Background: The single version of Little Saint Nick had actually been recorded and first released in 1963, but now in midsummer 1964 Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys returned to the Studio to record a whole album of material for the 1964 season. Bearing in mind his heavy workload, Brian decides to enlist the support of Dick Reynolds - an established orchestra arranger for the traditional songs planned for the record.

Review: Little Saint Nick had prominent sleigh bells and glockenspiel on the 1963 single mix, but in order to make the cut sit more naturally with the new material on the album, Brian Wilson remixed the track without them. In fact, the Little Saint Nick lyrics were originally used with the All Summer Long 'Drive In' track, but happily, Brian Wilson decided to create a new melody for the track we know today. Though less enduring as a Christmas Classic in terms of radio play, The Man With All The Toys matched Little Saint Nick’s chart success (no.3) when released as the 1964 Beach Boys Christmas single. Santa’s Beard has the familiar shuffle-rock beat, great melody and dense harmonies as does Merry Christmas Baby showing that Brian Wilson could apply the Beach Boys ‘sound’ to yet another theme. Christmas Day features Al Jardine’s first lead vocal as a Beach Boy. Al also handled much of the bass guitar work impressively on these first few tracks. Frosty The Snowman is the first track on the album to get the Dick Reynolds treatment. As he was the Four Freshmen’s arranger it is perhaps not a surprise that the orchestra does not dominate the vocals although it is what could be perhaps termed a ‘standard arrangement’ - no doubt designed to appeal to the middle class family audience. We Three Kings Of Orient Are is one of the stand-out tracks on the album. A standard musical arrangement but there is more ‘movement’ in the group harmonies especially in the a cappella fade. Brian particularly wanted to sing Blue Christmas himself, and he delivers a smooth tenor croon in-between ‘big’ orchestral phrases. Santa Clause Is Coming To Town is fine. Just fine – it doesn’t have any of the inventiveness we have come to expect from Brian Wilson. Maybe too much Dick Reynolds influence or just the constraints of a ‘standard’? There is no greater standard than White Christmas but here it seems to stand up better than the previous track. The same earnestness is in the double-tracked Brian Wilson solo vocal but the arrangement is more sympathetic to him. I’ll Be Home For Christmas seems to have been an ideal track for the Four Freshmen style and the Beach Boys handle the different parts with practised ease. Brian’s a cappella arrangement of Auld Lang Syne is inventive and impressive, and Dennis’s stumble over their Christmas message is endearing. Pity about the Zyne though… it’s Syne guys.

Summary: Whilst not receiving the widespread accolades that Spector did for his Christmas album, nevertheless the Beach Boys Christmas album is a perennial Christmas favourite and charted in its release year and for a number years afterwards.

Highlights: Little Saint Nick, We Three Kings Of Orient Are, I’ll Be Home For Christmas, Auld Lang Syne.

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