Timeless Christmas

If you received just one musical gift at Christmas, this package of timeless songs would be all you'd need. To paraphrase Nat King Cole, it's been said many times and many ways, but "Merry Christmas" is a greeting we'll gladly hear from any of these legendary performers. As Barbra Streisand name-checks Jack Frost in "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)", Bing Crosby serves up the figgy pudding on "I Wish You a Merry Christmas", and Dean Martin offers his own take on the classic Crosby Yuletide track "White Christmas (Till He Says Goodbye)". They're all raising an eggnog alongside Judy Garland, Perry Como and Elvis Presley to wish us a Timeless Christmas. Julie London knows exactly what she wants from Santa, in Next Steps.

Nostalgia and Christmas are inseparable, and every track here instantly evokes a more innocent age of hand-knitted (and ill-fitting) mittens, the first snowflakes of winter, and long-awaited holidays from school. Orchestra-leader Ray Conniff sets us in the right direction with his warm and soft-centred medley of Christmas carols, Petula Clark sings a perky celebration of "Christmas Cards", and Roger Whittaker lays his version of "Silent Night" on us like big cardigan. Julie London, meanwhile, makes no bones about her stocking preference in the smoky, come-hither "I'd Like You For Christmas", and Ray Charles is looking to make hay beneath the mistletoe with Betty Carter on "Baby It's Cold Outside". In Deep Cuts section, we'll take a bracing dash in a one-horse open sleigh.

It can get a little "parky" (cold) at Christmas, as they say up north, and that's exactly why brass bands were invented — here, the Grimethorpe Colliery RJB Band has the same effect as a mug of hot cocoa with its version of "Walking in the Air". With the irrepressible "Sleigh Ride," conductor Arthur Fiedler & the Boston Pops Orchestra race along at a breathtaking clip; Mahalia Jackson delivers an inspirational message about the true meaning of Christmas with her joyous "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"; and Gracie Fields offers us a fascinating insight into Santa's busy working schedule, as he prepares to visit every child in the world, on "Christmas Eve in Fairyland".

In the olden days, families would gather around the parlor piano, toddies in hand, and raise their voices to the season. Then came records, and Christmas was stored forever on vinyl, each successive generation identified by its own selection of Yule tunes and artists. During World War II, they had Glen Miller and Bing Crosby; the swingin' '50s gave us the Beverley Sisters and Brenda Lee; while the '60s delivered Val Doonican and Shirley Bassey. No matter when, though, the message is the same — you can light the fire, leave out the mince pies, and hang tinsel on the tree, but until you start the music and share it with someone you love, it's just not Christmas. Together here in one place, like a favourite family portrait, are the biggest, brightest, and most beloved songs of the season.