- 02:39 "THE CHRISTMAS SONG" (Mel Tormé, Robert Wells)- First recorded in 1946 by Nat 'King' Cole. You can just about hear Marv getting his Charlie Christian on at the very end.
- 03:05 "WHITE CHRISTMAS" (Irving Berlin)- Most of the pre-60's standards have stories behind them but this one has an actual, entire book. Named for the song and written by Jody Rosen, it was published by Scribner in 2002. At under 100 pages, it's pretty slim but that's mostly because it sticks to its topic and avoids the temptation to pad out, as some pop culture criticism does, to create the illusion that their chosen subject is more pervasive than it actually is. Rosen was confident, and justifiably, that the song's history was a tidy book on its own. The lead vocal on this version isn't Smokey; it's a much deeper register.
- 02:03 "SILVER BELLS" (Jay Livingston, Ray Evans)- Speaking of "WHITE CHRISTMAS", there's that damn Bing Crosby again. Crosby famously introduced the previous song in 1942 and this song was first released as duet between Crosby and Carol Richards in 1950, just months after Bob Hope and Marilyn Maxwell recorded their version for the movie "The Lemon-Drop Kid", still in production at the time. According to Wikipedia, the film version was rerecorded after the single became a hit. The Miracles' version opens with a guitar part more reminiscent of "TO KNOW HIM IS TO LOVE HIM", but continues with the conventional arrangement using a group vocal with Claudette clearly audible.
- 02:30 "NOEL" (Traditional)- The source I turn to for hymns and carols of indeterminate origin is Ian Bradley's "The Penguin Book Of Carols". The earliest published version was found by Davies Gilbert in an uncredited 1817 manuscript in Cornwall, the most southwestern tip of England. Gilbert included it in his bound edition, "Some Ancient Christmas Carols" (revised, 1823). Of the nine verses Bradley includes, this recording uses only the first and the the chorus.
- 02:11 "O HOLY NIGHT" (Adolphe C. Adam)- Actually, Adam wrote the music in 1847 to accompany an existing poem by Placide Cappeau called "Cantique de Noël". The English language version was written by John Sullivan Dwight to fit Adam's music more comfortably than would a literal translation of Cappeau's poem. Both Cappeau's and Dwight's versions have three verses alternating with three different proclamations (the "Fall on your knees..." bit) rather than a repeated chorus. The Miracles choose to do only the first verse/proclamation coupling.
.....At the end of 1981, the various remaining labels of the Motown group were consolidated and after that point there was simply the Motown label. Tamla, Motown and Gordy were really the only labels left; everything else ended by 1978. So, my vinyl copy of CHRISTMAS WITH THE MIRACLES is the reissue Motown 5254ML and attributed to "Smokey & The Miracles" on the spine. The liner notes by Ray Scott mention "William Robinson" and "Claudette Robinson", but not the other members. In fact, there are only four credits total:
- Produced by Ronnie White
- Assistant Producer 'Smokey' Robinson
- Liner Notes Ray Scott
- Cover Design Bernard Yeszin/Wallace Mead
.....I have what I believe is the first compact disc edition, handled by MCA, MCD09091MD (US) 1987.
Typical of MCA before it was absorbed into Universal Music, there are no liner notes for the CD. There isn't even a booklet, just an inlay and card.The shrunken art on the card is clearly taken from my early 80's vinyl reissue, with the red Motown logo clearly visible in the lower right hand corner in lieu of a Tamla label. The credits now are:
- Produced by Ronnie White
- Associate Producer: William "Smokey" Robinson
- Mastered for compact disc by John Matousek at Motown/Hitsville U.S.A. Recording Studios, Hollywood, California.
- Design: Katherine Marking/ Alana Coghlan
...and for reasons not at all clear, the disc surface identifies Ronnie White as "Ronald" and Smokey as "Assistant", not "Associate", Producer.
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