August 27, 2009

Ray Stevens: Christmas Has Arrived...

Christmas has arrived...well, almost! I decided to order my copy of Ray's holiday CD, simply called Christmas, from an on-line store that was offering them for sale. I resisted it for awhile not knowing if the on-line store would actually have the CD available and it not turn into some kind of "back order" deal where you end up sending off for something only for you to learn the product isn't really available yet, but the on-line store wanted your business, so they keep quiet. I found out from a fellow Ray fan who had pre-ordered the CD that his copy arrived in the mail today...and with today being his birthday, that was a good birthday gift! He sent me a track list and a picture of the CD's cover...it resembles the design of his 1997 holiday CD, Christmas Through a Different Window. This latest CD features all-serious holiday songs.

1. Let It Snow
2. White Christmas
3. Winter Wonderland
4. Silent Night
5. The Christmas Song
6. Blue Christmas
7. I'll Be Home For Christmas
8. Deck The Halls with Teardrops
9. Jingle Bells
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

As you can see, track #8 is the only original song...non-traditional Christmas song. I was told that Ray had a hand in writing track #8. This CD went on sale on August 25th but for some reason or another neither Amazon or Ray's web-site store has it available. I was preferring to purchase it at Ray's store at his web-site but it's not been listed as available for purchase yet and Amazon the other day shown it as "not in stock". So, for now, CD Universe is the on-line store that's offering the CD. That particular on-line store is where the fellow Ray fan purchased his copy...and in addition to giving me an official song list, the ten above, he also sent a picture of it's cover...as you can see, for those familiar with his first Christmas CD in 1997, the picture below was taken during the same photo shoot.

Since the 2009 CD has officially been released, back on August 25, I'm going to post what the cover looks like...as far as I know, this image hasn't appeared on-line anywhere...so this will be it's first exposure...

Photobucket

It's a very nice picture and one that'll become just as popular as the one from 1997.

Update: I checked Amazon and they, too, now show that it's in stock. The day it went on sale back on August 25th it had a big "not in stock" warning. Anyway...the CD is 2 days old. I can't wait to hear how Ray sings the traditional Christmas songs. I know they'll be serious but it's hard to predict the kinds of arrangements he'll use. I'll be posting my review once I get the CD in my possession. I should have the CD sometime next week.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Show your appreciation for the music of Ray Stevens...leave a comment...