Editorial Review:

Amazon.com:
Is the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas Eve and Other Stories a holiday rock opera? Or perhaps just a holiday prog-rock disc? Or maybe it's New Age? Whatever the case may be, this isn't your typical Christmas album. Filled with electric guitar solos, plenty of synthesized keyboards, a children's choir, and lively drumming, Christmas Eve can only be compared to one other record, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra's other holiday disc, The Christmas Attic. On this CD, angelic vocal solos (on numbers such as 'The Prince of Peace') are interspersed with driving instrumentals. Sentimental, occasionally bombastic, but as high-concept as holiday albums can be. --Jason Verlinde









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Related Items:
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Related Items:

• The Lost Christmas Eve
• The Christmas Attic
• Beethoven's Last Night
• Trans-Siberian Orchestra - The Ghost Of Christmas Eve
• Mannheim Steamroller Christmas Celebration
• see more

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Disc 1:

1. An Angel Came Down - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Gruber
2. O Come All Ye Faithful/O Holy Night - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Oakeley, Frederick
3. A Star to Follow - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, ONeill, Paul [1]
4. First Snow - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, ONeill, Paul
5. The Silent Nutcracker - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kinkel, Robert
6. A Mad Russian's Christmas - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kinkel, Robert
7. The Prince of Peace - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Mendelssohn, Felix
8. Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24 - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kinkel, Robert
9. Good King Joy - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kinkel, Robert
10. Ornament - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, ONeill, Paul [1]
11. The First Noel - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Sandys, William
12. Old City Bar - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, ONeill, Paul [1]
13. Promises to Keep - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Kinkel, Robert
14. This Christmas Day - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, ONeill, Paul [1]
15. An Angel Returned - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, ONeill, Paul [1]
16. O Holy Night - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Adam, Adolphe
17. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Traditional

Rating: - Savatage deserves the Credit! Wake up People!!!!
With all due respect to all you people who loved TSO, I think you should wake up and go straight to the nearest CD store and buy Savatage albums and give it a listen because TSO=Savatage! and Basically the Christmas Eve/Sarajevo song is basically a song on the Dead winter dead album for Savatage! Even Back to a reason II is the same Back to a Reason song sung by Jon Oliva in Poets and Madmen album for SAVATAGE! So,, why does TSO get the credit and Savatage doesnt! Is this Fair!

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Rating: - A Fun Non-Traditional Christmas CD
I borrowed this CD on a whim recently, and have discovered just how much fun most of it is. But let me warn you, this is like nothing else you've ever heard before.

This is a rock and roll orchestra Christmas CD. Don't know what I mean? Well, many of these tracks feature an orchestra backing up electric guitar, keyboard, and drums. And these aren't your parents' arrangements, either. The best example is "Christmas Eve/Sarjevo 12/24" which gives "Carol of the Bells" a heavy rock arrangement. And it is absolutely fun.

The disc is about half instrumental, and those are the best tracks by far. Another highlight is "A Mad Russian's Christmas" which includes themes from "The Nutcracker." But they aren't all hard rock arrangements. "The First Noel" is quiet, as are the final two tracks.

The one weakness of the disc is the vocal tracks. Some of them are quite good, like "A Star to Follow" which features three choirs in a round. But most of the others tell a story about an angel sent down to Earth to find something good that has been done in the name of Christmas in the last two thousand years. These songs become overly sentimental even for me, the king of Christmas sentimentality. They are also rather ordinary sounding musical wise, and I find my mind wandering. Something that doesn't happen on the instrumental tracks. And usually that's the other way around.

This CD is well worth getting for the instrumental tracks alone. The rest aren't bad, but they aren't great either.

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Rating: - Kyrie among nations
In an unending sea of unique Christmas music, there is perhaps none more unique than this.

CHRISTMAS EVE AND OTHER STORIES is in all a gentle children's choir concert, a religious story, a family story, an instrumental Christmas montage, an elaborate rock 'n' roll opera, and finally a cry for God's mercy among our nations. Trans-Siberian Orchestra probably did not know that they were going to end up making music history with hit titles like "Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24" (a hard rock instrumental rendition of "Carol of the Bells") or "A Mad Russian's Christmas" (a similar treatment of "The Nutcracker Suite") or nationwide sold-out concert performances.

There is something in this CD for everyone. If you like Gospel ("The Prince of Peace"), acoustic guitar ("The Silent Nutcracker"), hard rock ("Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24"), Contemporary Christian ("An Angel Returned"), folk ("Old City Bar"), or soft instrumental and children's choirs ("Promises to Keep"), you will find it here. If you don't like one or more of the aforementioned genres of music, then those contained in this CD will probably grow on you anyway (as they did with me).

I love Christmas music very much, and I love all kinds. I particularly enjoy Mannheim Steamroller and the big band crooners of the 1940s and 1950s. But CHRISTMAS EVE AND OTHER STORIES easily earns a place among my top favorites.

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Rating: - A Must Have Christmas cd!
If you love Trans Siberian Orchestra you'll love this cd but even if you don't know who they are this is a great place to start. You might find this one at your local library or might be able to listen to tracks here on Amazon.

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Rating: - EXCELLENT!
I cannot rate this CD high enough! It's awsome! Words can't express how I feel about it!