Thoughts of Christmas in Their Heads

While Christmas is still more than three months away, record companies are already gearing up for the critical weeks leading up to the holiday, when records sell at two to three times the normal rate.

Among the heavy hitters that will be vying for a spot in the top five on the national sales charts: Phil Collins, Janet Jackson, Michael Jackson, Whitesnake, Tears for Fears, Tracy Chapman and Terence Trent D’Arby.

Someone is bound to be squeezed out in this holiday crunch--but who? And which album, if any, will be this year’s “Dirty Dancing”? That sound-track sleeper managed to sneak past Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen to become the No. 1 album during the 1987 Christmas sales season.

Stan Goman, senior vice president of the 45-store Tower Records chain, predicted that Phil Collins’ still untitled album, due in early November, will be the one to beat. It’s Collins’ first solo collection since his 1985 blockbuster “No Jacket Required,” which sold more than 7 million copies and won the Grammy for album of the year.

Overall, Goman sees the holiday sales season shaping up as “slightly better” than last year, when releases by Anita Baker and U2 were the top gift items. But he expressed concern that the strong slate of home video releases, including “Batman,” “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” and “Bambi,” will provide stiff competition for the home entertainment dollar.

Collins’ album is one of several long-awaited follow-ups slated for release before Christmas. Tears for Fears’ “The Seeds of Love,” the English group’s first album since “Songs From the Big Chair” in 1985, and Janet Jackson’s “Rhythm Nation,” her first since “Control” in 1986, are both due Sept. 19.

Long-awaited albums also are due from Quincy Jones, Billy Joel and Tina Turner. Jones’ album, his first since the Grammy-winning “The Dude” in 1981, is scheduled for early November. Turner’s “Foreign Affair” is slated for Sept. 19. Joel’s album is due Oct. 17.

Greatest-hits sets are traditionally released to coincide with the Christmas gift-giving season, and this year is no exception. More than a dozen name artists are slated to issue hits compilations before the holidays.

Michael Jackson’s “Greatest Hits,” featuring three new songs, is due Nov. 14. The double album will include all nine of Jackson’s No. 1 hits in this decade. Barbra Streisand’s “A Collection: Greatest Hits . . . and More” is scheduled for the end of September, and Luther Vandross’ “The Best of Luther . . . the Best of Love” is due Oct. 17.

Two boxed sets are scheduled for release before Christmas. Rod Stewart’s four-CD “Storyteller” is due Oct. 31, and Muddy Waters’ three-CD, six-record “The Chess Box” is expected Nov. 7.

Both Bobby Brown and Jody Watley will be represented with compilations of dance remixes of selected hits, a la Madonna’s 1987 “You Can Dance” album. Hit compilations are also expected from New Edition, Billy Ocean, George Harrison, Eddie Money, Dwight Yoakam, Toto, Dionne Warwick, the Moody Blues and the Scorpions.

Two of the most critically acclaimed new artists of the ‘80s are scheduled to release their second albums before Christmas. Tracy Chapman’s “Crossroads,” her follow-up to a chart-topping, Grammy-winning debut, is due Oct. 3. And Terence Trent D’Arby is slated in late October with his follow-up to “Introducing the Hardline. . . .”

Other sophomore albums expected in the next few months: Keith Sweat’s “Keith,” Taylor Dayne’s “Can’t Fight Fate,” Melissa Etheridge’s “Brave and Crazy” and the Sugarcubes’ “Here Today Tomorrow Next Week.”

Whitesnake’s “Slip of the Tongue,” the band’s follow-up to a 1987 blockbuster that sold more than 5 million copies, is due Nov. 7. Another metal band, Aerosmith, is due in stores Monday with its latest, “Pump.”

New Kids on the Block, the teen quintet whose “Hangin’ Tough” is currently the No. 1 album, will release an album of Christmas songs on Sept. 19.

Other big guns due before Christmas: DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince’s “In This Corner,” Kenny G’s “Kenny G Live,” the Grateful Dead’s “Built to Last,” Randy Travis’ “No Holdin’ Back” and Linda Ronstadt’s “Cry Like a Rainstorm, Howl Like the Wind.”