Perhaps the grand achievement of all rock 'n' roll Christmas music, uber-producer Phil Spector never topped his 1963 LP, A Christmas Gift For You. He made better singles (barely), but he never released a full-length album with the power, majesty, and humor of this widely acknowledged classic. Thrill to the sound of the Ronettes, the Crystals, Darlene Love, and Bob B. Soxx & The Blue Jeans running amok through such Christmas favorites as "Frosty The Snowman" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town." Then, witness the crowning achievement, Darlene Love's Spector-penned "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" - gloria in excess! Rockers as renowned as Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty, and U2 have attempted - and failed - to reproduce Spector's famous "Wall Of Sound" when producing their own Christmas records. All record collectors should be obligated to experience first-hand this album that has influenced so many. Regardless, A Christmas Gift For You is indispensable for aficionados of Christmas rock.

Properly speaking, Spector's masterpiece was originally issued as A Christmas Gift For You From Philles Records, after the record label he founded with business partner Les Sill. Over the years, A Christmas Gift For You has been reissued numerous times under several different titles with several different covers (most famously as Phil Spector's Christmas Album featuring a Santa-suited Spector sporting a "Back To Mono" button). The album was ultimately reissued on CD in 1989 by Abkco Records as A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector with slightly amended original cover art. It's all the same music, really, but I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that the album is included as the fourth disc in the unspeakably great Phil Spector boxed set, Back To Mono. [top of page]