Welcome to The Night Owl's 9th annual Christmas CD buyer's guide! The last three years' issues have been less of a buyer's guide, and more of an excuse to put together a new edition of Night Owl Radio. This year (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) will be following in that same path.
It seems that over the last 2 or 3 years, with a few exceptions, record companies are content to repackage and reissue the same old titles, expecting consumers to buy them again and again. Luckily, you have The Night Owl to guide you in the right direction when it comes to the myriad of holiday titles out there. I'll mention a few of this year's better releases, and then let you know which one's to stay away from.
Two
of the season's best releases this year come from independent artists. James
Hollihan & The Symphony of Guitars released
The Nutcracker Suite - Sounds of the
Season, a collection of excerpts from The Nutcracker and other holiday
chestnuts--all played and overdubbed by Hollihan on various guitars. Some of
you may know Hollihan as the man responsible for Big Rhythm's A Swinging
Christmas--one of the best and most underrated holiday discs released in recent
memory. If you've never heard it, do yourself a favor and check it out.
The
other comes from Calvin L. Coolidge II (yes, he's a descendent of the 30th U.S.
president) entitled Christmas Joy - Volume
One. Like Sounds of the Season, this disc features Coolidge overdubbing a
wide variety of instruments, perfect for listening while opening presents, or
during Christmas dinner with the family. Both of these discs are available
through the artist's websites (click on the links above), and a track from each
is featured on this year's Night Owl Radio.
If you're looking a jazz
fan, there are a couple of titles to look for this year.
Jazz
Yule Love is an excellent collection of Christmas music played by some of
jazz's finest. Highlights include a pair of tracks each from Pete Jolly, and
Cedar Walton's Eastern Rebellion. However, the track that really stands out is
"Christmas Heart" from legendary keyboardist, Les McCann. This is one of the
coolest new holiday tunes in recent memory and one that I'm sure you'll be
hearing for years to come.
Also
featured on Jazz Yule Love is Kenny Burrell, whose 1966 classic
Have
Yourself a Soulful Little Christmas was just reissued by the folks at
Verve. Out of print for years, this timeless classic is a must for jazz guitar
fans--a great record from start to finish. Burrell had a sizeable hit with The
Little Drummer Boy shortly after the album was released, and to date, it
remains one of the best versions of the song out there. Collectors take
note--this CD will only be available until 2006. Be sure to grab a copy before
it goes out of print again.
Ringo
Starr released the first full-length Christmas album from a Beatle in 1999,
originally titled I Wanna Be Santa Claus. The disc has been rather hard to find
since it's initial release, but luckily for those who missed out the first
time, it was reissued this year as part of UMG's
20th
Century Masters Christmas Collection. The CD features a number of
highlights, including a cover of The Beatles' "Christmas Time Is Here Again"
and a playful romp on "Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer" that's not to be
missed.
Country
fans will love this year's
A Very
Special Acoustic Christmas, with its proceeds benefiting the Special
Olympics. This year's unplugged effort is better than the more recent ones
(this is the sixth in the series) and loaded with country music superstars like
Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson and Willie Nelson (who contributes a great version
of Charles Brown's "Please Come Home for Christmas"). Other highlights include
Earl Scruggs' bluegrass take on "Jingle Bells" and Norah Jones (who seems oddly
out of place here) with her cover of Horace Silver's "Peace."
Looking for
something for the guitar hero fans on your list? Check out Gary Hoey's
Ho! Ho!
Hoey: The Complete Collection. Hoey plays a little bit of everything from
rock to blues, funk to country, along with the occasional acoustic tune thrown
in for good measure. While it's not actually 'complete' ("Rudolph the Red Nosed
Reindeer" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" are missing and "Cookies
and Eggnog" on Disc 2 is actually "Joy to the World" from Disc 1--an apparent
mastering error). Still, the thing that makes this collection so good is that
it's different from what you're probably used to hearing around the
holidays.
Speaking of rock
holiday tunes, there's a new one out for the fans of 80's hair bands, cleverly
entitled
We Wish
You a Hairy Christmas. With tracks from the likes of Warrant (they do a
cover of The Kinks' "Father Christmas"), Bullet Boys, and Faster Pussycat, this
one's sure to conjure up visions of synchronized hair swinging. Half of the
songs are originals, the rest are more 'traditional.' However, aside from the
tracks by LA Guns and Tuff, this one's nothing spectacular.
One
of the most successful holiday albums (and one that for whatever reason has
never been featured in our buyer's guides) is
A
Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector. With classics from Darlene Love,
The Ronettes, and The Crystals, this collection has been called the greatest
rock & roll Christmas album of all time. Although it's hard to dispute the
album's musical importance, listening to it today, this CD is beginning to show
its age. The arrangements sound stale, and the vocals are muddy. From a
nostalgic standpoint, it has its place, but the songs themselves can be found
on other CDs in much better versions. One last thing, be sure to program out
the last track so you're not subjected to Spector's high-pitched spoken holiday
wishes.
Now let's get to
the CDs to avoid. Most prog-rock fans are aware of the California Guitar Trio.
The three guitarists are all stellar musicians and I had high expectations for
A
Christmas Album (released in 2002, but not received in time to make last
years' guide). Unfortunately, aside from "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring" and John
Lennon's "Happy Xmas," the disc is just boring. Not necessarily bad, just
boring. If you're a huge CGT fan, you'll want this for your collection.
Otherwise, skip this one.
The worst holiday disc released
this year is without a doubt, The Moody Blues'
December.
I grew up being a fan of the Moodies (or what's left of them--they're a
three-piece band now) and even though I thought their last few albums were
lame, I had high expectations for this one. With the band's classical
influences throughout their career, you would think that they'd be tailor made
for a collection of holiday tunes, right? I couldn't be more wrong. Each song
was worse than the next. It was all I could do to keep from hitting the eject
button. Quite possibly, the worst holiday disc ever recorded.
Now that we've got that out of the way, let's get to this year's Christmas edition of Night Owl Radio! Like always, we have a wide variety of tunes lined up for you this year. From Dean Martin to Dweezil Zappa, Darlene Love to B.B. King, and Willie Nelson to the ever-popular Mannheim Steamroller, we've covered just about all the bases once again this year. To see the complete track listing and to listen to this year's show, just click on the image below...
From all of us here at The Night Owl, we'd like to wish you and yours a Happy Holiday and best wishes for a safe and Happy New Year!
Other recommended holiday titles from The Night Owl:
Louis Armstrong -
20th
Century Masters (Hip-O)
David Benoit -
Remembering
Christmas (GRP)
Big Rhythm -
A
Swingin' Christmas (Warner Brothers)
Charles Brown -
Cool
Christmas Blues (Bullseye Blues)
Ray Charles -
The
Spirit of Christmas (Atlantic/Rhino)
Bing Crosby -
The
Voice of Christmas (MCA/Decca)
Eagles -
Please
Come Home For Christmas (Elektra)
Esquivel -
Merry
Xmas From the Space-Age Bachelor Pad (Bar None)
Ella Fitzgerald -
Ella
Wishes You a Swinging Christmas (Universal)
Vince Guaraldi Trio -
A
Charlie Brown Christmas (Fantasy)
Vince Guaraldi Trio -
A
Charlie Brown Christmas (Fantasy SACD)
Gary Hoey -
Ho! Ho!
Hoey (Surf Dog)
Gary Hoey -
Ho! Ho!
Hoey II (Surf Dog)
Gary Hoey -
Ho! Ho!
Hoey III (Surf Dog)
Gary Hoey -
The
Best of Ho! Ho! Hoey (Surf Dog)
Spike Jones -
Let's
Sing a Song of Christmas (Verve)
Arthur Lyman -
With a
Christmas Vibe (Rykodisc)
Mannheim Steamroller -
Christmas
(American Gramaphone)
Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr. -
Christmas
with The Rat Pack (Capitol)
Elvis Presley -
Elvis'
Christmas Album (RCA)
Bob Rivers -
Chipmunks
Roasting on an Open Fire (Atlantic)
Bob Rivers -
I am
Santa Claus (Atlantic)
Bob Rivers -
More
Twisted Christmas (Atlantic)
Bob Rivers -
Twisted
Christmas (Atlantic)
Jimmy Smith -
Cookin'
Christmas (Verve)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra -
Christmas
Eve And Other Stories (Atlantic/Lava)
Trans-Siberian Orchestra -
The
Christmas Attic (Atlantic/Lava)
Vince Vance & The Valiants -
All I
Want For Christmas is You (Waldoxy)
Various Artists -
A
Country Superstar Christmas (Hip-O)
Various Artists -
A Very
Special Christmas (A&M)
Various Artists -
A Very
Special Christmas 2 (A&M)
Various Artists -
Billboard
Greatest Christmas Hits 1935-1954 (Rhino)
Various Artists -
Billboard
Greatest Christmas Hits 1955-Present (Rhino)
Various Artists -
Billboard
Presents: Family Christmas Classics (Rhino)
Various Artists -
Blue
Yule (Rhino)
Various Artists -
Bullseye
Blues Christmas (Bullseye Blues)
Various Artists -
Christmas
Songs (Milestone)
Various Artists -
Dr.
Demento's Holidays in Dementia (Rhino)
Various Artists -
Hipster's
Holiday (Rhino)
Various Artists -
How the
Grinch Stole Christmas (soundtrack) (Interscope)
Various Artists -
Jazz
for Joy (Verve)
Various Artists -
Jazz to
the World (Blue Note)
Various Artists -
Merry
Axemas: A Guitar Christmas (Epic)
Various Artists -
Merry
Axemas 2: More Guitars For Christmas (Epic)
Various Artists -
MTV's
TRL Christmas (Atlantic/Lava)
Various Artists -
Natty
& Nice: A Reggae Christmas (Rhino)
Various Artists -
Punk
Rock Xmas (Rhino)
Various Artists -
Superstar
Christmas (Epic)
Various Artists -
The
Best Christmas Ever (Virgin)
Various Artists -
Ultra
Lounge: Christmas Cocktails (Capitol)
Various Artists -
Ultra
Lounge: Christmas Cocktails 2 (Capitol)
Various Artists -
Yule B'
Swingin' (Hip-O)
Various Artists -
Yule Be
Boppin' (Blue Note)
Dwight Yoakum -
Come on
Christmas (Reprise)