Early Christmas Presents: John Denver and the Muppets: "A Christmas Together"

An early Christmas present was delivered to me this evening by a particularly charming elf: John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together. Perhaps not as well known a classic as the previously reviewed Charlie Brown album, the music on this CD whipped up memories of childhood for me.

I'm a Muppets fan, and I think the show and the ages at which I watched it had a big impact on my taste in music, my sense of humor and my love of puppetry as an art form. I was delighted when the first season of the show was released on DVD this August. However, there is something about hearing Kermit, Fozzie, Piggy and the gang singing classic Christmas carols that warms my soul. On top of that, as a performer, the very first puppet team I was on performed songs from this recording every year. I didn't know they were from this album until I popped it in tonight, but there's no forgetting Piggy's rendition of the "five golden rings" verse in Twelve Days of Christmas. Those were very happy times for me; learning an art form I had admired and enjoyed from childhood on. At the time, my eighth grade self actually argued that we shouldn't do that song because it was obviously Kermit and Piggy and lots of others whose voices were recognizable and didn't match the generic puppets that we owned. Now, I simply smile and cherish those memories.

The production quality on this CD may not match the remastered piano music I raved about in my last post, but the emotional wallop it packs for me is priceless.