Ten Christmas originals.

This time around I thought I'd select a few originals. Mostly written by the people involved. All except one appear on Christmas albums. These should be on every radio station's Christmas rotation. They all sound like classic Christmas songs.

We'll start off with Si Cranstoun and A Christmas Twist. This guy was an internet star, probably still is. He and his brother were buskers, singing reggae and soul classics. I found this by accident, having bought an album of his and found it tucked away at the end. When I looked for it online, this energetic video popped up. Great voice, lot of energy and style.

A Christmas Twist - Si Cranstoun - YouTube

 Moving on to a well-established star and great vocalist. I have been a fan since the Maggie May era. Rod Stewart had been making easy listening albums for a few years and I have enjoyed them even though I prefer his stuff with The Faces. It was a natural transition for the Seventies rocker. It was inevitable he would make a Christmas album. A bunch of traditional and classic tracks but one outstanding original. Red-Suited Superman is a bluesy classic in its own right. It deserves several cover versions, but that may take some time.

rod stewart - red suited superman - YouTube

Garth Brooks has made three Holiday albums that I know of. Ugly Christmas Sweater is on the latest one. The album is Together, recorded with Trisha Yearwood. This is a Garth solo effort though. A fun track about an item of clothing you will never catch me wearing. Not now. Not ever. Never.

Ugly Christmas Sweater - YouTube

Of all the recent albums by favourite artists of mine, Jamie Cullum's The Pianoman at Christmas is probably my preferred one. All original tracks by the man himself. He has a warm welcoming voice, sings in a soft jazz style and invites you into a warm log cabin Christmas. The whole album is wonderful. A sound sensation. Difficult to pick a single track, they could all be standards. Turn On The Lights is a typical track, so we'll go with that one. Throw out the Buble and open the Jamie. You won't look back.

Jamie Cullum - Turn On The Lights - YouTube

I watched The Monkees on TV when they were first around. I didn't know they were a "fake" band. I just loved the crazy humour and the sound of the music. Recently, they released a Christmas record. all four members took part, utilising some old vocals of Davy Jones. a few titles written by current writers, some covers, a few classics. The one I have chosen is written by Andy Partridge of XTC. Unwrap You At Christmas is extremely catchy and a little naughty. It is an earworm and may stay with you a while.

The Monkees - Unwrap You At Christmas (Official Lyric Video) - YouTube

 

I quite liked Hootie and the Blowfish but was never really what you would call a fan. However, since Darius Rucker went solo and entered the Country Music scene, I have loved his work. A smooth voice and a lot of charm. His Christmas CD is one of the best. Period. Not just in the Country market. Some standards as usual, but really well done. Also, this original piece, which just feels like a standard itself. What God Wants For Christmas crosses both the faith-based and secular versions of the holiday.

Darius Rucker - What God Wants For Christmas (Official Video) - YouTube

My wife and I recently went to see Nick Lowe in concert. A brilliant night. He may be getting on, but his voice is still as smooth as ever and the material is quality all the way though. He released this Christmas album a few years back. The title, Quality Street, refers to a range of sweets, in the UK, which are most prevalent at this time of year. Christmas At The Airport is a really pleasant toe-tapper and sets a scene which should not be merry, but I feel like I could spend Christmas there, no problem. Not that that would be my first choice, mind you.

Nick Lowe - "Christmas At The Airport" (Official Music Video) - YouTube

I was introduced to The Mavericks in a BBC Country Music show helmed by a guy called Nick Barrowclough. Got every release and saw them live once. Got all Raul Malo's stuff too. He's the singer and has a solo Christmas album which is also excellent. Their style suits this season so well. This number is a great way to start the festivities. Up-tempo, great rhythm. If it doesn't get some part of your body moving in time, then you may need to see a specialist. Christmas Time (Is Coming 'Round Again)

The Mavericks - Christmas Time (Is Coming 'Round Again) (Official Music Video) - YouTube

The artist formerly known as God; Eric Clapton seems too laid back for a holly jolly Christmas. The album has a mostly blues feeling too it. This track is originally by American soul and r/b artist Anthony Hamilton. Originally Eric was reluctant to do a Christmas record but changed his mind thankfully. Some really good tracks on the CD.  Check out the strange version of Jingle Bells for instance. Home For The Holidays is Eric at his smoothest.

Eric Clapton - Home For The Holidays (Lyric Video) - YouTube

Even with Garth and Darius being mentioned earlier, this is the most country of the ten tracks I have picked. Brad Paisley is a great guitarist and also loves having fun with lyrics. This is a favourite of my grandkids. It deserves an animation video, but no-one has come forward yet.  Penguin, James Penguin is a Christmas superhero. 

 Brad Paisley - Penguin, James Penguin - YouTube

There are so many good and great original Christmas songs out there, we need a radio station to just play them and no standards. I love the classic stuff, but also appreciate a new addition to the Christmas list. See what I did there. It's Christmas, the natural time of year for dad jokes. Here's the link to Clapton's take on Jingle bells. Try it. Jingle Bells - YouTube  Enjoy! Merry Christmas. 

My first radio show.

I have always fancied having a radio show along the lines of the one from Mark Germino's Rex Bob Lowenstein. Nobody is ever going to offer me that kind of chance. How about a podcast? Well, podcasts are really radio talk shows and my show would be all about the music.
What I have decided to do is a blog with links to music on Youtube, so it will have the shape of a radio show, if you take the time to watch or listen to the links.
The first few shows, I would do would be an introduction to the sounds that form the basis of my musical appreciation.

We would, of course, have to start with The Beatles. They form the foundation of my music house. I was already listening to all kinds of music before they exploded on to the world stage. I am playing it as
I write this and the intro gave me huge goose bumps. It crosses the barrier from their early pop band stuff to their cleverer production values of later years.
They cemented my love of all forms of music because of the sheer volume and variety of their different sounds.  Now which track should I choose. That's easy. A long time ago, I decided to pick one track and use that as my stock answer to the question "What's your favourite Beatles' song?". Makes life simpler. Ticket To Ride has everything you want from a Beatles track. I once heard this playing on a really good sound system in a menswear shop in Walsall, my home town. I had heard it lots of times before, but it still stopped me in my tracks.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ws9TRxGCuww

The Beatles may be my favourite band, but my all time favourite single is not a Beatles release. Stay With Me by the Faces has everything you need to make half a dozen great singles, but it's all in one record.
 One of the few tracks that I turn up the volume for when it comes on the radio. Rod and The Faces were one of the few acts I regret not going to see live. The closest I got was a BBC2 Live In Concert special. They were such a talented band and always seemed to be having a good time.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSQp7YOPdJ8

1970 was the year I really got in to buying records. I had a Sunday job on Warwick market, selling stretch covers for three piece suites.

The big record that summer was In The Summertime by Mungo Jerry. Just this week I got the 3 CD set titled Gold. All of their UK hits plus so much more. They were my 70's go to band, I would be very impatient for their next release. However, I got in to so much more in that decade and they soon dropped off  the airwaves.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvUQcnfwUUM

The big Christmas record of 1970 was I Hear You Knocking by Dave Edmunds. Such a different sound from anything else around at that time. I played it almost endlessly and he became one of the musicians whose new album I would buy, on release, the week it came out.  For a guy who preferred singles, that was a big leap.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTD5_FwdiBU

One of the bands I got into, slowly,  was The Move. Roy Wood was to become a big part of my collection in all his various guises. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJ8VZZ6HVb8
The only record, I ever went hunting for was Chinatown. I paid a little over the odds for it. Still can't remember why I didn't get it on release. Got it at an excellent store in Birmingham, England, called Reddington's Rare Records. They had a stall on Warwick market, the site of my first weekend job, so I would very often sneak off and look through their stock.

The closest anyone ever got to the originality, variety and quality of The Beatles, was 10CC. If they had stayed together a little longer, who knows. They made such wonderful music, especially the original line-up. When Godley and Creme went off, they left the pop half behind, but they were the half I followed.  This is the first track they ever released although only 3 of them are here, just before 10CC. Neanderthal Man by Hotlegs stood out like a sore thumb from everything else, just like the band's look did during the Glam Rock era. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0e0qYP_PTlY

In the pre-Beatle days and indeed sometimes afterwards, we would have a family night, playing grandad's 78 rpm records, both sides, no matter what they were. So many different voices and styles.
We never did that with 45s, but it was the 45s that stuck in my memory more. I would play all the records at both grandparent's houses, by myself. Difficult to pick out a track that stood out from the rest. However, one that strikes a huge nostalgic chord with me, whenever I hear it, is Anthony Newley's Why. Such a sweet sound from a different era. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8iFpJ7_xZA

My Uncle Les was a huge classical music fan and introduced me to lots of that stuff, but the most important thing he did, was to introduce me to the novelty record. The Goons are part of the reason I am like I am [wonderful, warm-hearted and sincere]. The Ying Tong Song is the first of many, many novelty/comedy records I was to own. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nebe1zuEtbc

I always prefer recorded music over live stuff, partly because I get to re-live it over and over. One band I have seen live 3 times, is Status Quo, as recorded in this old blog of mine. https://kevinspondmusic.blogspot.com/2016/12/rick-parfitt-status-quo.html I remember buying Paper Plane from a shop in Smethwick. The shop is no longer there, part of a dual carriageway through the town, now.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhwCqAmggnM
.

There are two musical genres that I have fixated on at different times.
Country and reggae. Mostly with the reggae stuff it's blue beat/ska/lover's rock, but if you stick a reggae beat on something it will nearly always make it better. Although Bob Marley was the king, I was in to so many other artists before then. I think Liquidator by Harry J All Stars was the kick start for me, although I was aware of  and liked other reggae tracks.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTn01jjEFfY

In country music, one track stands out as being the first time I knew I was listening to country and not just some music from America. I was never big on seperating music genres and still try not to, although it is handy when you are trying to find a cd in a huge record store. Faron Young's Four In The Morning is, on the face of it, very corny olde tyme music, but so memorable.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DXWV15YtEcQ

Finally, for this first radio show, it's about time I included somebody from the other gender. I first saw Emmylou Harris on The Old Grey Whistle Test, a late night show on BBC that introduced me to another world of music away from the Charts. I was a member of an album of the month club and ordered two of her albums from there and never looked back. She has such a voice. I can't really explain it in a public forum. Close your eyes and drift away to this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-PRts_RGeA

Many more tracks are coming to mind, so there will be a part two to this, but that's all for now.

Beat Bugs and other ramblings.

I have recently loaded all my Beatles` [you remember them] cds on to my laptop, so I can make a disc for the grand-kids to listen to in the car. I was making a cd of particular tracks that featured on a cd of the kids` show, Beat Bugs. They use Beatles` songs and they are very good. The

cd is excellent, some really good versions, with artist like Rod Stewart and Robbie Williams on board.. Far and away, the best Beatles covers album, I have ever heard and I do have several. I thought of just copying the disc for the car, but felt the need for them to experience the originals rather than have the new versions become their standard. Toby, the oldest of the American grand-kids was exposed to the big four as a baby. It was on his parents` ipod and played to help him go to sleep. It will be interesting to see if he remembers any, several years later. On the Beat Bugs soundtrack was a version of Rain, a Beatles` B side. I discovered I did not have it on cd! I know. I was shocked too. I do have it on vinyl, a few times. So now I have to get copies of Past Masters, the cd set that has all the B sides and unusual items. I have most of them, mainly on the Rarities album, from a vinyl box set, released a long time ago. As for the cd I have made, I included a few extra tracks, not featured in Beat Bugs. Ob-la-di Ob-la-da and Octopus`s Garden, for instance.


The initial premise for this blog was to talk about acts that have had very little action in the US charts, while being successful in the UK. Each time I think about doing a particular act, I find they had a bigger presence than I realised. I can still do that, but I need to be free to talk about non-US acts without restriction. I may even mention the big boys every now and then, just to give my personal view and let you in to my collection a little more. People like Gilbert O`Sullivan, ELO and Mike Oldfield. Mike, of course, has a new album out this week, Return To Ommadawn and I will be getting it and reviewing it. I was listening to the original this weekend. Really good album that.




So, now I feel free to talk about any non-American act, on here, from a purely personal standpoint.