Good for newcomers, pointless for long-time fansby Anonymous

Reader Rating:
See Detailed Ratings

September 29, 2009: This is yet another compilation of previously released material from Mannheim Steamroller. Unlike their previous Christmas compilation ("Celebration," released five years ago in honor of their 20th anniversary), this 25th Anniversary Collection, sadly, offers nothing new to entice long-time fans.

Judging it purely for it is, rather than what it is not, this is a good collection, and I'd recommend to people who have maybe just enjoyed Mannheim's music on the radio, but who don't yet own any of their CDs. The music on this 2 CD set runs the gamut from light and whimsical ("Faeries") to strikingly poignant and beautiful ("Still, Still, Still" and "O Holy Night"), with a bit of everything in between. So you're bound to find a least a good handful of tracks to enjoy here, even if not every track is a winner. My only hesitation in recommending this to newcomers is that it omits some of Mannheim's most famous tracks, such as their energetic take on "Deck The Halls" and their classic rendition of "Silent Night" ("Stille Nacht.") Many of their most classic tracks were included on the previous compilation (the aforementioned "Celebration"), so they weren't duplicated here. While I definitely agree with MS's decision not to duplicate tracks on both compilations, it does make it a bit harder to recommend this to somebody who wants to get the best of Steamroller's material. So what I'd do is buy this, and you can probably find a cheap copy of "Celebration" somewhere by now. Then you'll have three CDs covering all of Mannheim's best work.

On the downside, as good as this collection is for newcomers, it's disappointing that it offers nothing for longtime fans. Most of us who followed MS over the years will have every track on this collection. The only track some fans may not have is "My Little Christmas Tree," since it was previously only available on a CD that came packaged with a pop-up book. But, please, do not buy this set just to hear that one track. It's a half-hearted effort at best, and certainly not among Chip's best work (in fact, I really cannot fathom why it's included in this collection, unless, perhaps, they just wanted to have at least one track from every Christmas release they ever did, regardless of quality.)

If they had taken the time to record two or three new, high-quality songs (NOT like the abysmal "Celebration" track included on the previous compilation disc), I think this set would have had a lot more value. As it stands now, I really don't see any reason for long time fans to spend money on this. Newcomers, though, should find plenty to like.