The Christmas Music of Mannheim Steamroller by Chip Davis

The Trans-Siberian Orchestra would later update and amp up the same formula with some progged-out electric guitars, but Mannheim Steamroller was the first outfit to make a fortune modernizing Christmas classics for New Age listeners. Their synthesized and comically dramatic arrangements of traditionals like “Carol of the Bells” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” have become such seasonal hits that the group has recorded only three non-holiday albums since their 1984 Yuletide breakthrough Mannheim Steamroller Christmas . Their latest album, 2008’s Christmasville , is their 10th Christmas-themed record. (Also Thursday, Dec. 23.)