edginess is concerned, on the easy listening scale, and it is true that his albums could often have a sort of bland, soulless quality in their weakest moments. Nevertheless, there is something undeniably lovely about the orchestral and vocal arrangements on many of his albums, and that is never more so the case than on We Wish You a Merry Christmas. Even if you ignore the album's holiday aim, it is possibly Conniff's single finest recorded moment, with an incomparably strong choral vocal performance from his Singers. You cannot really segregate the music from its purpose, however, and to do so would be to gloss over the album's single greatest attribute: its timeless, sparkling mood. It remains as fresh, in its way, 30 years later as it was on the day that it was recorded. Moreover, it can rightly be called a Christmas classic. While most of Conniff's music has drastically dated, some of it quaintly and some of it rather embarrassingly, few albums have come along in the subsequent years that have better captured the sort of sprightly holiday joie de vivre present on the album, nor its wonderfully exuberant, almost guileless charm. There is a nostalgic cast to the music, even if you aren't exactly certain what you are being nostalgic about. It instantly invokes the kind of old-time Christmases that existed in the pre-urban sprawl past (sleigh rides, ice skating on rural rivers, carolers moving from house to house), even if you never actually experienced them yourself and even if they no longer exist in quite that same way anymore, or were rosy fictions in the first place aside from on tree ornaments and in Andy Williams television specials. On strictly musical terms, the backing is mostly unobtrusive, a pleasant but rather conventional orchestral backdrop. Still, the music is delicately played and always pretty. That prettiness is simply overshadowed by wonderful arrangements, particularly the vocal arrangements. In addition to a wonderful take on "Ring Christmas Bells" and one of the few recorded "Twelve Days of Christmas" that doesn't ultimately grow irksome, Conniff spliced together four expert medleys for the album. But the superior singing is what makes the album so special. The Singers effortlessly pull off intricate rounds ("Ring Christmas Bells") and glorious harmonies throughout that seem tailor made for tunes such as "The Little Drummer Boy" and "O Holy Night." In places, they even almost manage to swing along with the orchestra. Hip or not, though (and it is not far often than it is), We Wish You a Merry Christmas is a gorgeous little gift package ringing with the season's jubilant spirit. ~ Stanton Swihart, AMG

     Artist: Woody Herman
     Album: The New World Of Woody Herman
     Label: Plaza Studios/Ultradisc
     Year: 1962/2002
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 82,0 Mb
     Total time: 35-41

     Artist: Woody Herman
     Album: The Fourth Herd
     Label: Capitol/Ultradisc
     Year: 1959/2002
     Genre: Jazz
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 83,3 Mb
     Total time: 34-32


Released in 1959, The Fourth Herd showcases the Herman group formed in 1954 that was one of the bandleader's strongest. This version of 'Herman's Herd' included Ernie Royal and Red Rodney on trumpets; Bob Brookmeyer, Jimmy Cleveland and Frank Rehak on tro mbones; Al Cohn and Zoot Sims on reeds; and Nat Pierce, Milt Hinton and Don Lamond on rhythm. The Fourth Herd also displayed one of the finest small bands of the period.

     Artist: Ray Conniff
     Album: Christmas With Conniff
     Label: Columbia/Sony BMG Music Entertainment
     Year: 1959/2005
     Genre: Easy Listening
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 71,1 Mb
     Total time: 30-54



When the Christmas season begins to draw upon us, the bemused denizens of Walt Kelly's version of Okefinokee swamp с the location of Pogo с stomp around wishing each other a merry crispness. This is a very cheerful thought indeed, and it finds expression in this holiday package from Ray Conniff and the Conniff Singers, a merry crispness in approach and performance to a garland of Christmas songs. Designed as a presentation for dancing, it naturally omits carols, but it brings together some of the best-loved songs of recent years, along with the ageless Jingle Bells and the even older charm of Greensleeves.

Mr. Conniff, in the guise of St. Nick, has arranged these delightful songs in his inimitable manner, using the voices as basic ingredients of the orchestral fabric, and gaining special inspiration from the cheery character that most of them have. There are ballads, of course: Silver Bells, the romantic Christmas Song and that sine qua non of the season, White Christmas, but most of the tunes are bright and jolly as befits a Yuletide celebration and as befits a Christmas dancing party. So deck the hall, hang up the mistletoe and remember not to dance too close to the tree. Here are Ray Conniff and the Conniff singers with a wonderful Christmas gift, a shiny, glistening package of beloved songs for you dancing pleasure. ~ Original LP liner notes

     Artist: Ray Conniff
     Album: You Are The Sunshine Of My Life
     Label: Columbia/Sony BMG Music Entertainment
     Year: 1973/2005
     Genre: Easy Listening
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 83,0 Mb
     Total time: 36-10



The kitsch enthusiast or novelty seeker will get a lot of pleasure from Ray Conniff's You Are the Sunshine of My Life. Known primarily for orchestral versions of contemporary songs, his recordings during the late '60s and early '70s as the Ray Conniff Singers included many straightforward recordings of current pop hits. This 1973 collection contains some of Conniff's most jaw-dropping covers, including "Dueling Voices (Dueling Banjos)" which most will remember from the soundtrack to the film Deliverance. If you "get" Ray Conniff and if you are adamant about the difference between him and Lawrence Welk then this track will be your latest musical addiction. The title track is from Stevie Wonder's 1972 album Talking Book, and other tracks include "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" popularized by Tony Orlando, Helen Reddy's "Peaceful," Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly," and Gladys Knight's "Neither One of Us." Another standout track is "Bah Bah Conniff Sprach (Zarathustra)"! This is a great easy listening disc to pick up. The versions are slightly watered down and "safer," but more true to the originals than you'd expect. A cheerful artifact of the early '70s. If you are going to revisit the Ray Conniff catalog, note that Collectables reissued this album on CD in 2005 as a two-fer with Laughter in the Rain. ~ JT Griffith, AMG

     Artist: Ray Conniff
     Album: Loughter In The Rain
     Label: Columbia/Sony BMG Music Entertainment
     Year: 1975/2005
     Format, bitrate: MP3@320 kbps
     Size: 76,2 mb
     Time: 33:10