Monkees' Christmas album arrives this Friday

10/7/2018

On October 12, Rhino Records will release Christmas Party, the first-ever collection of Christmas music by The Monkees. The album will feature newly recorded versions of classic Christmas songs including "Silver Bells," "The Christmas Song," and "Wonderful Christmastime" along with brand new songs written for the group by Weezer’s Rivers Cuomo ("What Would Santa Do"), Andy Partridge of XTC ("Unwrap You At Christmas"), as well as R.E.M.'s Peter Buck and Scott McCaughey of The Minus 5 ("Christmas Party"). Adam Schlesinger, who produced the LP (and 2016's Good Times!), collaborated with novelist Michael Chabon on "House of Broken Gingerbread." Covers of Wizzard's yuletide classic "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day" and Big Star's "Jesus Christ" will also be heard on the album.

Christmas Party includes new vocals by Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith, and Peter Tork, plus the late Davy Jones’ voice - taken from vintage recordings - also appears on two songs. It will be available for purchase on compact disc and as a digital download this Friday. A vinyl edition is in the works but will not be issued until 2019.

Retail giant Target will carry an exclusive bonus tracks edition of Christmas Party beginning on October 19 (a week after the release of the standard edition), and it's currently available for pre-ordering. Target's compact disc will feature two additional songs: "Riu Chiu" and "Christmas Is My Time of Year."

While we wait for the video of the first single, "Unwrap You at Christmas," to arrive, take a moment to catch up on all things Christmas Party in the archives of the Live Almanac!

8 Comments

Todd

10/8/2018 12:55:54

Thank you for telling me about the Target edition.

Gregg McKenzie

11/1/2018 07:42:12

Hopefully, my Target edition arrives... I've received atleast 4 e-mails telling me that my shipment has been delayed!!! This is ridiculous - the latest came this morning pushing my delivery date to Nov. 2-6. I'm beginning to think I won't ever see this arrive!! I will NEVER pre-order from Target again!!!

David

11/1/2018 11:21:25

Gregg,

I gave up on my preorder and bought a copy at my local Target. Since I can’t cancel my order I will send back the CD when it arrives for a full refund. I too will never preorder from Target.

11/1/2018 20:34:16

David-
I wonder how many of us are 'patiently ' waiting for our CD to arrive? I have to ask if you were able to get the Bonus track edition in-store. I haven't been to a Target since the release, but can't help but wonder if my attempts to get the Bonus track edition would be a wasted trip two weeks after the release date.

Tyler

11/2/2018 09:06:26

My Target preorder has been delayed six times at this point. The problem with just returning the copy that came in the mail is that you don't get refunded the $6 for shipping. After the third delay, I contacted to cancel, which I couldn't do, but the lady did take 20% off.

You can check online and see if your store has it and do free store pickup. That's how I just did it. Otherwise, I haven't seen any on the racks in store.

11/2/2018 06:26:36

What a shock - this was in my in-box this morning:

We’ve got a quick update on the item below. Its new estimated delivery date isbetween Mon, Nov 5 - Wed, Nov 7.

We apologize for the potential delay. Rest assured you haven’t been charged yet for this item. (We’ll send you another email when it ships!)

View your order details page for the latest updates. Thanks for shopping Target.

11/4/2018 08:51:26

Tyler -
Thank you so much for alerting me to the In-Store pick up option. I was able to look into this feature (although the closest Target that had the CD in-stock was an hour + away) and finally get a copy of the CD. GREAT CD. Who would've thought that the Monkees would be making such amazing music 50 + years after their inception....
OH - I'm now laughing when I get another message like tis one that was in my in-box this morning:

Hi Gregory,

We’ve got a quick update on the item below. Its new estimated delivery date is between Tue, Nov 6 - Thu, Nov 8.

We apologize for the potential delay. Rest assured you haven’t been charged yet for this item. (We’ll send you another email when it ships!)

View your order details page for the latest updates. Thanks for shopping Target.

WHAT A JOKE! Someone needs to let Andrew and Joh Hughes know about the terrible service of Target. I'm sure many fans won't ever land a copy of this CD with the Bonus tracks!!!!

11/14/2018 08:34:26

Well... 8 notices of a "Delay" in my shipment later, I FINALLY received this CD from Target. I hope others who have had the same issue receive theirs as well. For sure a CD I will enjoy for many years. Still amazed at Micky's vocals after all these years - "Dorian Gray" comes to mind...

Monkees' Christmas album arrives this Friday

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