Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Sesame Street records should have found themselves a good burner and copied the original 1975 release on to a CD to be manufactured. The two new songs were fair, but are no replacement for the tracks omitted from the CD from the original. For one thing, several cast members; Will Lee's Mr. Hooper, Northern Calloway's David, and several others have sadly passed on now, so I was even more saddened to discover the classical "Christmas Story" removed jump-cutting immediately to Ernie and Bert's HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS. Also David's beatnik NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS ON SESAME STREET was such a cute tune from the original. Luis and Maria's Spanish Christmas songs SALUDO and ARRURRU were also removed. Why? Probably to add Elmo and all of the new characters in to replace. For instance when Harry incorrectly praises "Wreck the Halls" as his favorite carol he is corrected by David in the original, this time Elmo corrects him. I am hoping a more definitive version of the CD is released and precisely similar to the original 1975 album. For those of you from the new generation unfamiliar with the original, the tracks were as followed: 1) Sesame Street Christmas Overture 2) We Wish You A Merry Christmas 3) Medley: Deck the Halls, Jingle Bells, White Christmas, Winter Wonderland 4) I Hate Christmas 5) A Christmas Story 6) Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 7) The 12 Days of Christmas 8) Medley: It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas, Silver Bells, The Christmas Song, Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 9) The Night Before Christmas On Sesame Street 10) Saludo 11) Arrurru 12) All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth 13) A Christmas Pageant 14) Keep Christmas With You All Through the Year 15) We Wish You A Merry Christmas (Reprise) OK, the songs that are still there are all great, but even more problematic is the CD cover isn't equivalent at all to the original album design. If a definitive version of the CD is released, the artwork from the album's centerfold and linear notes should be included as well. Would this not make a more affectionate tribute to this Holiday gem? Save your money and wait to see if the original comes back. If you own the album, find your old phonograph and play for Christmas. I never understand why people bother to tamper with the originals, as they are always the best.