Christmas Memories

This was my mothers favorite christmas album. Thanksgiving evening she would put this on and we would listen to it all season. I preferred the Carpenters, but the older I get the more I love this album. I love that Evie sings all of the verses.

This collection was released back in the fall of 1987 (has it really. been 30 years???) and combines most of the songs from her two previous Christmas albums with four songs recorded specifically for this compilation. It features 7 (of the 10) tracks from her 1977 LP, "Come On Ring Those Bells" and 8 (of 9) from her 1984 disc, "Christmas - A Happy Time." 4 tracks are exclusive to this set - "Christmas Is Especially (For Those Who Love The Lord)", "Come Adore", "Peace on Earth" and the fan favorite song "Move Me Closer (A Shepherd's Prayer)". Curiously, three of the best tracks from the 1977 album were omitted from this collection; "What Child is This", "Some Children See Him" and "One Small Child." Fortunately, those songs are available here on iTunes so adding those to your library along with this set will just about give you a complete collection of Evie's Christmas recordings. Evie is one of those rare artists, like Bing Crosby, whose most popular records were her Christmas songs. Her recording of "Come On Ring Those Bells" back in 1977, became one of the first major contributions of CCM to the canon of popular Christmas music and can still be heard on the radio during the holiday season. Her arrangement of "O Holy Night" remains one of the best recordings of that song by any artist in any genre. It's not over-sung and over-produced like many others are guilty of doing when they've approached that song. Evie's voice is clear and joyful and never overshadows the message in her songs. It's clear to see (and hear!) why she was one of the first true stars of CCM and a pioneer who paved the way for artists like Amy Grant and Sandi Patti.