The Temptations’ seminal second holiday release, Give Love at Christmas, is set to be re-released on August 23, offering fans an early start on their holiday shopping.
Order Give Love at Christmas (Apple Limited Edition LP).
The collection from the legendary Motown group, which first emerged in 1980, features their covers of Motown Christmas classics including The Jackson 5’s “Give Love on Christmas Day,” their own original Christmas songs, co-written by Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson, and perennial holiday favorites including “The Little Drummer Boy,” “This Christmas,” and “Silent Night.” The vinyl is available on apple red vinyl to help usher in the holiday spirit.
The collection arrived seven years after Motown Records’ Christmas compilation, aptly titled A Motown Christmas. The album was full of the acts that really mattered to the label.
We get seven tracks by the scions of the Jackson family of Gary, Indiana; five from The Supremes, giving us a taste of Diana Ross; four from The Temptations; and a quartet of Smokey Robinson seasonal specials. Stars of wonder, star of night? You haven’t got to peer at the top of the Christmas tree to find one: Stevie’s here too, singing four songs.
While few of these tracks were outright hits, they’ve certainly been played enough in the intervening years to be familiar to a huge number of appreciative ears: if you haven’t smiled to the opening track, “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” bellowed by a Michael Jackson still young enough to believe the lyrics, you’ve never visited a shopping mall in December.
Order Give Love at Christmas (Apple Limited Edition LP).
Give Love at Christmas Tracklist:
A1. Give Love on Christmas Day
A2. The Christmas Song
A3. Love Comes With Christmas
A4. The Little Drummer Boy
B1. This Christmas
B2. Everything For Christmas
B3. Christmas Everyday
B4. Silent Night
