New Christmas Albums for 2018

Christmas is only a couple of weeks away. And in case you missed it, a lot of this year’s holiday new album releases have already hit shelves. That means it’s time to delve into some of the new holiday albums that came out this year.

Vinyl Bay 777, Long Island’s music outlet, is gearing up for the holiday season with a look at some of this year’s Christmas album releases. From the highly popular to ones off the beaten path, here are seven holiday releases that might be worth checking out.

(Note: This list does not reflect which albums we have or do not have in store.)

1.       William Shatner, ‘Shatner Claus’: Though his musical career often times feels like the punchline of a joke, William Shatner’s debut Christmas album, ‘Shatner Claus,’ sounds interesting. The album features reworkings of holiday classics, a handful of which are performed as duets with rock music heavy-hitters. These include “Silent Night” with Iggy Pop, two versions of “Jingle Bells” with Black Flag’s Henry Rollins, “Silver Bells” with Jethro Tull’s Ian Anderson, “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer with ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons and more.

2.       Eric Clapton, ‘Happy Xmas’: Over the course of his more than five decade career, Eric Clapton had never released a Christmas album until this year. The album features 14 holiday songs both well-known and obscure, all rearranged to fit his bluesy rock style. There is also , as well as an original tune written by Clapton and producer Simon Climie. In addition to the album, Clapton also released a special video to YouTube with interview footage about the making of the album and acoustic performances of some of the songs.

3.       Monkees, ‘Christmas Party’: Just like Clapton, this is the first time the Monkees have released a Christmas album. Filled with classics and originals, the remaining members of the band teamed up with the collaborators from their 2016 album ‘Good Times!’ for the new release. Davy Jones wasn’t left out, however. His vocals were used on two of the album’s tracks.

4.       John Legend, ‘A Legendary Christmas’: One of the most anticipated holiday albums of the year, John Legend brings some soul to the Christmas season with ‘A Legendary Christmas.’ The singer accompanied the album with a primetime television special of the same name earlier this year, securing his hold on this year’s yuletide season.

5.       Mike Love, ‘Reason For The Season’: Despite all the Christmas music he put out with the Beach Boys back in the day, Mike Love has now released his own album of holiday songs. ‘Reason For The Season’ features even more classics and originals, including a re-recording of Beach Boys hit “Little Saint Nick” and a duet with 1990s brotherly trio Hanson.

6.       August Burns Red, ‘Winter Wilderness’: A bit different than the typical holiday fare, metalcore band August Burns Red released a Christmas EP this year. Another mixture of covers and originals, including an entirely instrumental track, this is sure to be the most aggressive you’ll hear this season.

7.       Ingrid Michaelson, ‘Songs For The Season’: Singer / songwriter Ingrid Michaelson put her own spin on some holiday and winter classics this year for her first Christmas album, ‘Songs For The Season.’ She adds one original to the mix as well; “Happy, Happy Christmas” is a melancholy track written around the time her mother passed away in 2014.

A lot of highly-anticipated and some not-so anticipated holiday albums were released this year. From pop and R&B to rock, there seems to be something new for everyone. Check out our album picks above and let us know what new holiday albums you’re listening to this season in the comments below.

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Find holiday music and more at Vinyl Bay 777. As Long Island’s top new independent record shop, we have thousands of titles to choose from in a variety of genres. Browse our wide selection of new and used vinyl records, CDs, cassettes, music DVDs, memorabilia and more in store at our Plainview location or online at vinylbay777.com. With more titles being added to our selection all the time, you never know what you might find at Vinyl Bay 777.