Ultimate Christmas is a 1998 compilation of Christmas music by the Beach Boys released on Capitol Records. It rounds up all of the tracks from 1964's The Beach Boys' Christmas Album in addition to a handful of unreleased tracks from the aborted Merry Christmas from the Beach Boys album in 1977, some of which are alternative versions of songs included on M.I.U. Album the following year.[4]

Ultimate Christmas
Compilation album by
ReleasedSeptember 22, 1998
RecordedOctober 1963 – November 1977
GenreRock
Length61:58
LabelCapitol
ProducerBrad Elliot
The Beach Boys chronology
Endless Harmony Soundtrack
(1998)
Ultimate Christmas
(1998)
The Capitol Years
(1999)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
Blender[2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music[3]

As a collection of the Beach Boys' Christmas tunes, Ultimate Christmas manages to round up virtually every song the band recorded and released on the subject. In 2004, Capitol took it out of print and replaced it with Christmas with the Beach Boys, essentially the same compilation with different cover art and one song ("Christmas Time Is Here Again") removed from the track list. Tracks 14-15 and 17-26 were previously unreleased.

Track listing

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No.TitleWriter(s)Lead vocalsLength
1."Little Saint Nick, (Remix)"Brian Wilson, Mike LoveMike Love2:01
2."The Man with All the Toys"B. Wilson, LoveBrian Wilson and Love1:32
3."Santa's Beard"B. Wilson, LoveLove2:00
4."Merry Christmas, Baby"B. WilsonLove2:21
5."Christmas Day"B. WilsonAl Jardine1:47
6."Frosty the Snowman"Steve Nelson, Jack RollinsB. Wilson1:54
7."We Three Kings of Orient Are"John Henry HopkinsLove and B. Wilson4:03
8."Blue Christmas"Billy Hayes, Jay W. JohnsonB. Wilson3:09
9."Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"J. Fred Coots, Haven GillespieB. Wilson and Love2:20
10."White Christmas"Irving BerlinB. Wilson2:29
11."I'll Be Home for Christmas"Kim Gannon, Walter Kent, Buck RamB. Wilson2:44
12."Auld Lang Syne"Traditional; arranged by B. Wilsongroup1:19
13."Little Saint Nick" (Single version, Remix)B. Wilson, LoveLove2:08
14."Auld Lang Syne" (Alternate mix)Traditional; arranged by B. Wilsongroup1:23
15."Little Saint Nick" (Alternate version)B. Wilson, LoveB. Wilson and Love2:04
16."Child of Winter (Christmas Song)"B. Wilson, Stephen KalinichB. Wilson and Love2:49
17."Santa's Got an Airplane, Remix"Alan Jardine, B. Wilson, LoveLove and Al Jardine3:09
18."Christmas Time Is Here Again"Buddy Holly, Norman Petty, Jerry Allison, JardineJardine3:02
19."Winter Symphony"B. WilsonB. Wilson3:00
20."(I Saw Santa) Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree"B. Wilson, JardineAl, Matt and Adam Jardine2:23
21."Melekalikimaka, Remix" (aka "Kona Christmas")Jardine, LoveLove and Jardine2:34
22."Bells of Christmas, Remix"Jardine, Ron Altbach, LoveJardine2:44
23."Morning Christmas"Dennis WilsonDennis Wilson3:22
24."Toy Drive Public Service Announcement"  1:23
25."Dennis Wilson Christmas Message"  0:31
26."Brian Wilson Christmas Interview"  2:35

References

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  1. ^ Greenwald, Matthew. "Ultimate Christmas - The Beach Boys : Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
  2. ^ Wolk, Douglas (October 2004). "The Beach Boys Ultimate Christmas". Blender. Archived from the original on June 30, 2006. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  3. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (4th ed.). London: Oxford University Press. p. 479. ISBN 978-0-19-531373-4.
  4. ^ Elliot, Brad (1998). Ultimate Christmas (CD Liner). The Beach Boys. Capitol Records.