Various ‎– A Christmas Record

You know, overall I'd say this was great - just less than perfect. True, Ze used the edited version of "It's A Holiday," and they left off the Three Courgettes track - presumably because the group was signed to their distributor, Island, and not Ze proper. And, I couldn't really care less about the newer tracks, which sound like they are on the wrong album.

But, I was thrilled to have this great music on CD, and the liner notes are first rate. And, in 2008, they put out a complete version as MP3 download under the original title with original artwork. It includes all 14 cuts from all editions (though it still uses the short version of "Holiday," which it deceptively labels as "extended").

Oh boy did ZE ever mess up big time with this CD reissue - Why oh why can you tell me that the original 1981/92 ZE Christmas LP featured a mix of Material and Nona Hendry's "It's A Holiday" that was well over 7 mins long, but this CD only has a single edit that's only a little over 3 mins long? You'd think if they were going to the trouble of doing a CD reissue they'd at least keep the Original Full-Length Mix? Sloppy and sad for true collectors.