But alas, I am not going to make those comments (even though I pretty much did in that last paragraph). Instead this year I would like to point out the musical genius of a few Christmas albums that you have some familiarity with and a few you might not, just to show you I am not a heartless bastard who likes to do drive-bys on Christmas music.
"A Charlie Brown Christmas" by the Vince Guaraldi Trio (1965)Perhaps the quintessential Christmas album. You are probably thinking it is overplayed, but the reality is only two songs on this album receive major airtime, and one is significantly cut. "Linus and Lucy" is the most frequent, and "O Tannenbaum" is the second most frequent, though the song itself has been shortened in length quite harshly.
The rest of the songs on this album are terrific, but they are heard infrequently. It is all the more reason to appreciate it as a masterful Jazz composition as well as a masterful Christmas composition. The Vince Guaraldi Trio was a brilliant group, and without the soundtrack, the show itself would not have been the same.
This is an album very near and dear to my heart, and I'd say it is my second favorite album of all time. Of all of the albums listed on here, it is by far the most retro in sound, and sadly the songs on this album receive zero airtime on the radio.
Most of the songs on here are medleys, which is interesting as you do not get many medleys anymore (when was the last time you heard one on the radio?). But the transitions are flawless and the voices are very smooth. The orchestra is fantastic.
Unfortunately, this kind of album could not be produced today, as by today's standards (however unusual), this might come across as too generic. And for its brilliance, it is very simplistic and easy to listen to.
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"Christmas with the Rat Pack"I try to avoid compilations if I can but this collection of songs by Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. is probably as good of a collection as any. While it does not cover the entire Christmas selection, this album covers the highlights (though I strongly recommend you pick up their individual Christmas collections).
You may be thinking that a handful of these songs are overplayed, namely Dean Martin's "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" and "Baby it's Cold Outside". This is true, they are overplayed. However, for being played as often as they are, they are not particularly as annoying as say "Last Christmas" by Wham!
Any way you slice it, the Rat Pack is class defined.
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"Dr. Demento Presents the Greatest Christmas Novelty CD of All Time"
You know how I said I try to stay away from compilations? Yeah, I lied. This is a very unusual album, and occasionally these songs will find their way onto the radio. It is by its definition a novelty CD. The songs that most frequently find airtime are "Christmas Don't Be Late" by the Chipmunks and "Grandma Got Runover by a Reindeer" by Elmo and Patsy.
In a few rare instances (like today on a station that barely was coming in out of Cleveland) you will come across a song like "Santa Claus and His Old Lady" by Cheech and Chong, which is hilarious, or "The 12 Days of Christmas" by Bob and Doug McKenzie, which is equally hilarious. But outside of that, don't count on hearing any of these gems. This one is definitely worth a listen.
"Twisted Sister Christmas" by Twisted Sister (2006)"Oh Come All Ye Faithful" is hilarious as it reworks "We're Not Gonna Take It", so even though it is a Christmas song, you still come away feeling pissed off at the world.
I hope some of these albums bring happiness and joy to your Christmas season. Some are brilliant masterpieces while others bring Christmas music to the lowest common denominator.
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Enjoy!
The Mang
Conservative Capo of Youngstown
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