This album is an amazingly great piece of IC label. But it's much more amazing, because it's a fake. It's not really a Double Fantasy album of Robert Schroeder, but an album made by Dancing Fantasy - a clone made by IC label. This is written on the official page of Robert Schroeder:

"Due to major differences between Robert Schroeder, creator of Double Fantasy, and the publishing label IC, he gave no more further productions. During the years of litigation, after the first and only production of Schroeder's "Double Fantasy - Universal Ave", IC released a similar-sounding product under the name of Dancing Fantasy. Contrary to the rumors is made clear here that Robert Schroeder has nothing to do with those following productions, except that he is the creator and founder of the original Double Fantasy, that has produced and composed only one sensationally successful album: "Double Fantasy - Universal Ave".

"As was stated above, Schroeder has nothing to do with the 1994 IC label released album "Double Fantasy - Food For Fantasy". Probably, however, that was the intention of IC label, because Schroeder's spare project for Double Fantasy should run under the name Food For Fantasy. A known radio presenter had also announced this event in a 1994 broadcasting. A month later appeared the just named IC product of Dancing Fantasy".

Anyway, for the above mentioned reasons, the music is obviously close to the style of the original Double Fantasy.

Chip Davis and Mannheim Steamroller's The Christmas Angel has been panned by several reviewers as being a sad rehash or unacknowledged greatest hits album. However, any true fan of Chip and the Steamroller knows that this CD is the soundtrack to a televised ice skating show that aired on NBC back in December of 1998 and will be airing again this December 2000 on NBC (It may even become a Christmas tradition). The music, for the most part, is from previous Christmas recordings, but it has certainly not lost it's magic! The story, narrated by Chip and Olivia Newton-John, is a bit unusual, but makes more sense when watching the ice skating performance. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because most of the music found here is on the other 5-star Christmas releases from Mannheim Steamroller. It's worth having if you're a Chip Davis fan!

What most people don't know, is that this CD was a result of work done for a theme park. Chip Davis was contacted by Universal Studios Florida to help with their "Grinchmas" event, and the result is the music that's on this CD. This happened several years ago, but fans have been asking for all things Mannheim, which spurred this CD's release.

It's a shame that some will accuse them of coasting, or cheating the fans, when the truth is the opposite. And there are enough sources, including right here on Amazon, where you can listen to tracks before you buy it.

That said, if you are unsure or just curious, listen to the clips here, or go to Mannheim's MySpace page, and listen to the complete tracks first.

Personally, I'm glad they released this CD, and showed another facet of what they do. It isn't necessarily everyone's taste, but none of their CDs are.

This is a fun, festive holiday treat, and I look forward to playing it for many Christmases to come!

As a previous reviewer mentioned last year, Rush Limbaugh was indeed the one who introduced Mannheim Steamroller to much of the country. He once played the music video for 'Pat-A-Pan' on his TV show back in the mid-90s and I was a fan for life from that point. The amount of emotion that comes across from Chip Davis to the listener is absolutely astounding to me.

My only comments on the quality of this release are that although the vocal tracks from Johnny Mathis and Olivia Newton-John were not necessary on an album that's supposed to be instrumental, their talents are not wasted here. They are two of the best voices ever to grace a record. I didn't even know that there WERE lyrics to Christmas Lullaby, but Miss Newton-John's performance is wonderful. The original Christmas Lullaby instrumental is a work of genius and one of my all-time favorites. While it doesn't lull me to sleep, it does touch me emotionally and brings back childhood Christmas memories.

One of the most difficult things imaginable is coming up with Christmas music which is, even in the slightest way, unique. We've all heard Nat King Cole's gorgeous, silken voice on the old standards, and, Lord Help Us, how many of Bing's croonings can you take? Over the years, Mannheim Steamroller has produced three fine albums, mixing up the standards (some in synthesized and modernized form) with other ancient pieces that had long ago fallen off the play list. This latest studio Christmas album could well be the best of the group.

Many have criticized it as being too formulaic, or simply as being too like the previous efforts. Maybe so. The others are awfully good as well. You know, I hate to break this to the critics but since Bach's Christmas Oratorio and Correlli's concertos in the 18th century, and Mendelsohn and Tchaikovsky in the 19th, there hasn't been a whole lot of good ground-breaking Christmas music written. If you're looking for new thing, Christmas isn't exactly the best place to start.

That said, this particular CD is chock-full of wonderful Christmas melodies, some of which you probably haven't heard before, produced and presented to meet Manneheim Steamroller's extremely high standards. Standout tracks include: Mendelsohn's "Joy To The World" -- in a version as rambunctuous as anything you could get from Arthur Fiedler; "Pat A Pan" -- a wonderfully simple melody, like fudge it is Christmas perfection. You will wonder why it isn't more famous than it is; "Gagliarda", with it's evocations of a medieval feast in the long room of a great castle; and "Los Peces El Rio", Spanish mystery and flair, rarely heard far north of Mexico.

This one will stay in your Christmas CD rotation as long as you live. Maybe, being the third such Christmas CD from the group, it isn't a completely unique or new experience. I have yet to have someone show me anyone else that is producing great Christmas music which incorporates new sounds while retaining tradition, which is the very nature of the holiday.

Chip Davis's Mannheim Steamroller hasn't lost any ground in the six years since their last Yuletide offering. Christmas Extraordinare is another innovative and heartfelt collection of seasonal treasures played on a combination of 18th-century instruments and modern-day synthesizers, drums, and electric guitars. While not the first to marry different ages of musical instruments, Davis and his cohorts use them with imagination and an intensity that gives new life and drama to this rather inert genre. For material, Mannheim Steamroller asked their fans to choose their favorite holiday selections and vote on their Web site. The results of the poll are a fine mix of old and new--with slightly more emphasis on the modern--ranging from the bracing "Fum, Fum, Fum," a traditional Catalan carol, to Tchaikovsky's "Faeries" from The Nutcracker. Mannheim Steamroller imbues this beloved song with an almost militaristic edge, grounding it with an ominous tuba that gives the usually fey "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" an edgy tension. "Winter Wonderland" is a spectacular work, bordering on prog rock, as if Emerson, Lake & Palmer had re-formed to whip up a winter blizzard gone amok. While most of the Mannheim Steamroller's Christmas albums are largely instrumental, Davis has employed the considerable talents of University of Michigan's Glee Club to sing on "O Tannenbaum," respectfully fading their elegant, full vocals around the pristine voice of Johnny Mathis, elevating this German carol to a cinematic peak. Don't miss out on the clever liner notes, which give the reader a whimsical, anecdotal history of the 12 songs.

Prog rock lives! This fusion of rock, jazz, and classical, driven by synthesizers, excess, and dry-ice fog, was once the domain of '70s groups like Yes and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. But Mannheim Steamroller has kept prog rock's intoxicated spirit and bright spectacle alive, mainly through 20 years of Christmas albums and concerts, and Christmas Celebration won't disappoint their many worldwide fans. With its overblown arrangements of standards and readily accessible new pieces, it combines a variety of styles with a heavy mix of instruments and voices. Noteworthy are the choirs and soloists featured on various tracks, including the Cambridge Singers and Johnny Mathis on "O Tannenbaum" as well as lesser-knowns like Germany's Bielefelder Kinderchor and the University of Michigan Glee Club. All told, it's a full, pretty-paper assault, an aural smorgasbord laid out with bold strokes and many a glittering bauble.

Depending on your point of view, Christmas is either a quaint sonic time capsule extracted from the mid-1980s or a timeless holiday classic. The first in what has become an ongoing series of Mannheim Steamroller Christmas recordings, this CD has sold millions, which seems to indicate that it is everything its advertising claims it to be: "America's favorite Christmas music." The powerfully successful Mannheim Steamroller formula, conceived by group mastermind Chip Davis, involves a blend of Renaissance-flavored moods and instrumentation (strings, harpsichord, flute, French horn) intertwined with polite pop instrumental music. At times, the analog synthesizers used in this 1984 recording sound dated and a little cheesy, particularly on "Deck the Halls" and "Good King Wenceslas." But it is a forgivable offense since live instruments and the earnest but ersatz medieval atmosphere they evoke dominate 8 of the 11 tracks. As pleasant and soothing as a Willard Scott birthday wish, Christmas does offer one selection that truly merits "classic" status: the reverent, prayerful, slow-motion interpretation of "Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht") for piano and strings that closes the album--a beautiful and heart-touching work. This selection alone makes this album worth owning.

While the first Mannheim Steamroller "Christmas" album revolutionized contemporary Christmas music, the follow-up, "Fresh Aire Christmas," is Chip Davis' masterpiece. Instead of contrasting sharply with his more traditional interpretations, here the electronic touches and percussion blend in to create a truly unique classical/modern sound. The song selection is also uniformly strong, featuring some of the most beautiful and beloved Christmas favorites.

Together, the first two Mannheim Steamroller Christmas albums may be the most musically important Christmas recordings ever released. Like it or not (and this reviewer does), Chip Davis has created some of the most distinctive and instantly recognizable interpretations of Christmas classics. And, for anyone who grew up in the 1980s, even his more questionable efforts will for ever more evoke powerful holiday nostalgia.