SOUNDTRACK: CHRISTMAS All-Time Greatest Records (1990).
This is one of those Christmas compilations that S. or I buy every year. This one came from S.’s stockpile.
This one is meant to be on the traditional side, with a few surprises thrown in. Amazingly there are songs on this compilation that we don;t have on other ones. I mean, how many different versions of these songs are there (Answer: quite a lot). This collection is almost entirely unique in that there are about ten songs that don’t appear on any of our other collections. Cool.
BING CROSBY-“White Christmas” is a classic, but man, it’s kind of a downer. It’s not nearly as much of a downer as…
“I’ll be Home for Christmas” which is a truly lovely song and everyone loves singing it. And yet, lyrically, wow, it’s a bummer. “I’ll be home for Christmas, if only in my dreams.” It was written for soldiers overseas during WWII. This version is by GLEN CAMPBELL it’s quite slow and somber. His voice is quite nice too. When I listened to it I had no idea it was him.
NAT “KING” COLE-The Christmas Song is one of my favorites. It’s great to hear it every year.
LENA HORNE-“Winter Wonderland” I have a bunch of Christmas songs by Lena Horne, but again, not this one. This collection really is rather unique. Lena puts a fun zing in most of her Christmas songs. Maybe its time to get a collection of just her.
THE BEACH BOYS-“Little Saint Nick” is much more fun now that I’ve seen it live.
LOU RAWLS-“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” this has a swinging side (even if the tempo is slow). Rawls’ voice is pretty great I must say.
ELLA FITZGERALD-“Silent Night” I love this song and I love Ella, but I don’t love this version of this song for some reason.
TENNESSEE ERNIE FORD-“The Star Carol” One of these things is not like the others. I actually never heard of this song before. And Ford’s voice is crazy operatic. I hadn’t realized the slight country angle on this disc until this song which sounds not-country, but with that name. It’s a weird song to have amid these others for sure.
BING CROSBY-“Do You Hear What I Hear” Bing is back. I love this song, it’s a lot of fun to sing, and Bing makes everything better.
MERLE HAGGARD-“Silver Bells” This country addition is also weird. It doesn’t sound like a country song, but Merle still has that accent.
DEAN MARTIN-“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” Eight years ago I said this was one of my most-hated Christmas song versions. I don’t really feel that way now, although the things that bugged me then are still weird to me:
I guess it’s supposed to be funny or cute, but I don’t understand why he starts messing around with the song and sings: “Rudy, the red beaked reindeer” or why he suddenly busts out the pseudo-German: “Rudolph mit your nose so bright/Won’t you guide mein sleigh tonight?” It’s just weird.
Was it cool to make Santa German in 1959? Were we over the war by then?
And I hate the way the backing guys all chant “Rudolph” like it’s some kind of threat.
Of all the classic crooners, Dean is my least favorite, but maybe I just need to embrace the possibility that all Dean Martin songs are Drunk Dean Martin songs.
BING CROSBY & THE ANDREWS SISTERS-“Jingle Bells” Bing is a little over-represented in this collection, but The Andrews Sisters are always under-represented. This has a manic piano opening and some over the top horns, but the Andrews Sisters are always a hoot. This is a marvelous ending to the collection and again, one more song that I don’t have anywhere else.
[READ: December 6, 2018] “The Glamour of the Snow”
Once again, I have ordered The Short Story Advent Calendar. This is my third time reading the Calendar (thanks S.). I never knew about the first one until it was long out of print (sigh). Here’s what they say this year
Fourth time’s the charm.
After a restful spring, rowdy summer, and pretty reasonable fall, we are officially back at it again with another deluxe box set of 24 individually bound short stories to get you into the yuletide spirit.
The fourth annual Short Story Advent Calendar might be our most ambitious yet, with a range of stories hailing from eight different countries and three different originating languages (don’t worry, we got the English versions). This year’s edition features a special diecut lid and textured case. We also set a new personal best for material that has never before appeared in print.
Want a copy? Order one here.
Like last year I’m pairing each story with a holiday disc from our personal collection.
This is the story of Hibbert who was normally conscious of two worlds but who, while visiting a mountain town in the Alps became conscious of a third. (more…)
I Just Read About That... 