Christmas Peace

Disc 1
1	Blue Christmas 2:08
2	Here Comes Santa Claus (Right Down Santa Claus Lane) 1:55
3	White Christmas 2:24
4	Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me) 1:53
5	I'll Be Home for Christmas 1:55
6	Santa Claus Is Back in Town 2:24
7	O Little Town of Bethlehem 2:36
8	Silent Night 2:15
9	If Every Day Was Like Christmas 2:54
10	O Come All Ye Faithful 2:49
11	The First Noel 2:12
12	On a Snowy Christmas Night 2:50
13	Winter Wonderland 2:19
14	The Wondeful World of Christmas 1:59
15	It Won't Seem Like Christmas (Without You) 2:42
16	I'll Be Home on Christmas Day 3:50
17	If I Get Home on Christmas Day 2:53
18	Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees 2:14
19	Merry Christmas, Baby 5:45
20	Silver Bells 2:27
Disc 2
1	Peace in the Valley 3:22
2	I Believe 2:05
3	It Is No Secret (What God Can Do) 3:55
4	His Hand in Mine 3:15
5	In My Father's House 2:05
6	Known Only to Him 2:08
7	Mansion Over the Hilltop 2:56
8	Crying in the Chapel 2:26
9	How Great Thou Art 3:02
10	In the Garden 3:10
11	Where No One Stands Alone 2:44
12	Somebody Bigger Than You and I 2:26
13	Without Him 2:29
14	We Call on Him 2:33
15	Only Believe 2:49
16	Amazing Grace 3:34
17	An Evening Prayer 1:55
18	He Touched Me 2:39
19	He Is My Everything 2:40
20	If That Isn't Love 3:29

Barnes & Noble

This latest repackaging of Elvis Presley's Christmas catalogue takes it cue from the King's first holiday long-player, 1957's Elvis' Christmas Album, which paired one side of seasonal songs with a side comprising mostly religious songs. Christmas Peace offers one disc containing all 20 Yuletide tunes Elvis cut for his two legit Christmas albums, and one 20-song disc culled from his three gospel albums. On the Christmas disc, Elvis ranges from Leiber-Stoller's swinging blues "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" to tender ministrations such as "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" to reverential treatments of ancient Christmas texts in a spiritual mode ("O Little Town of Bethlehem," "Silent Night") -- and, oh yes, the certifiable classic "Blue Christmas." Disc 2, subtitled Peace, offers similar diversity in its gospel selections. Alongside the Thomas A. Dorsey monument "(There'll Be) Peace in the Valley" and two powerful Stuart Hamblen testimonies, "It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)" and "Known Only to Him," is the decidedly R&B-flavored "Crying in the Chapel." Elvis puts his indelible stamp on towering standards such as "Amazing Grace" and "How Great Thou Art," while his rendition of "An Evening Prayer" marks one of the King's most underrated but powerful performances, a heartrending plea topped only by Mahalia Jackson's version. All of these recordings are available in other themed packages, of course, but as a holiday item, the joining of the sacred, the traditional, and the rocking as heard on Christmas Peace makes it a big winner. David McGee

All Music Guide

You have to hand it to the folks at BMG -- more than 25 years after the passing of Elvis Presley, they've yet to run out of ways to recycle his back catalog, and just in time for the 2003 holiday season, along comes Christmas Peace, still another repackaging of Presley's seasonable material. Disc one of this two-CD set collects the same 20 Yuletide selections that appeared on the seemingly definitive If Every Day Was Like Christmas collection in 1994, minus the alternate takes that appeared as bonus cuts. This represents nearly the entire Presley Christmas canon, this time in chronological order, with the 1957 Christmas sessions for the most part outshining the slicker but less sincere 1971 cuts, though the loose and surprisingly gritty take on Charles Brown's "Merry Christmas Baby" certainly kicks up the cool factor a few notches. Disc two presents 20 tunes from Elvis' gospel and inspirational sessions, and while most rock fans tend to shy away from this material, the truth is this ranks with Presley's most impassioned and committed material. No matter how far Elvis may have strayed from the Baptist faith of his childhood in his lifestyle, when listening to these recordings it's obvious that this music still spoke to his heart and soul throughout his life, and while this material sure doesn't rock, anyone who loves Elvis as an emotive artist can't help but be moved by his power and sincerity on "Peace in the Valley" or "Mansion Over the Hilltop," and this is a fine introduction to his gospel sessions. If you're an avid Presley collector, you doubtless have everything in this set, which boasts no unreleased (or especially hard to find) material, but the packaging is fine and the remastering clean and pleasing to the ear, making it a better than average starting place for someone wanting to study Elvis' enthusiastic relationship with both Santa Claus and his Savior. Mark Deming