Christmas CD Suggestions

Up front, I've got to tell you that I have a mild addiction to Christmas CDs. It has gotten to the point that I allow myself up to a maximum of two new Christmas CDs every new year, to prevent wholesale damage to my credit rating. The first step in curing an addiction is to admit the problem, and so that I've done. :-)

Therefore, I have a pretty solid working knowledge of the Christmas CDs available, and I have some suggestions as to some music that you may or may not have yet. Let's see what I find in my Holiday CD section of the old home collection:

ESSENTIAL CDs:

1. Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack - Vince Guaraldi Trio: If you can only have one Christmas CD, this is the one to have. It's timeless, and it's a fantastic jazz CD besides.
2. A Christmas Gift For You - Phil Spector and Friends: The monster producer Phil Spector got together a bunch of his stable of performers back in 1963, and using his "Wall of Sound" production techniques, came up with this great collection of Christmas tunes. It's worth it for any of the 13 cuts, but I especially love Darlene Love's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" and The Ronettes version of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Awesomely great.
3. Santa's Got A Brand New Bag - James Brown: Oh My God! You'll just have to trust me on this one, but it never fails to bring joy to my day when I hear JB crank up the funky stuff for these holiday tunes! He shrieks his way through "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting...)," and that's pretty fun, but the great songs are the originals. "Santa Claus Go Straight to the Ghetto," "Go Power At Christmas Time," and "It's Christmas Time (Part 1)," are all classic JB raveups, not to be missed. He even takes on some blues tunes, and makes them his own, too. You Got To, Got To, Got To get this one. Good God! Unnhhhh!
   
4. If Every Day Was Like Christmas - Elvis Presley: You just gotta have Elvis, right? This particular compilation of The King's Christmas tunes is chock full of winners, including the essential "Blue Christmas." I like his take on "Santa Claus Is Back In Town," too, as well as a bopping "Here Comes Santa Claus."
5. The Sinatra Christmas Album - Frank Sinatra: I'm talking about "J-I-N-G-L-E Bells (woo!)" The Chairman of the Board swings his way through 14 tunes, but none better than "Jingle Bells."
   
6. The Christmas Music of Johnny Mathis: A Personal Collection - Johnny Mathis: This is required listening at holiday time here at Casa Clement. Johnny Mathis is a masterful singer, and his version of "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" is worth the cost of the collection. I also like his odd take on "Carol of the Bells" from his "Christmas with Johnny Mathis" CD, if you find it available. He just sings the tenor part as a more or less lead vocal, with the other parts of the standard choral arrangement as his "accompaniment." Weirdly effective.
7. A Very Special Christmas, Vol. 1-3 - Various Artists: These three CDs are chock full of great (and a few not so great) versions of classic Christmas tunes, along with quite a few original Christmas tunes by rockers, rappers, soul stylists and country artists. Volume 2 is the weakest of the three, if you have to make a choice. Volume 1 is my favorite, and it includes a really great Run-DMC tune, "Christmas In Hollis," which is just awesome. That volume also has one of the few Madonna performances that I've enjoyed, her take on "Santa Baby." It's perfect for her. The only clinker on Vol. 1 is the billy goat singer, Stevie Nicks, doing "Silent Night." On Volume 3, my highlight is Jonny Lang's burning performance on "Santa Claus Is Back In Town."
8. Now That's What I Call Christmas! (Vol. 1) - Various Artists: I mention this one mainly for those looking for a single two-disc collection to cover most of their Christmas musical needs. This one collects a bunch of one-off Christmas pieces in one place that are aggravating to locate otherwise. Included here are "Little Saint Nick" by the Beach Boys, a taste of Frank and Johnny (see above), Bruce Springsteen's essential take on "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," "White Christmas" by Bing, Nat King Cole, the Carpenters, "Rocking Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee, the original "Jingle Bell Rock," "Santa Got Run Over By A Reindeer," and many more. Disc Two has a bunch of new performances that don't do much for me, but pretty much everyone needs this collection anyway. It even has John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)," which remains an odd but effective song.
   

Non-Essential, but Great Additional CDs:

1. The Beach Boys' Christmas Album - The Beach Boys: Not an essential album, but they do have one song that IS essential, the great "Little Saint Nick." What a great tune!
2. Light Of The Stable - Emmylou Harris: The wonderful Ms. Harris wraps her voice around 10 tunes, and it's magical. Might be a little too country for some of you, but it's terrific. Of course, I'd probably be happy listening to her sing the telephone book listings, so caveat emptor and all that. :-)
   
3. Blue Yule / The Alligator Records Christmas Collection - various artists: These two blues Christmas collections are big fun. Being blues records, most of the songs are about, uh, good lovin', but it don't make it any less of a holiday celebration, right? "Please Let Me Be Your Santa Claus" and "Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin'" are about as great as it gets. Makes the lyrics "Shaking 'round your Christmas tree" and "Coming down the chimney tonight" take on entirely new meanings!
   

Jazzy Stuff:

1. He Is Christmas - Take 6: These guys can really sing, and they do wonderful versions of the tunes here. I love their highly original speed rap take on "The Night Before Christmas," revisited here as "Twas Da Nite." Brilliant!
2. Hymns, Carols and Songs About Snow - Tuck Andress: Tuck Andress is pretty much a musical genius. At least a genius with the guitar. He is so good, and he does some magical things on these 13 cuts. When you listen, realize that there are no tricks, no overdubs, no patches or fixes...it's all one guy, one guitar, played at one time. How does he do some of that stuff, anyway?
   
3. A GRP Christmas Collection - Various Artists: A variety of jazzy players doing their thing. It's fun to take the journeys with them, as they state a familiar theme, and then proceed to places new and exciting.
   
4. The Carols of Christmas - Windham Hill Artists: Yeah, I know. Windham Hill. The label that gave us the musical genre "New Age." But don't hold that against this CD. While there are a handful of those atmospheric type pieces that made Windham Hill famous, there's plenty of great stuff here. This CD is worth buying for two cuts: the late, great Michael Hedges' celtic take on "What Child is This?" and the unbelieveable "Carol of the Bells" played by master classical guitarist Manual Barruecco and rock/fusion player Steve Morse.

Classical Stuff:

1. Messiah - G. F. Handel: You need at least a "Best Of" single disc sampler of this masterpiece oratorio, if not the complete two-disc set. There are a zillion possible choices, but I have two favorites. For original instruments, I like Christopher Hogwood leading the Academy of Ancient Music. The great Emma Kirby is one of the sopranos, and she is wonderful here. This is probably my favorite version of all. For the giant chorus/giant orchestra school, I favor the one conducted by Andrew Davis. He leads the Toronto Symphony and Choir on this one. The soloists are terrific, especially the baritone/bass Samuel Ramey and the soprano Kathleen Battle. There are many recorded versions, though, and almost any of them will do the job for background listening.
2. Christmas Night - Carols of the Nativity - The Cambridge Singers: John Rutter conducts a sublime choir, and this is just magnificent from start to finish.
3. Christmas Carols and Motets - The Tallis Scholars: Now, this one is going back in time. Way back. The Tallis Scholars only record music from the way back machine, but they are probably the best at what they do. This is a capella singing by a small group of singers, and the recording is spectacular. Don't worry if all the lyrics are in Olde English, Latin, or ancient Germanic tongues...just let the music wash over you.

So, that's it. One man's obsessive thoughts on the Music of the Season. If you want the bare bones collection, I'd go with "Messiah," the Christopher Hogwood version; A Charlie Brown Christmas; Now That's What I Call Christmas! (the original); and Phil Spector's Christmas Album. Start there, and then next year, add something else from the list. Have fun listening!