Ultra-Lounge: Christmas Cocktails, Part One

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
A perfect martini-and-mistletoe combo, Christmas Cocktails will gaily seduce you with its bevy of nostalgic and occasionally campy holiday fare. Vocal vixens Peggy Lee, Julie London (her "I'd Like You for Christmas" will melt the ice cubes in your fridge), Kay Starr, and Nancy Wilson join forces with perennial crooners such as Lou Rawls, Dean Martin, and the immortal Nat "King" Cole, along with a handful of instrumental big-band numbers and odd, at times cheese-ball-shaped jazz organ pieces from Jimmy McGriff and the flammable Eddie Dundstedter, among others. But the essential item that makes plunking down your pelts for this very chi-chi set is none other than Billy May's lovably kitschy workout called "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo." It's a scream. The package comes complete with its own cocktail minimanual and the recipes for Hot Toddys and Hot Tom and Jerrys. Garishly retro and naughtily nostalgic, this kind of slinky Christmas gift should probably be illegal in many prudish states. --Martin Keller

Tracks:

Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo - Billy May
Winter Wonderland - Peggy Lee
Christmas Trumpets/We Wish You A Verry Merry... - Ray Anthony
Christmas Is - Lou Rawls
Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town/White Christmas - Jimmy McGriff
I'd Like You For Christmas - Julie London
Holiday On Skis - Al Caiola & Riz Ortolani
(Everybody's Waitin' For) The Man With The Bag - Kay Starr
Jingle Bells/Jingle Bell Rock - Hollyridge Strings
I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - Dean Martin
I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus/Jingle Bells... - Eddie Dunstedter
Christmas Kisses - Ray Anthony
I'll Be Home For Christmas/Baby, It's Cold Outside - Jackie Gleason/Jack Marshall
What Are You Doing New Year's Eve? - Nancy Wilson
Cha-Cha All The Way - Capitol Studio Orchestra
The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas To You) - Nat King Cole
The Nutcracker Suite - Les Brown & His Band Of Renown
Ring Those Christmas Bells - Fred Waring & The Pennsylvanians
Bonus Track - Christmas Cocktails
Bonus Track - Christmas Cocktails
Bonus Track - Christmas Cocktails

Amazon.com

A perfect martini-and-mistletoe combo, Christmas Cocktails will gaily seduce you with its bevy of nostalgic and occasionally campy holiday fare. Vocal vixens Peggy Lee, Julie London (her "I'd Like You for Christmas" will melt the ice cubes in your fridge), Kay Starr, and Nancy Wilson join forces with perennial crooners such as Lou Rawls, Dean Martin, and the immortal Nat "King" Cole, along with a handful of instrumental big-band numbers and odd, at times cheese-ball-shaped jazz organ pieces from Jimmy McGriff and the flammable Eddie Dundstedter, among others. But the essential item that makes plunking down your pelts for this very chi-chi set is none other than Billy May's lovably kitschy workout called "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer Mambo." It's a scream. The package comes complete with its own cocktail minimanual and the recipes for Hot Toddys and Hot Tom and Jerrys. Garishly retro and naughtily nostalgic, this kind of slinky Christmas gift should probably be illegal in many prudish states. --Martin Keller

Customer Reviews:

LOVE ULTRA LOUNGE! Have most all of them now.......2007-05-12

Nothing can be finer that Ultra Lounge - never a bad thing to say.

Nostalgic holiday songs.......2006-12-26

For an enjoyable beginning or end of the holiday rush, check out Capitol Record's compilation of Christmas tracks that hail back to the late 1950s and 1960s, Ultra-Lounge: Christmas Cocktails, Part One. The cd includes re-mastered recordings gathered for one's nostalgic listening pleasure. Indeed, several of the tracks are by obscure and not so obscure artists that have not seen the light of day since their vinyl release, but are now included to entertain every listener during the holiday season.

Christmas Cocktails has an eclectic mix of songs. The cd includes 18 tracks plus four bonuses. Most of the songs are instrumentals with a little impromptu vocal breaks here and there giving listeners that "lounge" or "let's have a party" feel -- "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reinder," "Cha-Cha All The Way." The ever so popular '60s instrumentalists, The Hollyridge Strings provide their wall of sound-like rendition of "Jingle Bells/Jingle Bell Rock" while Eddie Dunstedter plays a relaxing yet exotic version of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus/Jingle Bells Bossa Nova." Al Ciola and Riz Ortolani play a polynesian sounding instrumental,"Holiday on Skis," which makes one feel like gliding down the slopes. Also, there's a little jazz by the legends, Peggy Lee's "Winter Wonderland," the slow but sensual renderings by Julie London, "I'd Like You For Christmas," and Nancy Wilson's "What are you doing New Year's Eve?" Fred Waring and the Pennsylvanians will have listeners cackling and caroling with very the cheerful, "Ring Those Christmas Bells."

Ultra-Lounge: Christmas Cocktails, Part One may not be for the traditional Christmas carol listener. However, for those who have an ear for the unusual or want to hear a little holly jolly tunes, this may be the cd to add to your holiday collection.

Perfect Holiday Music.......2006-11-03

This is a jazzy and fun CD. Perfect for those holiday parties and gift wrapping. You can't help but be in a better mood when listening. I love it and highly recomend it.
Christina

People please..........2005-12-15

I bought because I thought it would have a cool cocktail sound. Wrong! It was obnoxious! I did not even get to the last song. I put it in the shredder so I would never listen to it again by accident.

One of the best Christmas collections out there..........2005-11-30

Those with a taste for an "old-fashioned" Christmas collection, though one with the campy kick that a retro Christmas CD really should have, can do no better than Part 1 of a now-3 disc series of loungey holiday confections from the Capitol music vaults. The jingle-jangle instrumentals from the likes of Billy May and the Jackie Gleason Orchestra are pleasant if overlong, but the vocal selections are unbeatable. Nancy Wilson's buttery crooning on perhaps the most romantic holiday song ("What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?") is delicious, as are Peggy Lee's "Winter Wonderland" and Dean Martin's "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm". These discs are all worth owning, even if there's a too-soft chestnut or two amongst the treasures, and the swingin' 60's artwork is terrific.

Music:

Music

Music