Collecting all the biggest Christmas hit songs of the preceding half-decade, it’s a true show-of-force by the mighty Marvela label. The first album, published some five years earlier, is a bit of a hit monster. And then, as an almost exact equivalent from Puerto Rico, there’s Cantares de Navidad, Vol II. I may be blasphemous for saying so, but Elvis Presley’s second and Bing Crosby’s… sixth? ( I Wish You a Merry Christmas) are both considerably superior to their respective artists’ mega-selling debuts. There are probably only a handful of follow-up Christmas records that are better than the first. Somehow, the concentrated spirit of the first Christmas album never truly gets matched in a follow-up. Some all-time greats, like Asalto Navideño and The Sound of Christmas, had direct, numbered sequels instead, trying their best to replicate the original recipe for success – but of course, that didn’t work out either. And that’s just when an artist tries to change. Ella Fitzgerald’s first was peppy, inventive and energetic, her second sedate, mature and a bit bland. Mahalia Jackson’s first Christmas album was a tense masterpiece, the second mediocre country-tinged schlock. Reviewed by Johan Palme on 14th December, 2017Īre follow-up Christmas albums inevitably cursed to be lesser than their illustrious originals? Can a hit Christmas record never truly be replicated? Sometimes, it seems that way.
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