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As I sat listening to Carousel Christmas, my mind took a flight of fancy as it does with few other Christmas CDs. With every record I receive, I learn a bit more about Christmas and about music. This, though, is the most intriguing music I have heard all season long. The music has a childlike quality to it that's fun to hear. I was apprehensive that it might be a little over the top, but this CD gets the mood just right.

I believe you can imagine this music if ever you rode the carousel and heard the sound of the mechanical Wurlitzer pipe organ. That is exactly what this music is--Christmas music played beautifully by a wonderful old Wurlitzer Band Organ Style 165. A wonderful concept for a unique Christmas album, it is beautifully executed, too.

The makers of this CD have selected a set of Christmas songs which willingly yield their flavor to the Wurlitzer. One of my favorites in this style is Up on the Housetop. The singing quality of the melody line strikes a fine balance with the other instrumental voices on this number. Jolly Old St. Nick features some beautiful polyphonic passages. I thought I recognized Suzy Snowflake when I heard it, but it was one of those unexpected songs that make a record unique, as if this one weren't pretty unique already.

Clearly, this organ was special to the people who made this record. For them to have conceived and carried out this offering tells me that. And in the end it is their love for this music that shines through the recording, making it an essential choice.

Small children will wear this one out.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2000)

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Wurlitzer Band Organ Style 165

Carousel Christmas

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Track List