THE BEAT
Holiday Music Roundup
by Seth Rogovoy(WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass., Nov. 28, 1997) -- With the Thanksgiving turkey now consigned to the status of leftovers, it's time to start planning the musical menu for seasonal celebrations - hence, our annual review of new releases of holiday music. Several of these albums are purported to be charity benefits, but we judge them not by their intentions but strictly on musical terms.
It's been four years since the previous superstar-studded entry in the "A Very Special Christmas" (A&M) series, but this year's version, the third, has to rank as a grave disappointment in comparison to the previous editions. The eclectic lineup, including Sting, Natalie Merchant, Blues Traveler, Sheryl Crow, Hootie and the Blowfish and Patti Smith, performing original compositions and old favorites, fails to generate the sort of gleeful holiday party mood of the earlier efforts.
There's nothing new on "Sounds of the Season" (Columbia), which assembles 11 previously released Christmas tracks by a cast of pop, rock, country soul and blues superstars including Willie Nelson, John Mellencamp, Tony Bennett and Shawn Colvin. But don't let that stop you, because it's one of the best compilations of its kind, kicking off with a gorgeous "Do You Hear What I Hear?" by country vocalist Vince Gill, and also including the Boss's classic rendition of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," to these ears the second-best holiday rock song ever recorded. (The first being the Kinks' "Father Christmas.)
The aptly-titled "Superstar Christmas" (Epic) follows the same basic formula, aiming for a slightly tamer audience with 16 pop- oriented cuts by the likes of Mariah Carey, Celine Dion and Frank Sinatra. Strangely enough, the album kicks off with John Lennon and Yoko Ono's classic holiday protest song, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)," but otherwise it's mostly middle-of-the-road fare by the likes of Placido Domingo, Neil Diamond, Amy Grant and Barbra Streisand. Question: Why does Michael Bolton sing "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" as if that's a very bad thing?
The also aptly-titled "Merry Axemas: A Guitar Christmas" (Epic) is full of invention, wit and surprise, with 11 renditions of familiar seasonal songs by rock and blues guitarists including Aerosmith's Joe Perry, Deep Purple's Steve Morse and Bon Jovi's Richie Sambora. The album veers all over the place stylistically, from the crunching electric blues of Kenny Wayne Shepherd's "Rudolph" to an acoustic- symphonic version of "The First Noel" by Eric Johnson to the stinging lead of Jeff Beck backed by a 30-voice choir on "Amazing Grace" to the Brian Setzer Orchestra's swinging, jump-blues version of "Jingle Bells."
"Soul Train Christmas Starfest" boasts 16 tracks of pure holiday soul from contemporary and veteran R&B artists including James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Patti Labelle, Boyz II Men, Johnny Gill, Simone Hines and Total Commitment. Most of the arrangements tend toward the lusher, pop side of soul, with a seasonally-fitting reliance on gospel choirs, but occasionally some funk surfaces, as on Az Yet's hip-hopped version of "O Come All Ye Faithful," En Vogue's "Silent Nite" and, of course, James Brown's "Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto."
While the "Warner Bros. Jazz Christmas Party" (yes, the record company put its name in the title) kicks off with neo-bopper Joshua Redman making mincemeat of "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," most of the album is devoted to what the industry calls "contemporary jazz," which is a polite way of saying jazz for people who don't really like jazz, but rather the musical equivalent of candy canes by the likes of Al Jarreau, Kirk Whalum, Michael Franks, Boney James and Bob James.
One of the best compilations of venerable holiday favorites is disguised as a children's album, but adults shouldn't overlook "A Child's Celebration of Christmas" (Music for Little People) for holiday chestnuts by the likes of Stevie Wonder, the Jackson 5, Pete Seeger, Gene Autry, the Roches, the Beach Boys and Chuck Berry. Where else can you find such classic novelties as Spike Jones' "All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)" and, yes, the Singing Dogs? Of course, kids will like it, too.
Speaking of novelties, the neo-cocktail lounge set will tip their martini glasses for "A Christmas Cocktail" (Milan), a new collection of old favorites done up in chic, faux-jazz style by Jaymz Bee and the Royal Jelly Orchestra. The liner notes include a recipe for Rudolph's Martini. Cheers.
Hillbilly rocker Dwight Yoakam takes a stab at a full-length album of holiday songs with "Come On Christmas" (Reprise). The album kicks off with the title track, a surprisingly moody new song by Yoakam that sounds like something Angelo Badalamenti wrote for a David Lynch movie. It would have been a gutsy move to make a whole album's worth of songs like this one exploring the dark side of the holiday, but the album quickly loses any hint of originality with typical fare such as Chuck Berry's "Run Run Rudolph." An incongruous Tex-Mex "Silver Bells," a Memphis soul-style "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and a big-band version of Mel Torme's "Christmas Song" merely remind a listener of the misguided, genre-hopping album of cover tunes Yoakam released earlier this year.
Contrast this with "Weiss Christmas" (Gadfly), a sparkling collection of mostly original tunes by singer-songwriter Ilene Weiss. A blend of serious and humorous songs that explore various aspects of the holiday, from the spiritual to the mundane, Weiss's songs and sound recall the Roches in their winsomeness and intelligence. Indeed, the Roches are on hand to help out, as are vocalists Loudon Wainwright and Julie Gold and top-notch instrumentalists David Mansfield and Frank London of the Klezmatics. Tunes include a first-person lament by a Christmas tree, a funky "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" followed by a hysterical rap by St. Nick, and a lusty love song by Mrs. Claus to her workaholic husband.
Three of traditional folk's most respected female vocalists, Priscilla Herdman, Anne Hills and Cindy Mangsen, join forces on "Voices of Winter" (Gadfly), a live recording of 16 mostly traditional seasonal songs with a few contemporary compositions. With minimal to no accompaniment, the three voices dance around each other with the grace and agility of ballerinas, in a vivid example of less is more. (Catch this trio at the Iron Horse in Northampton on Dec. 5.)
Another winter-themed effort is the compellingly suggestive "Through the Bitter Frost and Snow" (PRIME CD) by Susan McKeown and Lindsey Horner. This mostly acoustic, genre-hopping album by the much-acclaimed Celtic vocalist and jazz bassist includes carols, traditional folk songs and original compositions, performed in stark arrangements ranging from the acoustic funk of "Winter King" to a cappella ("Green Growth the Holly") to jazz-folk ("Bold Orion"). This is one holiday album boasting musical staying power far beyond the season.
McKeown also appears on "The Soul of Christmas: A Celtic Music Celebration with Thomas Moore" (Upaya/Tommy Boy), as do other Celtic stars including Johnny Cunningham, Seamus Egan, Jerry O'Sullivan and Liam Tiernan, on a selection of carols. The double CD includes a 64-page booklet written by Moore, as well as a spoken- word disk.
Not to be too Grinch-like, but Artists For Earth's "A Very Green Christmas" (Seventh Wave), featuring various New Age instrumentalists, including Suzanne Ciani, Paul McCandless and Alex de Grassi, is awfully cold and icy for what was intended to be "an environmentally concerned or `green' album," according to the liner notes. Like most New Age music, however, it makes good, inoffensive background music to shop or sleep by. Incidentally, don't let those liner notes fool you -- what claims to be an inclusive album for "the holiday season, be it Christmas, Chanukah, or a celebration of the solstice," contains only Christmas music.
[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Nov. 28, 1997. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1997. All rights reserved.]
Seth Rogovoy
rogovoy@berkshire.net
music news, interviews, reviews, et al.
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