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Recordings
Holiday
ear candy for a variety of tastes
Alternative/ Indie
Special
editions and odds-and-ends records make for great gift-giving,
as long as the fanboy or girl on your list isn’t so rabid
a completist that they’d already have the stuff. First and
foremost in the special-edition department are the Killers,
who found an oddly extravagant way to pimp out last year’s
Hot Fuss (Island). The smash hit album was recently
reissued overseas as a limited-edition box set. The
set, of which only 5,000 copies were made available worldwide,
features every one of the album’s 11 original songs on a 7-inch
vinyl record, each with its own unique b-side. The new sides
range from unreleased tracks and remixes of Killers hits,
to covers of Kenny Rogers’ “Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to
Town” (really!) and Morrissey’s “Why Don’t You Find Out for
Yourself” (which fits ’em like one of those sharp little suits
they wear). You’ll have to hit the Web to find either version,
but both are well worth it if the intended recipient has a
soft spot for this generation’s Duran Duran.
The wonderful Ween have collected up an armload of their most-illicitly-traded
tunes for Shinola Vol. 1 (Chocodog). It’s a
hazy, crazy look back at the Ween of yore, featuring such
inhalant-addled lost classics as “Big Fat Fuck” and “Tastes
Good on th’ Bun.” And Fountains of Wayne have produced enough
extras to fill two full discs. On the 30-track Out
of State Plates (Virgin), they show again why they’re
one of the most creative pop acts going, with selections ranging
from a great holiday tune (“The Man in the Santa Suit”) that
was “written in the studio lobby while they were setting up
the drums” to the band’s indelible take on Britney Spears’
“ . . . Baby One More Time.”
With CDs becoming more and more dangerous, there’s still time
to turn to that old favorite: vinyl. You might have to throw
a new turntable in the stocking, but if someone on your list
still takes their music in 12-inch form, consider grabbing
them a copy of Plans (Barsuk), the latest release
from Death Cab for Cutie. While the production is less expansive
than last year’s Transatlanticism, the album still
has all the elements that made DCFC the cream of the indie-rock
crop. The 180-gram vinyl issue includes a worthwhile bonus
song called “Talking Like Turnstiles.” (The CD version of
Plans is on Atlantic Records, and you can get that
anywhere.) After a spat of legal troubles over the use of
a certain superhero’s likeness in the cover art for his latest
album, indie wunderkind Sufjan Stevens has finally released
the double-vinyl pressing of Illinois (Asthmatic
Kitty). Again, there’s a bonus track here that’s not available
on CD, and Divya Srinivasan’s bizarre paintings are spread
over a double gatefold, so it’s fun to look at.
While we’re on the topic of “other” formats, it’s of note
that the DVD market has completely exploded over the last
few years. The people have finally figured out that video
is cheap, and they’re using it. For instance, who ever thought
we’d see a full-length documentary on San Francisco Elephant
6 offshoots Beulah? A Good Band is Easy to Kill
(Music Video Distributors) follows the band on their final
American tour, just prior to what some have called an untimely
breakup. And the always-reliable Flaming Lips teamed up with
filmmaker Bradley Beesley for the 15-years-in-the-making doc,
The Fearless Freaks (Shout! Factory). It’s a
very good film by any measure, and a must-see for Lips fans.
There are also new live DVDs or CD/DVD sets on the market
from Franz Ferdinand (Franz Ferdinand, Domino),
Death Cab for Cutie (Drive Well, Sleep Carefully: On
the Road with Death Cab for Cutie, Plexifilm), Pixies
(Sell Out 2004, Rhino/WEA), Green Day (Bullet
in a Bible, Reprise), Wilco (Kicking Television:
Live in Chicago, Nonesuch), and a restored 1982 set
from goth legends Bauhaus, coupled with a handful of promotional
clips (Shadow of Light/Archive, Beggars Banquet).
Long-standing independent Matador had a strong 2005, releasing
Mass Romantic, the great third release by the
New Pornographers, and Stephen Malkmus’ Face the Truth,
which proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that Malkmus is way
better than Lou Reed. Both are among the year’s essential
discs, and will not fail to please. Matador also surprised
the hell out of people with Closing In, the
thrashtacular release by Columbus, Ohio-based shredders Early
Man. The album, a slightly less-inebriated Kill ’Em All,
ups the ante for all of the in-vogue guitar-drum duos, and
practically begs to be played on cassette . . . in a Camaro
. . . with the T-tops off, bro. Makes a righteous gift
for the hesher in your family.
Shopping for a hipster, not a hesher? Try the self-titled
latest from pop-smashing Canadian collective Broken
Social Scene (Arts & Crafts). Initial pressings
come packaged with the seven-track extra EP to Be You and
Me in a sturdy, pretty digipak. For a worldly spin on
power pop, take a look at the second release from Australian
band Youth Group (Skeleton Jar, Epitaph), or
Howl Howl Gaff Gaff (Capitol), the debut by
Shout Out Louds, another in a long line of great Swedish pop
groups. For something made right here at home, check out the
thinking-man’s pop of John Vanderslice on his latest Barsuk
release, Pixel Revolt.
And, of course, there’s a relatively weak batch of Greatest
Hits packages. Nirvana’s Sliver—The Best of the Box
(Geffen) trims a great deal of the fat from last year’s creepy
With the Lights Out box, although what’s left still
feels intrusive. (The DVD on that set is still worth owning.)
Moreover, it abbreviates the timeline delineated by the box
set’s three music discs so you can hear Cobain come out of
his shell and crawl back in, all in the space of an
hour. (It also includes three tracks that weren’t on the box,
none revelatory.) Sublime’s two-disc Gold (Universal)
set doesn’t offer anything new and should be avoided (unless
you’re absolutely new to the band), but Cypress Hill’s single-disc
hits collection, due from Sony on Dec. 13, is worth a mention
based on the title alone: Greatest Hits from the Bong.
Happy holidays, indeed.
—John
Brodeur
Way
Alternative
When
Tom Waits received a Grammy award in the “Alternative Music”
category some years ago, his acceptance speech reportedly
consisted of the simple question, “Alternative to what?” A
good question from a smart man. Here follow a few recent CD
releases that don’t fit easily into their particular categories,
a circumstance that may also describe a friend or family member
who can best be gifted by delivering them something that will
give them pause.
Biff Rose was already in his early 30s when his first two
albums, The Thorn in Mrs. Rose’s Side and Children
of Light were released in 1968. Now they have been
reissued on one CD. Rose’s comedic and proto- hippie inclinations
are both of their time and transcend it. The arrangements
on Thorn are lushly inventive, creating the perfect
setting for the character-driven vocals. This album was also
the source of his song “Fill Your Heart,” which David Bowie
covered on Hunky Dory. Children of Light is
built more around just his piano and a small combo, again
allowing the vocals to go even further into cannabis-happy
hijinks. “Evolution” finds Rose singing in his uppermost register,
like a cartoon character, but anchored by music that’s undeniably
emotional. “Spaced Out/I’ve Got You Covered” is perhaps the
quintessential stoned confessional song. Casually rendered,
it’s a thing of beauty and deftly constructed in every regard.
American
Primitive Vol. 2 is the last anthology John Fahey
worked at assembling for his Revenant label before his death
in 2001. It comprises 50 songs on two discs, all from 78s
released between 1897 and 1939, oozing with all manner of
humanity. Mysterious, they are also rich with righteousness,
longing, social reportage, various sorts of entertaining impulses,
and unwavering commitment. At one end of the spectrum there’s
Henry Spaulding, accompanying himself dazzlingly on guitar
for “Cairo Blues.” And then there’s Homer Quincy Smith’s impassioned
singing and cathedral organ, wailing into the beyond on “I
Want Jesus to Talk With Me.” He’s so wrapped up in the moment,
it’s as if he had no other needs or worries about anyone else
ever listening to the performance. It sounds like he was doing
what he had to, and it just happened to be recorded.
 Good
for What Ails You is another two-CD set of old 78s,
but stands in contrast to the Revenant set. Subtitled “Music
of the Medicine Shows, 1926-1937,” it’s the fourth release
from the never-to-be-missed Old Hat label. Painstakingly researched
and restored, the songs all have a friendly outreach, filled
with catchy riffs and rhythms, sing-along melodies and overt
humor. It includes such nuggets as “C-h-i-c-k-e-n Spells Chicken,”
most recently covered by Geoff Muldaur, and Jim Jackson’s
outlandish “I Heard the Voice of a Porkchop,” which Michael
Hurley made his own a few decades ago. Also included are such
key players as Gid Tanner, Pink Anderson (whom Pink Floyd
referenced in their name), and Emmett Miller.
Comedic songs can be a touchy area, losing all their oomph
after one play. Sing Along With Mark & Mike
(New East Records) is an exception. Mark & Mike are Mark
Horn of the Derailers and Mike Granda of the Ozark Mountain
Daredevils, and they know when to lay back on the jokes and
when to let the interplay and team spirit carry the friendly
laughs forward. Hence, “Hey, Bill” is funny not because it
builds to a punch line, but because their calls to this Bill
fellow are entertaining. It’s hard to get tired of them calling
out to the guy. When they do draw on more overt funny lines,
as in “Fall Down, Go Boom,” they keep it catchy—this is an
album called Sing Along With, after all.
Saucers
in the Sky (Roaratorio) is the latest collection of
Rodd Keith’s songs. He toiled under a variety of different
names, churning out songs to order in the shady world of song-poems.
Customers would send in their lyrics, a letter would come
back saying it was a hitbound candidate and to send a check.
This would get them a few 45s and not much more for their
expenditure. The financial success of these enterprises was
predicated on quick turnaround, and most outfits would try
to crank out 10 or more songs an hour. Keith had higher ambitions,
but unfortunately it was all being channeled through this
near-invisible netherworld. Thirty years after his mysterious
death, an interest in this musical realm not only has elevated
Rodd Keith to the top of the song-poem world, but revealed
him to be a gifted writer and arranger by any measure.
—David
Greenberger
Box
Sets
Here
are the box sets of 2005 that I don’t have but I want: The
Talking Heads Brick Box (Rhino, eight CDs) and
The Band, a Musical History (Capitol, five CDs
and one DVD).
Otherwise, I have more than enough such sets from a year in
which reformatization figured nearly as heavily as excavation.
The box set, as the name implies, is for the fan who can’t
get enough of a particular artist or band. But as the Internet
spreads and broadband widens, you can get just about anything
you want by downloading, legally or illegally. Websites like
iTunes and contextualizer Pandora (www.pandora.com) grant
access to virtually any kind of music. And if you run into
trouble, there’s always Google.
So why should a fan buy a box set? For the packaging, the
tactility, the information, the multiple formats. Take the
Ray Charles box, Pure Genius—The Complete Atlantic Recordings
(1952- 1959) (Rhino, seven CDs and one DVD), a gorgeous
presentation of the work of a man who has been lionized ad
nauseam since his death in June 2004. Packaged to resemble
an old 45-rpm record player, it boasts an expectedly informative
booklet by Atlantic founder Ahmet Ertegun and David Ritz,
a biographer who specializes in soul men; a gang of previously
unreleased outtakes and interviews; and, of course, tie-ins
to the award winning Ray, the movie in which Jamie
Foxx made his lasting mark. It’s spectacular but ghoulish:
It’s the third Ray Charles box set Rhino has released since
1991. What’s the label going to do when Charles’ death loses
its halo effect?
Not to knock Rhino; through its regular boxes and limited
edition Rhino Handmades (the Beau Brummels’ Magic Hollow,
a four-CD Handmade, is a honey), it continues to set the standard
for such offerings. Take Weird Tales of the Ramones
(Rhino), a dazzling presentation of the punk forefathers’
oeuvre. Besides three CDs of largely familiar material, the
package contains a gang of Ramones videos and interviews with
figures key to the band, like producer Ed Stasium and Sire
founder Seymour Stein. What makes it notable, however, are
the graphics of 26 notable artists including Zippy the Pinhead
creator Bill Griffith, hysterically raunchy Brit Lorna Miller,
and Johnny Ryan, father of gross-out anti-heroine Blecky Yuckerella.
Just Say Sire: The Sire Records Story (also
three CDs and one DVD) is a good companion, though it omits
work by such Sire artists as Boney M (remember their “Rivers
of Babylon”?) and Martha Velez, a fantastic New York singer
who recorded for Sire in the late ’60s (good luck finding
her extraordinary blues-rock Fiends & Angels, featuring
burning Eric Clapton and guests from bands like Traffic and
Chicken Shack) and early ’70s (Sire released a fine Velez
compilation, Angels of the Future Past, in 1989).
Back to the boxes. Here are some pop recommendations:
Try
for the Sun: The Journey of Donovan (Sony Legacy,
three CDs, one DVD). Appropriately packaged in velvety purple,
this effectively organizes Donovan Leitch’s journey from folkie
troubadour through pop prince to uncategorizable mystic. I’m
a sucker for Donovan’s chocolaty and mesmerizing voice. I
also like his pop stuff, particularly “Hurdy Gurdy Man,” the
indomitably cocky “Sunshine Superman” and the hard-rocking
“Barabajagal.” What I didn’t anticipate was the beautiful,
’90s acoustic material on the third disk, like “Your Broken
Heart” and “Please Don’t Bend.”
Heaven
Must Have Sent You: The Holland/Dozier/ Holland Story
(Hip-O/Motown, three CDs) presents 65 tracks penned by Dozier
brothers Brian and Lamont and collaborator Eddie Holland for
Motown in the early ’60s. This largely mono package resurrects
remarkable tunes by the Supremes, Marvin Gaye, Four Tops,
Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, and many more (though
why the Doobie Brothers and Simply Red are here is a question).
The sound is faithful to its Top 40 radio era, and the booklet
is OK, though I would have liked more track-by-track information
(Hip-O and its limited-edition arm, Rhino Handmade competitor
Hip-O-Select, should edit its booklets more carefully).
On the jazz front, get Seven Steps: The Complete Columbia
Recordings of Miles Davis 1963-1964 (Legacy, seven
CDs). Not only does this lavish exploration of the Seven
Steps to Heaven album feature eight previously unreleased
tracks, it showcases rarely heard Davis collaborator Sam Rivers
and a young Wayne Shorter, poised to take over the saxophone
spot from George Coleman. Davis’ music was always a work-in-progress;
its inner workings are expertly laid out here. Another must
is Bill Evans: The Complete Village Vanguard Recordings,
1961 (Riverside, three CDs), a repackaging-plus of
Sunday at the Village Vanguard and Waltz for Debby,
records that represent the pinnacle of the jazz trio form.
Recorded just 10 days before bassist Scott LaFaro’s death
in a car crash, these sessions never fail to astonish; packaged
with one additional take, in freshly clear sound, this is
a bargain introduction to work of astonishing genius.
For insight into the big-band explosion of the ’50s, when
Gil Evans and Shorty Rogers came into critical view, try Mosaic
Select: Johnny Richards (Mosaic, three CDs). I knew
of Richards from his work with Stan Kenton; this criminally
overlooked material is his own. Packed with passionate solos
from the best West Coast players, it spans many styles and
voicing. This set will remind you how dramatic and majestic
and swinging jazz can be.
Finally, there’s Jelly Roll Morton: The Complete Library
of Congress Recordings by Alan Lomax (Rounder, eight
CDs), an overwhelming assemblage of interviews Lomax conducted
with Morton, a jazzman of boundless creativity and ego. Presented
with Lomax’s biography of this remarkable Creole, this piano-shaped
box features art by R. Crumb and fresh analysis by music historian
John Szwed. I’ve worked through only one CD, which is both
amusing and heartbreaking. Morton was a great raconteur whose
ramblings explain his key inspiration: his native New Orleans,
a city long identified with great jazz.
—Carlo
Wolff
Folk,
Blues, Bluegrass and Celtic
So
you need some gift ideas for folk, blues, bluegrass, or Celtic
music CDs, eh? I thought you might, given just how good roots
music can really get, so I’ve rummaged through some local
record bins for you to find hot 2005 releases in these genres.
Here’s what worth your Christmas cash:
2005 saw the airing of No Direction Home, Martin Scorcese’s
masterful two-part PBS documentary of Dylan’s career up to
1966. A soundtrack album is out, and the 20 previously unissued
studio outtakes and live tracks of this Sony two-CD set, No
Direction Home: The Soundtrack (The Bootleg Series, Vol. 7),
are a well-chosen chronicle of Dylan’s earlier music.
The first disc covers Dylan’s beginnings as an earnest, groundbreaking
folk songwriter, and the second his controversial switch to
playing with electric backing band and writing songs with
frequently surrealistic lyrics. (Regarding this shift, John
Lennon said Dylan got away with murder. Never was there so
glorious a crime).
During the early 1960’s, Peter, Paul, and Mary were America’s
top folk act. Even though they were recruited by talent manger
Albert Grossman as an expressly commercial venture, the trio
nonetheless crooned their way into our hearts and onto the
charts. The Very Best of Peter Paul and Mary
(Warner Brothers/Rhino) has 25 of their essential songs, and
is a great pick for that baby boomer in your life.
For blues fans, there’s Fuel 2000’s seven-CD blockbuster collection,
The History of the Blues (87 Authentic Blues Songs).
It begins with 1920s country blues greats Charlie Patton
and Blind Lemon Jefferson, and continues in the prewar acoustic
vein with artists such as Son House, Mississippi John Hurt,
and Mississippi Fred McDowell, Tommy Johnson, and Memphis
Minnie, the first successful woman blues singer-guitarist.
The latter discs feature the post-WWII electrified blues of
Shakey Horton, Johnny Copeland, Buddy Guy, B.B. King, Pee
Wee Crayton, and others. It’s a lot of great blues in one
package.
Best
of the Blues—50 Favorites (Madacy) is a smaller, three-disc
box set concentrating on postwar and modern artists like B.B.
King, Buddy Guy and Junior Wells, Johnny Otis, and Memphis
Slim, as well as more obscure figures such as Baby Washington
and Joe Liggins. 1960s boogiemeisters Canned Heat and New
Orleans piano professor Dr. John are included to make this
one a worthwhile collection.
In the bluegrass realm, one of the best releases of the year
is the reissued and remastered 1964 all-instrumental Kentucky
Colonels album, Appalachian Swing (S&P).
The amazing guitar playing of the then-19-year-old Clarence
White established the instrument as a full-fledged lead bluegrass
voice with this record, making Appalachian Swing a
milestone in history of the genre. Three bonus tracks have
been added to the original 12.
If you’re shopping for a bluegrass traditionalista, a good
bet is Classic Bluegrass, Vol. 2 (Smithsonian
Folkways). The 28 tracks of the second volume are a generous
helping of pickin’ and singin’, and include cuts by Bill Monroe,
Red Allen, Doc Watson, the Country Gentleman, and Hazel Dickens,
as well as lesser known artists like the Friendly City Playboys,
Ola Bell Reed, and the Georgia Pals. (The first volume of
this series, by the way, appeared in 2003.)
For the Celtic fans, the all-female Irish-American ensemble
Cherish the Ladies have a new release, Woman of the
House (Rounder), that some critics are calling the
group’s best yet. The bandleader, Joanie Madden, is considered
one of the finest players of the Irish flute and the pennywhistle,
and the other Ladies are no slouches either. Recorded in Scotland
and America, the 11-track album consists of five mostly traditional
songs and six medleys of dance tunes. Guest artists include
Irish accordionist Sharon Shannon, British folkie Kate Rusby
and Karen Matheson of Capercaille.
Born in Chicago of Irish parents, Liz Carroll went back to
the Old Sod in 1975 at 18 and won the All-Ireland Senior Fiddle
Championship. Her new 13-track Compass CD, In Play,
reflects a more intimate side of Celtic music—here she performs
mesmerizing airs and dance tunes accompanied only by the harmonically
edgy guitar and bouzouki ace John Doyle. Unlike most Celtic
musicians, Carroll also composes tunes, and many on the disc
are her own.
—Glenn
Weiser
Classical
 We
have that rare combo of a composer-pianist in our midst, one
whose music I fell in love with before discovering he lived
nearby. Joseph Fennimore’s music is performed internationally;
his works run a gamut from opera to orchestral works to theater
pieces to piano miniatures. His newest CD release, In
Concert III (Albany Records) features only one original
work, the brief Fantasy from 1963, but it’s deftly
positioned between a piece by the 17th-century composer Orlando
Gibbons and a Schubert sonata, both of which resonate with
Fennimore’s compositional voice. Virtuoso performances of
works by Haydn, Chopin, Fauré and Liszt round out the recording,
made at the Emma Willard School’s Kiggins Hall.
We were visited a couple of years ago by another composer-pianist
who otherwise lives in Brussels: Frederic Rzewski, whose The
People United Shall Not Be Defeated has been sneaking
into the repertory during the past 30 years. A chamber ensemble
called Eighth Blackbird released a collection titled Fred
(Cedille) that features the world premiere recording of his
Pocket Symphony from 2000, a theatrically rich work that
(like many of this composer’s pieces) calls for improvisation.
The other two works are the poignant Coming Together,
based on a letter from Sam Melville, a prisoner killed in
the 1971 Attica uprising, and Les moutons de Panurge,
a fascinating piece based on a Rabelais quote about sheeplike
behavior that uses a 65-note tone row that becomes increasingly
chaotic.
Staying with the piano, Leon Fleischer enjoyed a comeback
recording with Two Hands (Vanguard Classics),
celebrating a master’s return to two-handed playing after
a 35-year-long bout with dystonia. From Bach’s Jesu, Joy
of Man’s Desiring to a walloping finish with Schubert’s
Sonata in B-flat Major, D. 960, it’s a joyous, very
individualistic recording.
John Browning was a mid- century piano virtuoso best known
for championing music by Samuel Barber; he also was the first
to record the five Prokofiev Piano Concertos,
which enjoyed a re-release after many, many years on the Testament
label. During Erich Leinsdorf’s brief stint as Boston Symphony
music director, he made many excellent recordings of Prokofiev’s
orchestral works, and these have been among the most sought-after.
Heifetz student Erick Friedman’s recording, with the same
forces, of Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 rounds
out the two-disc set.
Prokofiev also gets his due—with frequent SPAC visitors Martha
Argerich (piano) and Mischa Maisky (cello)—in a recital
recently recorded in Brussels (DG). Along with Prokofiev’s
Cello Sonata are works by Stravinsky and Shostakovich
that add up to definitive versions of this repertory.
Another remarkable area visitor this year was violinist Julia
Fischer, whose October recital at Union College was a drop-dead
marvel. The centerpiece was Bach’s Partita No. 2, with
the famous chaconne, and that’s one of the Six Sonatas
and Partitas released as a two-CD PentaTone set. Fischer’s
playing is astonishing for a fiddler of any age; that she’s
in her early 20s makes it unbelievable.
Violinist Michael Rabin all but gave up playing when he was
25, and died tragically a decade later. He burst on the scene
with a recording of Paganini’s 24 Caprices, and they’re
part of a six-CD EMI set (Michael Rabin: 1936-1972)
that also gives us his smooth, fiery performances of concertos
by Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Paganini and others, and two
discs of those shorter works violinists adore.
Recordings of early music always abound, and one of my favorites
this year was the umpteenth waxing of Bach’s Brandenburg
Concertos (Naïve), with Rinaldo Alessandrini leading
Concerto Italiano. It’s a lean, tight group that has a great
deal of fun with these six wonderful pieces, bringing fresh
ideas to weary ears.
You’re hard put ever to find a false note in recordings by
Jordi Savall’s Hespèrion XXI. Altre Follie (Alia
Vox) is a follow-up to a hit recording of variations on the
15th- and 16th-century dance hit “Folia.” Here we’re given
15 more, including the well-known violin sonata by Corelli
and works by Vivaldi, Mudarra, Sanz and others.
Celebrating the work of American composers is good for the
soul and probably helps fight terrorism. Too bad Conlon Nancarrow
was hounded out of the country by McCarthyites; his subsequent
work in Mexico was fascinating—and difficult—and got its due
with a 1989 collection by the ensemble Continuum, rereleased
this year by Naxos.
Naxos also gave us two (separate) CDs of works by William
Grant Still, whose career took him from studies with Varèse
to arranging jobs with Artie Shaw and Paul Whiteman. Still’s
symphonic poem Africa and Symphony No.
1 (“Afro-American,” performed some time back by the
Albany Symphony) get muscular readings by the Fort Smith Symphony
under John Jeter; a collection of Piano Music
recorded by Mark Boozer gives a glimpse of Still’s more mystic
and jazzy sides.
Naxos also has been hot on the Leonard Bernstein trail,
but it was Koch that put together a fascinating recording
of that composer’s music for Peter Pan before
it turned into the musical with which we’re familiar. It’s
a lot of incidental music with a few songs along the way,
with lyrics by the composer and the vocal artistry of Linda
Eder and Daniel Narducci.
One more local tie-in worth considering: Richard Rodney Bennett’s
opera The Mines of Sulphur (Chandos), a grim,
brooding work recorded during its excellent Glimmerglass Opera
production in 2004. I can’t listen to it without seeing the
production in my mind’s eye, but it packs a wallop as an audio
experience alone, and will certainly destroy whatever remnants
of holiday happiness may be lingering. Reason enough right
there for a misanthrope like me to recommend it.
—B.A.
Nilsson
 Christmas
Music
At
the top of this year’s holiday music releases are Diana Krall’s
Christmas Songs (Verve) and Brian Wilson’s What
I Really Want For Christmas (Arista). These aren’t
just good for Christmas music, they’re good.
Fairly or unfairly, Krall has taken a lot of heat for her
recent nonjazz efforts, but on Christmas Songs, she’s
got her license to swing back. Performing with the Clayton/Hamilton
Jazz Orchestra, Krall is sassy and sultry on a smartly chosen
set of traditional, nonreligious holiday standards. Standouts
include “Christmas Time Is Here” (yep, the tune from A
Charlie Brown Christmas), “What Are You Doing New Year’s
Eve?” (complete with the verse) and Irving Berlin’s other
great holiday song, the rarely recorded “Count Your Blessings.”
Wilson, meanwhile, continues his string of successes with
this tuneful collection. With his Smile band, Wilson
offers some Beach Boys songs (including “Little St. Nick”),
a nice sample of secular and religious favorites and two new
tunes. The title track, cowritten with Bernie Taupin, emphasizes
orchestral glory, while “Christmasy,” a collaboration with
Jimmy Webb, is a radio-friendly gasser. As you would expect,
the arrangements and harmonies are cosmic in the Wilson manner.
Three variants of guitar-driven rock & roll figure prominently
on a trio of new releases. It’s harder than it should be to
imagine the fun-loving Reverend Horton Heat in a holiday mood,
but he is on the catchy We Three Kings (Yep
Roc). For a pleasingly slick rockabilly/swing experience,
try the Brian Setzer Orchestra’s Dig That Crazy Christmas
(Surfdog). And for those who like their rock guitar with an
old school jazz-fusion feel, there’s Steve Lukather &
Friends’ Santa Mental (Favored Nations). The
legendary session man, who cofounded Toto and played with
everybody from the Pointer Sisters to Cher, even “duets” with
Sammy Davis Jr. on “Jingle Bells.” Ring-a-ding-ding!
Once upon a time, holiday music was all about compilation
LPs packaged for sale at specific department stores (remember
Grants?) or given away with Firestone tires. The variety of
artists featured were absurdly diverse, but that just added
to the charm. In this tradition, there’s 20th Century
Masters: The Best of Santa’s Greatest Hits
(Hip-O/Universal). This festive bouquet of musical nostalgia
features Brenda Lee, Judy Garland, Gene Autry, Eartha Kitt
and José Feliciano performing exactly the songs you would
expect; in a particularly thoughtful gesture, Bing Crosby’s
original 1942 version of “White Christmas” (superior to the
better-known 1946 rerecording) is included. Guaranteed to
make you smile. If, on the other hand, you prefer expressions
of the misery and pain felt by the dysfunctional, depressed
and lonely during this special season, by all means snag Taste
of Christmas (Fontana/Warcon). This contemporary collection
features such artists as the Used (a mopey “Alone This Holiday”),
Bleed the Dream (a mopier “No Smiles on Christmas”) and From
First to Last (the ferocious “Christmassacre”) delivering
healthy doses of holiday bile. This is best enjoyed with a
bottle of rotgut vodka and all the angst you can muster.
Herb Alpert is going into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this
year for founding the A&M label, but he made some great
pop records, too. (Not that Jann Wenner cares, the dweeb.)
Shout Factory has been rereleasing his back catalogue over
the past year, and have just reissued the excellent Herb Alpert
& the Tijuana Brass Christmas Album. I still
prefer his version of “My Favorite Things” over those by Julie
Andrews and John Coltrane, but I’m stupid that way. Meanwhile,
over at Capitol, there are new reissues of two definitive
Xmas albums: Frank Sinatra’s A Jolly Christmas from
Frank Sinatra and Nat “King” Cole’s The Christmas
Song. Except for revamped artwork, Frank’s best holiday
album, which features “The Christmas Waltz,” doesn’t differ
from the early-’90s reissue. The Cole, however, adds the classic
1945 King Cole Trio version of “The Christmas Song,” which
was used so hauntingly in Wong Kar-Wei’s 2046.
Finally, something old and something new in seasonal mood
music from our pals at Sony BMG. All your favorite Windham
Hill artists—including Jim Brickman, Liz Story and George
Winston—figure prominently on the brand new A Windham
Hill Christmas: The Night Before Christmas (Windham
Hill) and the two-disc greatest-hits package The Essential
Winter’s Solstice (Windham Hill/Legacy). No lumps
of coal for your electronic stocking here: Neither collection
is burdened with the draconian rootkit copy-protection software
that’s made this a blue Christmas for Sony BMG.
—Shawn
Stone
2005
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