John Denver Christmas
Louise Gold featured as a Muppet Performer providing
background vocals on John Denver & The Muppets A Christmas Together.
Catalogue number: (Delta CD) 24 492
Cast
John Denver And The Muppets A Christmas Together
Muppet
Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, and, Animal - Frank Oz
Robin, Floyd, and, Lew Zealand - Jerry Nelson
Scooter, Janice, Staler, and, Beaker - Richard Hunt
The Great Gonzo, Zoot, Beauregard, and, Dr Bunsen Honeydew - Dave
Goelz
Kermit The Frog, Waldorf, and, Dr Teeth - Jim Henson
Also featuring The Muppet Performers
- Louise Gold, Kathryn Mullen, and, Steve Whitmire
Musicans
Vocals, 6 & 12-string guitars - John Denver
Drums, and, Percussion - Hal Blaine
Electric & Acoustic Guitars, and, Dobro - James Burton
Bass - Emory Gordy Jr
Keyboards - Glen D Hardin
Reeds - Jim Horn
Banjo, Electric & Acoustic Guitars - Herb Pederson
Acoustic Guitar - Denny Brooks
Mandolin, and, Harmonica - Danny Wheetman
John Denver Christmas Like A Lullaby
John Denver and
? Company
Production Team
Produced by Delta
Entertainment Corporation
Track Listing
John Denver And The Muppets A Christmas Together - (Laserlight Digital
CD, 2002) 12 761
1. The Twelve Days Of Christmas - John
and The Cast (John Denver and The
Cast)
2. The Peace Carol - John, Scooter, and the cast (John Denver, Richard Hunt, and, The Cast (definitely includes Dave Goelz and probably includes the
rest of The Eight)
3. Christmas Is Coming - Miss Piggy, The Great Gonzo, Scooter,
and, Robin (Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Richard Hunt, and, Jerry
Nelson)
4. A Baby Just Like You - John (John Denver)
5. Deck The Halls - The cast (The Cast (includes: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Louise Gold,
and, Kathryn Mullen, probably
includes Steve Whitmire))
6. Noel: Christmas Eve 1913 - John (John Denver)
7. The Christmas Wish - Kermit The Frog (Jim Henson)
8. Medley
Alfie: The Christmas Tree
- John (John Denver)
Carol For A Christmas Tree
- The cast (The Cast (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt,
Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold,
and, Kathryn Mullen))
It’s In Every
One Of Us - John and the cast (John Denver and The Cast (Jim
Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz,
Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, and, Kathryn
Mullen))
9. Silent Night, Holy Night - John and The cast (John Denver and The Cast (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson,
Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire,
Louise Gold, and, Kathryn Mullen))
10. We Wish You A Merry Christmas - John,
Miss Piggy, Animal, The Great Gonzo, Kermit, and, Floyd and the cast (John Denver, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Jim Henson and Jerry Nelson, with Richard
Hunt, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, and, Kathryn Mullen)
John Denver Christmas Like A Lullaby - (Laserlight Digital CD) 12 762
1. Christmas Like A Lullaby
2. The First Noel
3. Away In A Manger
4. The Children Of Bethlehem
5. Jingle Bells
6. White Christmas
7. Marvelous Toy
8. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
9. The Christmas Song
10. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
John Denver and The Muppets (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz,
Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, and, Kathryn
Mullen), along with Hal Blaine, James Burton, Emoy Gordy Jr, Glen D Hardin,
Jim Horn, Herb Pederson, Denny Brooks,
and, Danny Wheetman had appeared
together on the album John Denver And The
Muppets A Christmas Together, from which their tracks on this album come.
Those tracks also appear on Christmas For Kids.
Three tracks from that album, two of which turn up here, were also released as
a single John
Denver & The Muppets Merry Christmas 45RPM.
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt,
Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold,
and, Kathryn Mullen were the eight main puppeteers on The Muppet Show, on which John Denver had been a guest star.
The Muppet Show
Eight ( Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt,
Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold,
and, Kathryn Mullen) also
puppeteered on The Great Muppet Caper,
and, The Muppets Go To The Movies.
They featured on the documentary Of Muppets
And Men. Their recording credits include: The Muppet Show Music Album, The Great Muppet Caper (Soundtrack
album), Favourite
Songs From Jim Henson’s Muppets, Muppet
Music Sampler, Muppet Hits 1, Muppet Hits 2, Muppet
Music Mix, and, Music Mayhem & More.
The Big Five (Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and, Dave Goelz), plus Louise
Gold puppeteered on The
Royal Variety Performance (1977). Their recording credits include The Muppet Show Music Hall, The Muppet Show 2, For What It’s Worth, and, Jim Henson Presents Silly Songs.
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire,
Louise Gold, and, Kathryn Mullen puppeteered on The Dark Crystal, for which Jerry Nelson did some voice work.
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire,
and, Kathryn Mullen went on to
puppeteer on Labyrinth.
Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz,
Steve Whitmire, Louise Gold, and, Kathryn
Mullen went on to puppeteer at Jim
Henson’s Memorial Service.
Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire,
and, Louise Gold puppeteered
together on The Muppet Christmas Carol,
and, Muppet Treasure Island. Their
recording credits include The
Muppet Christmas Carol (Soundtrack album).
Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire,
Louise Gold, and, Kathryn Mullen puppeteered together on Sesame Street.
Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and, Louise
Gold’s recording credits include Born To Add.
Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt,
and, Louise Gold’s recording credits
include Elmo’s Lowdown Hoedown.
Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, and, Louise Gold puppeteered on The Animal Show, on which Frank Oz made an appearance as a guest puppeteer.
Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Steve Whitmire,
Louise Gold, and, Kathryn Mullen had appeared in “a burlesque show with some of the Muppet-company”.
Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, and, Dave Goelz did voice-work for the British outerspace segments on
the international Fraggle Rock, on which Louise Gold puppeteered.
Jim Henson, Jerry Nelson, and, Louise Gold’s recording credits include Jerome Kern The First 100 Years.
Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, and, Louise Gold puppeteered on The
Secret Life Of Toys.
Jerry Nelson, Dave Goelz, Steve Whitmire, and, Louise
Gold’s recording credits include A
Green And Red Christmas.
Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, and, Louise Gold’s recording credits include The Count’s Countdown, however there has
been some debate as to whether Louise
Gold actually sang on it.
Jim Henson, Richard Hunt, Steve Whitmire, and, Louise
Gold puppeteered on Tale Of The Bunny Picnic.
Richard Hunt, and, Louise Gold puppeteered on The Ghost Of Faffner Hall.
Jim Henson appeared on
the documentary Inside The Labyrinth.
Review
by Emma Shane, © 16
December 2007
Definitely
one of the better Christmas song compilation CD sets. Well sometimes the
choices and arrangements on these sort of albums can be enough to make anyone
as cynical as the scrooge-like
counterpoint in Jason Carr’s Christmas
Is New Once More. First of all we have the class Muppet album John
Denver And The Muppets A Christmas Together. Unfortunately this is the
version where three tracks were omitted, though fortunately they are not missed
too greatly, even if it would have been nice to have them. The remaining ten
tracks, featuring the combined talents of the TMS Eight, capture the
spirit of the classic Muppets at
their height.
Secondly
there is an album I was not familiar with before, John Denver Christmas Like A
Lullaby. This proves to be a pleasant compilation album of songs. The
sleeve notes are somewhat sparse on this album, failing to explain who the
backing vocalists are (the sleeve notes have concentrated on the first album
rather than the second). This album starts with a distinctly religious flavour,
but that is only the first four tracks, the remaining six are rather more
secular. In this way the album is actually quite inclusive, perhaps something
of a rarity in Christmas albums. Yet in these politically correct times this
album does strike a balance. By and large John
Devner sounds like he is trying to be David
Essex. Of the songs themselves, some stand out. Jingle Bells is
satisfactory. White Christmas has a somewhat peculiar arrangement, this is not
unpleasant, just bizzare (a bit like the sort of thing Jason Carr might do when arranging a classic, although not with Mr
Carr’s sense of style). The Country And Western style, Marvelous Toy is probably
one of the least well known songs on the album, and therefore one of the most
interesting, it is a shame therefore that John
Denver’s diction on it left a lot to be desired, it would have been nice to
have been able to hear the lyrics clearly. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer is
most annoyingly catchy. Although I think it is a fun Christmas song, it can also
be rather irritating as, like Spitting Image’s infamous Chicken
Song it is one of those songs that once you’ve heard it you can’t
escape it. It is apt to pop into ones head at the most inconvenient times (such
as when trying to sleep and it is no lullaby). As for another great Christmas
classic, the beautiful Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,
of course John Denver sings it
adequately, with good vocal technique. However, I think it doesn’t really quite
suite his voice. Judy Garland of
course did it to perfection; while I have also heard it sung with a lot of
genuine feeling by Rebecca Thornhill
and Louise Davidson. Yet for all
that it ends the album pleasantly.
So
is this album worth getting. Well if you want a decent Christmas compilation for
background music, then yes it would be a perfectly respectable choice,
certainly ever so much better than Christmas For Kids. And overall both
parts of the album strike a good balance between the religious and the secular,
therefore parts of it will probably appeal to most people. As an album
featuring The Muppets it is not really worth getting, as one can buy a more
complete version of that CD on its own anyway. As for West End actress Louise Gold, although she does provide
good strong backing vocals on the Muppet album, it doesn’t exactly show off her
talents (The Muppet Christmas Carol Soundtrack would be a better choice
there). But overall this is a satisfactory Christmas album, but don’t pay too
much for it.
Critics Comments
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Links about John
Denver Christmas
