Their first three Christmas albums however are essential and they get played every Christmas in my house (at least they are in my shuffle Christmas playlist).
Everything released after that is basically those first three albums re-recorded. Total rip-off for anybody who already owned those first three albums. Really disappointed that they would take that approach.
I also paid good money to take my family to a Mannheim Steamroller concert about 15 years back. Turns out they were not the actual Chip Davis band you hear on the recordings but an imitation band. I guess around Christmas, there can be as many as three "Mannheim Steamroller" outfits doing concerts around the country and Chip Davis himself is pretty much retired (and counting his money).
It was a fine performance and all but I felt a little ripped off.
We had that same thing with the “Contours” an old Motown band.
There’s three versions out there, there’s only one original member still around, and he’s on one of the three bands.