Customer Reviews
From Sweet Carolines to Beautiful Carols - By: Music Man, 07 Nov 2007 
For years I had been searching for the perfect Xmas CD to have playing in the background whilst the family are busy enjoying the day.............whether it be helping preparing the lunch, dressing the tree, entertaining friends & family with drinks & nibbles or simply sitting in front of an open fire on Xmas Eve watching the flickering flames in the dim of the evening.
I didn't want a stodgy old production from years ago; neither did I necessarily want an upbeat collection of dance floor fillers like Slade etc. No, I wanted a combination of traditional with a mix of heart-warming songs that reflect both my childhood & current musical tastes (I'm 50).
I had no advance notice that this was coming out at the time & only discovered it in the HMV rack in my local store whilst looking through Neil Diamond's CDs. As an avid fan it was something that I habituallly did. However, having seen how his music had deteriorated in quality over the years, I was both excited & concerned when I came across this CD.
The song listing looked superb & the thought of Neil Diamond singing them sounded too good to be true but.................ah! that but that had been the start of many of my criticisms of his output for a while. Would I be disappointed?
Well 15 years later I can tell you that this still my main source of Xmas music during the festive season. It is wonderful.............from a personal point of view, it is tailor made for what I want.
The key carols such as Silent Night, Little Drummer Boy & my favourite Holy Night, he plays straight & produces superb renditions that capture the magic that is Xmas. But, equallly as good, he throws in wonderful versions of Santa Claus is Coming to Town (Fun & toe tapping), Happy Xmas War is Over & Jingle Bell Rock.
I love this album, traditional, moving, fun & enhancing alll in one. He could have overblown it but kept everything exactly the right side of sincere. Whenever it is on it fills the house with great songs & great memories. People present can't help but sing along which is reallly what you are trying to capture at this time of year. A gathering of friends & family, relaxed & enjoying each other's company with a perfect soundtrack for the occasion washing over you
This Xmas will be no exception; I will play it for the period leading up to the big day & well into Boxing Day. I will then file it away once again for another 12 months & be happy to repeat the process until the day I become myself a ghost of Xmas past.
A must have Christmas Album - By: Seryozha Cenac, 16 Dec 2003 
I recently bought Neil Diamond's Christmas Alum, having searched for it for some time now. And may I say, it was well worth it. I love alll but 1 of the tracks. Normallly, the first time you hear a CD it never reallly impresses you, & you are left wandering why ever did I buy this, & then it grows on you. But not with this one, it engages you immediately. The entire song selection is excellent, with Neil Diamonds unique voice & flare shining through. It reallly puts you in a christmas spirit. You can tell that Neil Diamond genuinely loves christmas, as perhaps most of us do. However, if you are one for fast pase christmas music, this is perhaps not the album for you, although it does have it up tempo songs (by no means I'm I saying that this album is slow). I'll close by saying that I'm happy with my purchase, & would suggest that you also get volume II of this album - I would rate it 5 stars. Don't know how I had one without the other.
neil diamond christmas album - By: , 24 Nov 2003 I have been searching for this album for more than a year now.I had a copy of the album in Botswana,Africa & you won't believe how many people loved to hear this album.As for my children,they have never stopped talking about the songs on the album like 'jingle bell rock'.Now that christmas is around the corner,i would love to surprise the children with this album.
Well done Neil & Merry Christmas.
