The Brothers Four - Merry Christmas (Expanded Edition) (2014)

Deemed by Brothers Four leader Bob Flick himself as one of his favorite recordings released by the long-lived folk group, 1966 s Merry Christmas brought together a truly extraordinary collection of talent. Besides the Brothers themselves arguably one of the top five groups of the folk era the album featured vocal arrangements by the legendary Milt Okun, who had worked with such giants as Harry Belafonte, the Chad Mitchell Trio and Peter, Paul and Mary. Orchestrations were provided by Peter Matz, fresh from his work with Barbra Streisand, and behind the board at Columbia Records hallowed 30th Street Studio was renowned engineer Frank Laico. And weaving it all together was the great producer Teo Macero, best known for his work with Miles Davis, Dave Brubeck and Tony Bennett! Little wonder, then, that Merry Christmas is acknowledged as a pop-folk classic, here reissued in an Expanded Edition including the Brothers 1961 single Christmas Bells b/w What Child Is This plus two unreleased tracks, Go Tell It on the Mountain, and a completely different take on God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen. With notes by folk guru Tom Pickles featuring quotes from all four Brothers, added photos and a beautiful remastering job by Maria Triana at Sony s Battery Studios in New York, this Real Gone release of Merry Christmas will make your holiday merry indeed.