Forever Gold - The Christmas Collection: White Christmas

The Mistletoe Orchestra's White Christmas is predominantly a collection of easy listening versions of holiday standards, with intermittent vocal and choral numbers that give it variety. St. Clair Entertainment has apparently recycled these recordings from an older source, since the arrangements seem dated, perhaps from the late '60s or thereabouts. The anonymity of the singers and the one-shot nature of the ensemble lead one to believe that this might be an older album that has fallen out of copyright; as with other titles in the series, Forever Gold: The Christmas Collection, there are few credits on the insert and back cover, and the provenance of the performances is dubious. Still, this album provides 45 minutes of relaxed and pretty renditions of such Christmas favorites as "Away in a Manger," "Oh Holy Night," "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "Deck the Halls," and "Ave Maria," serve adequately as background music for a small party or family gathering. The chief drawback to this package is its recording, which is a bit compressed and flat, suggesting something less than even ADD mastering. However, the orchestral portion of the album is well-balanced, and volume adjustments are unnecessary until tracks 12-14, which feature bells and synthesized sounds at a slightly louder volume.