Mannheim Steamroller | 30/40 | CD

Composer: Chip Davis.
Personnel: University of Michigan Men's Glee Club, Elyse Davis (vocals); Ron Cooley (12-string guitar, classical guitar, lute); Eric Hansen (classical guitar, lute, electric bass); Chip Davis (dulcimer, hammer dulcimer, recorder, synthesizer, drums, percussion, toys); Mary Walters (harp); David Low (cello); Willis Ann Ross (flute); Roxanne Layton (recorder, crumhorn); Bobby Jenkins (oboe, English horn); Tom Hartig (saxophone); David Kappy (French horn); Jackson Berkey (piano, grand piano, tack piano, toy piano, celesta, Fender Rhodes piano, harpsichord, clavichord, synthesizer).
Audio Mixers: Chip Davis; Don Sears; John Boyd; Brian Ackley.
Audio Remixers: Dave Cwirko; Brian Ackley.
Recording information: American Gramaphone studios; Cts Studios; Sound Recorders, Kansas City, MO; Sound Recorders, Omaha, NE; The Digital Livingroom; The Great Hall of University College School, London; The University of Downstairs; Universal Studios & Chicago Recording Company, Chicago.
Editors: Kelly Davis ; Mary Allen.
Arranger: Chip Davis.
Two different anniversaries are the focus of this 2014 anthology by composer Chip Davis' world-famous new age ensemble Mannheim Steamroller. The 30 in the album's title refers to the three decades since the release of their wildly successful Christmas collection, an album that would eventually go platinum six times over and inspire a bevy of sequels and tours, essentially turning the band into a veritable holiday industry. The 40 refers to Davis' debut album, Fresh Aire, which arrived a full decade before the Christmas album. Blending symphonic sounds with synthesizers and rock instrumentation, the first groundbreaking Fresh Aire album went gold and became the flagship name under which Mannheim Steamroller would operate for the next 40 years. The 30/40 collection takes a look back, offering 15 remastered tracks from both the Christmas and Fresh Aire series of albums as well as a new rendition of "Greensleeves" sung by Davis' daughter Elyse. ~ Timothy Monger

• Format: CD
• Genre: Christmas / Chanukkah
• Genre: Holiday
• Released: 10/21/2014