I am a huge fan of Christmas music. This year, I started listening to it before Thanksgiving. I am not American so that holiday does not have the same effect on me. Also, 2020 has been so "busy" that we needed a little cheering up. So, we put up the tree and the decorations and started listening to Bing, Andy and all the rest of the Christmas standards. [EDIT... I am now an American citizen, so I apologize for playing Christmas music early, which I did, and I still do.]
The last couple of years, I have talked about British Christmas music. This year I got to thinking about artists, that I don't usually listen to, but I love them at Christmas. It seems like everyone will eventually have a Christmas or holiday album in their portfolio.
The first time I noticed this was when Johnny Mathis released his classic, When A Child Is Born in November 1976. I don't remember a lot about that time because I'd only been married a month and had other things going on. Christmas music was not in the top ten concerns right then. However, I do remember the sense of enjoyment, listening to this song, being sung by an artist, I had never rated. I never understood his appeal. I did not like his style, his voice or even the way he looked, but this became one of my favourite Christmas recordings. Even the cheesy spoken part seems to work well. Now I like quite a lot of his Christmas output. Still not sold on his standard stuff, though. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nF-NmJ80jEU
Chris DeBurgh was a radio favourite in the late seventies, in the UK. His Spanish Train got played a lot. Although I was into a lot of different music, his voice and style never appealed. Of course, there is the exception of the Christmas record. His lightweight voice seemed to fit the story of A Spaceman Came Travelling. That and the fact that I have a blind spot with Christmas music, made this a favourite of mine. Hence its appearance, last year, on my blog. He tipped well over into the schmaltzy stuff with Woman In Red and Bill Bailey's mickey take song, Beautiful Ladies is wonderful. Look it up, it's really funny. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=49k1EQdoMeU
From day one, I had a blind spot where Madonna is concerned. I know she is a role model, I know she is very successful, but I just do not like the woman. Most of the time, I find her voice to be in the fingernails on a chalkboard section of sounds. Occasionally, I enjoy one of her records, such as the Pink Lemonade thing, which I find quite bearable. I really dislike that she was chosen to play the lead in the movie of Evita. It's one of my favourite musicals and so many other people were better qualified. Anyway. Moving on. She has a Betty Boop quality on her version of Santa Baby, which works quite well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wAyZZTq7E4
This is a big one. I have never been one to listen to hype in a positive way. Before I heard anything by him, I was being told by radio djs and the like, that Bruce Springsteen was the best thing since sliced bread. The Boss, in fact. When I did hear him, I was underwhelmed. His voice , for the most part, is just too gravelly for the pop songs he writes. I recognise how good he is as a songwriter. I love some of the covers of his stuff. Blinded By The Light by Manfred Mann's Earthband for one. His live version of Santa Claus Is Comin' To Town, however, works really well. Even the live spoken stuff at the beginning is not unwelcome. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=76WFkKp8Tjs
Oh my goodness. Mariah Carey. A blank-faced, souless singer, who murdered Badfinger's Without You. It was totally unnecessary to record that as Nilsson had already recorded the definitive version. She is from that generation of singers who have spawned the shouty style of vocal, so loved by The X Factor and other shows of that type. However, I have always liked her Christmas hit, All I Want For Christmas Is You. In December 2020, it finally got to number one in the British charts. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY
James Last does what so many band leaders have done over the years. Take pop and rock music and add so much blandness, the original seems to melt away. He was ubiqui... ubiquet. He was everywhere for a while, but eventually found his rightful place in charity shop reject piles. However, being a fan of middle of the road Christmas music, easy listening stuff, I allow James to, occasionally, assault my ears with some festive fun. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te0ttTj9VRY
When they first burst on to the radio, they were considered a joke. The Darkness had a live following but found it difficult to get a record deal. Record companies could not take them seriously. They seemed to be a halfway decent band with a ridiculous lead vocalist. However, if you treat them as a novelty, then Christmas Time is quite a fun holiday record. Of course, the bracketed subtitle [Don't Let The Bells End] added to the novelty and ridiculousness. The video is a hoot. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lrVg1toMzuo
For me Josh Groban was very good as a TV detective. Shame that show only got one season. He had to fall back on his singing career. He does alright, so I think he won't mind that I find him quite dull and not distinctive at all. There are many sub-operatic voices out there and I don't mind them at all. However his Christmas album is quite good and just shows how two-faced I can be when it comes to any Christmas music. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Uh6X7WB5UE
There are Christmas songs out there that I don't like. Usually though, they are covers of pop/rock Christmas classics. Also, I have yet to find a decent straightforward version of Silent Night. The one by The Dickies is still the one I sing in my head. Anyway, I have a couple of hundred Christmas cds and many, many old vinyl singles. I'll be fine.
