Echoes of Christmas Past
Good cheer still reverberates in a season with few Yuletide releases
By Bliss 12/17/2009
There’s a lot to recommend a season of light and hope, particularly during an era as wrought with uncertainty and loss as ours. But there’s not much to recommend this season’s slate of holiday releases. Some of the best holiday recordings to hit sales racks are reissues of material first issued more than a quarter of a century ago. And Aretha’s and Dylan’s much-ballyhooed Christmas albums? The less said, the better.
TEN OUT OF TENN, Christmas (TOT): (3 stars out of 5)
Comprised of Tennessee singer-songwriters Butterfly Boucher, Griffin House, Jeremy Lister, Trent Dabbs, Katie Herzig, KS Rhoads, Erin McCarley, Andy Davis, Tyler James and Matthew Perryman Jones, this enterprising indie collective has managed not only to mount a national tour that supports their group as well as individual efforts, but the Hotel Café darlings have also produced a holiday collection that blends dramatic traditionals (“O Come, Emmanuel,” “O Holy Night”) with grooving originals (especially Jeremy Lister’s “Santa’s Lost His Mojo”) likely to be spun in seasons to come. myspace.com/tenoutoftenn.
LINNZI ZAORSKI, It’s a Wonderful Record (Summertone): (3 stars out of 5)
Zaorski’s retro leanings are evident in her song choices: “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm,” “Baby It’s Cold Outside,” “Mele Kalikimaka” and other holiday chestnuts that evoke the heyday of Bing Crosby and the Andrews Sisters. Her girlish, somewhat jazzy chanteuse style is nicely complemented by arrangements swinging with clarinet, ukulele and pedal steel. She’s at her best on lighthearted tracks like “Shimmy on Down My Chimney” and “The Man with the Bag.” CD release party at the Redwood Bar in downtown LA Friday. myspace.com/linnzizaorski.
STING, If on a Winter’s Night… (Deutsche Grammophon): (2 stars out of 5)
While revelers at a recent party were swapping notes on new holiday releases, someone mentioned looking forward to hearing Sting’s new Christmas album. Correction: This is NOT a holiday album. It’s beautifully produced and performed — the musicianship is excellent across the board — but it is also ponderous and chilly enough to make Tori Amos’ “Midwinter Graces” seem positively tropical in comparison. Sting’s self-imposed frost only thaws during the relatively upbeat “Soul Cake” and his elegant setting for Robert Louis Stevenson’s poem “Christmas at Sea.” sting.com.
RAY CHARLES, The Spirit of Christmas (Concord): (4 stars out of 5)
It’s a sad statement about 2009’s spate of holiday releases that some of the best holiday recordings to hit the sales racks this year are reissues of material first issued at least a quarter of a century ago, if not longer. “Christmas with Sinatra and Friends” gathers Christmas classics recorded over the years by Ol’ Blue Eyes, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Mel Tormé, and Ray Charles & Betty Carter. It’s an enjoyable collection, especially for newcomers to the Rat Pack. Brother Ray’s reissued “Spirit of Christmas” brightens the season with jazzy charts and arguably the most soulful renditions put down of “Little Drummer Boy” and “Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.” Includes bonus track of “Baby It’s Cold Outside” duet with Betty Carter. concordmusicgroup.com.
VARIOUS ARTISTS, A Family Christmas (Putumayo): (3 stars out of 5)
A pleasant if tame collection of family-friendly holiday tunes from the rootsier end of the musical spectrum; it’s not hard to imagine Junior and Grandma both finding something to like here. Lars Edegran & His Santa Claus Revelers with Big Al Carson jolly up “Frosty the Snowman” with a trip to New Orleans, while Martin Sexton, Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, Leon Redbone, Kate Rusby, and the Christmas Jug Band featuring Angela Strehli and Maria Muldaur celebrate the holiday in various shades of blues and soul. putumayo.com.
VARIOUS ARTISTS, Safety Harbor Kids Holiday Collection (Face the Music): (3 stars out of 5)
An admirable collection that corrals a host of respected players — including Jackson Browne & Inara George, the Bird and the Bee, Breakestra, Peabo Bryson & Paige O’Hare, Sheila E., Billy Idol, Jimmy Webb, Bird York, Little Feat’s Paul Barrere and Fred Tackett — to help orphans and homeless kids. The most enjoyable tracks generally come from lesser-known artists: Valerie Davis’ “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Teresa James’ “Jingle Bell Rock” and Amilia K Spicer’s loop-based take on “Silent Night” are among the winners here. safetyharborkids.net.
SUGARLAND, Gold and Green (Mercury): (3 stars out of 5)
How much you like this country duo’s Christmas offering depends on your tolerance for Jennifer Nettles’ roaring freight train of a voice, not to mention Sugarland’s by-now obligatory anthemic choruses. The big keeper is “Coming Home,” a rousing, gospel-inflected power ballad that’s the most compelling song of the 10 presented, largely because it feels the most honest. “City of Silver Dreams” and acoustic/bilingual “Silent Night” have moving moments, but the shiny, overamped production ultimately make this feel like a cheap toy that falls apart shortly after you open it. sugarlandmusic.com.
VARIOUS ARTISTS, Gift Wrapped: 20 Songs That Keep on Giving (Warner Bros.): (2 stars out of 5)
Most of these songs have been previously released, but the interesting twist is that this digital collection offers both Christmas and Hanukkah songs, in addition to some that have not previously seen the light of digital day. In a veritable pop music cornucopia, the most glittering goodies come from the Flaming Lips, Jeremy Lister, Blake Shelton, My Chemical Romance, Michael Bublé, Dwight Yoakam and REM. wbr.com.
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