The Heaven's A-Blaze

I've got a double handful of remasters to share with you this season, and this is the first of those. It also comes with a little story about paying attention to what's in your record collection. I shared this record out with you many years ago in 2011. I didn't think too much of it then, but my tastes have changed a bit over the ensuing years, or maybe I just have warm memories of recording and sharing it back in the day. Listening to it recently while re-recording it for a new share, I'm struck by the fact that this doesn't sound like a bunch of high school students. This sounds to my ears like an adult choir. I'm wondering if they just leased an extant recording and put their own name on it to sell as a fundraiser? Not sure we'll ever know whether or not that's the case unless we can identify the actual singing group through a different release. Maybe there's a clue in the name of the conductor-arranger, Bob Lowden. Mmmm... Oh, and the other story. I had three copies of this LP in the archives, and I was into the scanning process before I realized they weren't all the same. Two of them were identical but the third copy appeared to have been custom printed for a special division of DECA located in Delaware. I don't believe the music is any different, but you can see some different printing on the jacket. I scanned both of them and included it in the download for you, completist that I am. I'm sure you'll enjoy this remaster of The DECA Blazers-Arranged & Conducted By Bob Lowden-Merry Christmas (Melrose DBX-1, Stereo, 1968). I was planning to drop the cover scan in here of the Delaware version, but then I realized they were both the same. So you can only see the one cover here but trust me, there are more scans in the download.

Update: A reader noticed that two of the tracks on the flip side were wrong according to the track listing on the sleeve (the one I used to tag the tracks). The tracklist is correct on the labels as near as I can tell. It moves Bring A Torn Janette down one slot closer to the end, and replaces What Child Is This? with Tannenbaum. I've uploaded a new version to MEGA, I hope it's correct now. That's screw-up number one for the 2025 Christmas season.)

1. Joy To The World
2. While By My Sheep
3. Carol Of The Bells
4. Angels We Have Heard On High
5. I Wonder As I Wander
6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
7. Greensleeves
8. Carol Of The Drums
9. Silent Night
10. O Come All Ye Faithful
11. The Holly And The Ivy
12. Stars Of Ice
13. Go Tell It On The Mountain
14. Carol Noel

15. Tannenbaum
16. Bring A Torch Janette
17. Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming
18. First Noel

MEGA