Holiday Music Preview '98
by Seth Rogovoy

(WILLIAMSTOWN, Nov. 27 1998) -- There's something for everyone -- even klezmer fans! -- in the new wave of seasonal and holiday-themed recordings that have crossed this desk in the last few weeks and months.

At some point in every pop diva's career it comes time to make a Christmas album, and this season it's Celine Dion's turn. Dion's "These Are Special Times" (550 Music/Epic) mixes traditional songs such as "Ave Maria" and "O Come All Ye Faithful" with such modern fare as Mel Torme's "Christmas Song," Jose Feliciano's "Feliz Navidad" and John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)." She also tackles two numbers by Johannes Brahms, and tries out a cool-jazz version of "Blue Christmas." Dion's over-the-top vocal style is well-suited to her epic, choral rendition of "O Holy Night," but the album's commercial hopes lie on its single, "I'm Your Angel," a duet with R&B heartthrob R. Kelly. Chances are Dion will perform a few of these selections at her concert at the Pepsi Arena in Albany on Dec. 1.

Pop-folk singer-songwriter star Shawn Colvin checks in with "Holiday Songs and Lullabies" (Columbia), an album of 14 holiday-themed folk songs and lullabies. Inspired by the children's book "Lullabies and Night Songs" by Maurice Sendak, the album -- which includes some of Sendak's illustrations -- includes a few of the usual suspects, e.g., "Silent Night," but mostly steers clear of the tried and true to highlight quiet, sleepy, lesser-known chestnuts, including the Vince Guaraldi favorite, "Christmas Time Is Here," from the Peanuts cartoons.

The Guaraldi song also surfaces on Kenny Loggins's "December" (Columbia), which like Colvin's boasts a quiet, wintry mood. In addition to a handful of original tunes, Loggins tackles favorites including Torme's "Christmas Song," Irving Berlin's "White Christmas" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." David Crosby and Graham Nash lend harmonies to a version of the 16th century's "Coventry Carol."

While they may not be household names, among aficionados Mike Marshall, Darol Anger, Philip Aaberg, Alison Brown, Todd Phillips and Tim O'Brien constitute a supergroup of new-acoustic musical talent. The sextet joins forces on "A Christmas Heritage" (Six Degrees/Koch), a mostly instrumental album which veers from traditional folk ("Greensleeves") to new-age ("Gypsy Winter") to original, genre-bending tunes such as the aptly-titled, Celtic-influenced "Newgrange." The Hebrew tune "Haveinu Shalom Aleichem" even sneaks its way into a bluegrassy Christmas medley on this unassuming album, which will be performed live at the National Music Center in Lenox next Saturday, Dec. 5.

Tchaikovsky's "Nutcracker Suite" is a perennial holiday favorite, given a totally new spin by Boston-based klezmer outfit Shirim. "Klezmer Nutcracker" (Newport Classic) reworks Tchaikovsky's original music, already based in Russian folk, tweaking its rhythms and modalities just slightly enough to justify changing the "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies" to the "Dance of the Latkes Queens." The clever and well-performed CD also includes klezmerized versions of music by Mahler, Brahms, Satie and Chopin. "Noels Celtiques" (Green Linnet) is a gorgeous collection of traditional Breton carols performed by L'Ensemble Choral du Bout. This choir of over one-hundred voices, based in Brittany, the Celtic region of France, is accompanied by period instrumentation, including cornemuse, flutes, claviers, guitars and percussion, lending the music an ethereal, otherworldly texture.

"When I See Winter Return" (Waterbug) by William Pint and Felicia Dale is a collection of Anglo-Irish and European folk tunes. Pint and Dale harmonize and accompany themselves on hurdy-gurdy, guitar, mandolin, whistles and bodhran.

Those preferring a plugged-in holiday celebration will rejoice to the sounds of "Merry Axemas, Vol. 2" (Epic). Like its predecessor of a few year's back, the album features leading rock and jazz-fusion guitarists tackling Christmas favorites such as "White Christmas" and "Deck the Halls," given a no-holds-barred, punk-thrash treatment here by Ted Nugent. It takes a certain kind of music fan to appreciate Mel Torme's "Christmas Song" rendered with fuzz and distortion, but apparently the first volume was popular enough to bring out this one, featuring tunes by guitarists from Journey, Whitesnake, Toto, Billy Idol, Ozzy Osbourne and Yes.

Pop star Cyndi Lauper takes the brave step on "Merry Christmas....Have a Nice Life" (Epic) of penning seven new tunes to go along with a handful of familiar ones. To her credit, Lauper's original material stands up to scrutiny, and her trademark wit shines through on a ska-lounge version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," the salsa/disco of "Christmas Conga," and on "Home on Christmas Day," in which she sings about "The drunken Santa on the corner [who] looks a little blue."

Those seeking to add a little soul (in the conventional sense) to their Christmas celebrations need look no further than "Christmas with Babyface"(Epic), featuring the superstar hitmaker/producer putting his distinctive, contemporary R&B touch on a selection of mainstream holiday favorites. "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" never sounded so funky; "The Little Drummer Boy," one of my personal, all-time favorites, is given an inventive reggae twist.

"Jermaine Dupri Presents 12 Soulful Nights of Christmas" (SoSoDef) packs 14 tracks by 14 different contemporary R&B stars, including Kenny Lattimore, Xscape, K-Ci and JoJo, Chaka Khan, Faith, Tamia, Trey Lorenz and Trina Broussard, tackling mostly original material, with a few traditional tunes thrown into the mix, which like Babyface's album adheres very much to the middle of the R&B road.

Shirley Caesar may not be as well-known as the chart-toppers on Jermaine Dupri's collection, but the acclaimed gospel singer invests her "Christmas with Shirley Caesar" (Word/Epic) with enough soul and funk to teach her better-known colleagues a thing or two about soulful testifying. Since when did "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" make you want to get up and boogie? It does here. The album also includes several original compositions, and some straight-ahead contemporary gospel tunes.

Robert J. Lurtsema's "Christmas Stories" (Philo) is just what its title indicates: a collection of readings by the host of public radio show "Morning Pro Musica." Lurtsema applies his considerable narrative skills to familiar tales including "'Twas the Night Before Christmas," "Yes, Virginia, There Is a Santa Claus" and O. Henry's "Gift of the Magi."

Finally, in addition to two CDs chock full of holiday classics such as "Jingle Bell Rock" by Bobby Helms, "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee, "Little Saint Nick" by the Beach Boys and "Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy" by Buck Owens, the "Yuletide Soiree" (Rhino) party pack comes complete with a three-ring binder book put together by the people at Bon Appetit magazine. The book includes three full holiday menus with recipes, a planning timeline, shopping lists, invitations that can be photocopied, decorating ideas with instructions, printed lyrics for Christmas carol sing-alongs and more than $16 worth of coupons to help you recover some of your investment in holiday music.

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[This column originally appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on Nov 27, 1998. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1998. All rights reserved.]