Four Seasons' Greetings

So far we've got a 1-star review and a 5-star review. I'm going for the middle with 3 stars. This album is a very mixed bag. For the first half you can hardly tell it's the Four Seasons because they went with a *very* traditional approach on both the music and singing. Frankie Valli's voice rarely rises above the rest of the group. The first half sounds like it could have been done by any competent group of choir boys. And those cuts are not bad... very Christmasy and all... I'm sure their mothers liked them. Then, in the second half of the album, the Four Seasons as we know them start coming out, slowly at first, but getting stronger and finally delivering some excellent "Four Seasons Christmas Songs".So, I was disappointed at first but by the end it was working for me. All except the stupid "Jungle Bells" (spelling is correct, unfortunately). I guess this was some kind of weird Jersey boys idea of humor. Thankfully the Four Seasons never tried an awful stunt like this on any of their 'real' albums. What were they thinking? I'm sure their Moms were not any more amused than I was by this little ditty.I will probably have to make a back up CD of this disc and eliminate "Jungle Bells" from the list because it really does break the mood the rest of the album creates -- but overall it's a good disc to toss in the Christmas season shuffle. But I won't be listening to it at any other time -- which was pretty much the point of these Seasonal releases. The sound quality on the disc seems maybe a little "thin" to me... like there should be more depth to it? But I don't have the vinyl and it may well have sounded this like originally. Nothing wrong with the transfer to CD really, it just seems like there could have been more to the dynamics of the sound, this being the Four Seasons and all... but then, there could have been more to most other aspects of the album as well.

As of this date, Real Gone has reissued three (3) 4 Seasons albums in limited mono mini LP sleeve editions. I have already reviewed the first two Real Gone reissues, 'Sherry & 11 Others' and 'Big Girls Don't Cry and Twelve others...'. I was extremely happy with those.This release maintains the same quality that Bill Inglot and The Four Seasons Partnership gave to those two previous releases. Due to some of the extensive orchestrations on the tracks on side one, it was a bit harder to impress me. I think anyone would have a hard time remastering older recordings with so much going on. The tracks with the least amount of orchestration found on Side Two reflected the impact I felt when listening to 'Sherry...' and 'Big Girls Don't Cry...'. This may be a bit more of a personal taste of mine because I think anyone who buys this album will like it just fine.I compared this release to the now out-of-print ACE stereo two-fer ('Christmas Album' & 'Born To Wander' on one CD) from 1995. Bill Inglot also mastered that release. It still sounds very good.I'm glad to have both of these releases.

This was a popular Christmas album in the 1960's when I was a teenager. I still love the songs, and they take me back to my youth! The DVD sound is high quality -- the price is right, too!

It was great to find this classic Christmas album in cd form. We had the vinyl when I was a kid and now I can share it with my kids.

I bought this to complete my 4 Seasons collection. The orchestral arrangements and lack of strong four seasons harmonies make this a pretty lame offering.

Bought for my wife and she enjoys it

Very poor recording

You can't get a better Christmas cd than the four seasons', with Frankie Valli leading it's a must add to your collection .

Really disappointed. The CD sounded like a few miscellaneous men had got together to sing a few carols! There are only a couple of songs that have the Four Seasons' sound and the rest of the tracks (and don't get me started on Jungle Bells!!!) aren't very good at all. A real shame but don't waste your money. There are many more Four Seasons CDs out there that show the "group" at their best.

as with most Christmas LPs by established artists this falls short in nearly all aspects. I love the Four Seasons and Christmas music but this one sadly may have to stay in the loft this December

Excellent

Grew up with this album as a child and another Christmas tradition that I have searched for for many years and was so thrilled to find the CD on Amazon. Brings back so many wonderful memories from my childhood and so much fun to share with my children on Christmas morning as we opened our gifts. Plan to order the Vinyl copy for my son and another CD for my daughter to help start traditions for themselves when they one day move away from home. Nothing like having a little piece of home with you no matter where you are especially on special occasions like Christmas.

The product made an ideal present for a friend who's been to see The Jersey Boys goodness knows how many times!