Soul Christmas is a 1968 collection of Christmas songs produced by Atco Records. The album contains new and previously recorded tracks, some originally released on Stax Records.[1]Soul Christmas reached number 13 on Billboard'sBest Bets for Christmas in 1968,[2] and number 8 in both 1969[3] and 1970.[4] The CD version, with three additional tracks, reached number 89 on their Top R&B Albums chart in 1994.[5]
Randy Anthony on the site Hip Christmas says "the magic of 60's soul music – the gospel intensity, the ribald humor, the sensual conviction – comes to bear with its most powerful alchemy on Soul Christmas . . . All in all, Soul Christmas is a classic of both genres – soul and Christmas – one that belongs in the collection of anyone who claims to know anything about either. The most amazing aspect of Soul Christmas is that these songs are among the very best that these artists – all giants of soul – ever recorded."[12]
Reissues
There are several variations on this collection. The 1994 Rhino Records CD reissue adds three bonus tracks, including the original 1963 version of Carla Thomas' "All I Want For Christmas Is You" (the b-side to her "Gee Whiz, It's Christmas") and Ray Charles' "Christmas Time."[13] Rhino also appends "Original" to this title in an attempt to avoid confusion with 1991's Soul Christmas. That disc, another Atlantic/Atco compilation, expands the scope of the original LP featuring 20 tracks spanning more than 20 years, including several songs from the out-of-print Cotillion Records LP, Funky Christmas (1976).[14] Also included is Carla Thomas' 1966 version of the aforementioned "All I Want For Christmas Is You."[15]
