This week's issue will be the last for the year 2001. Like everyone else, we want to enjoy the holidays, so we'll be taking a couple of weeks off. Never fear, we'll be back in 2002 with more views, news and reviews, as always listening with extreme prejudice.
Michael Toland
Editor-in-Chief
Aural Fixations
SUZY BOGGUSS
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
(Loyal Dutchess)
THE DECEMBER PEOPLE
Sounds Like Christmas
(Magna Carta)
THE GREEN PAJAMAS
The Carolers' Song
(Hidden Agenda)
NANCY WILSON
A Nancy Wilson Christmas
(MCG/Telarc)
VARIOUS ARTISTS
A Putumayo World Christmas
(Putumayo)
VARIOUS ARTISTS
Stuck in the Chimney
(Parasol)
Let's face it: when it comes to Christmas music, you either love or you hate it. The relentless barrage of Yuletide tuneage during the last two months of the year can take us for a frenetic ride on an emotional rollercoaster in ways Mark Eitzel never conceived of in his blackest dreams. Yet these songs can also provide just the right accent to the family gathering on Christmas morning, providing the same warm glow as the hot cocoa Mom is brewing in the kitchen. It's impossible to predict how an individual will react to the opening notes of a well-traveled favorite. The people most infused with holiday cheer might become psychotic enduring the millionth Muzak version of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing," while at the same time folks with feelings closely aligned to those of the Grinch may smile fuzzily at the strains of "The Little Drummer Boy."
Needless to say, popular artists have been indulging in, or bucking, this trend practically since the dawn of recording technology. It's hard to put a fresh spin on such an old theme, but every year a cadre of brave souls hits the studio with the intent of reinvigorating the moldy oldies or contributing their own would-be classics to the canon. Let's bend an ear to the latest batch of holly-bearing, gay apparel-donning hopefuls, shall we?
Nashville country star Suzy Bogguss and jazz vocal vet Nancy Wilson offer the records most likely not to cause your grandmother to arch an eyebrow. Bogguss realizes a long-held dream with Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, released on her own label. The album is easily the most traditional of the bunch, with straightforward readings of songs like "Winter Wonderland," "O Holy Night" and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer." She contributes a couple of originals, including the frisky "Two Step 'Round the Christmas Tree" and the sincerely sappy "Through Your Eyes," and duets with Delbert McClinton on the R&B chestnut "Baby It's Cold Outside." Guests Ricky Skaggs and the late Chet Atkins contribute licks as well. While there's little here you haven't heard before, Bogguss has a nice voice and a heart full of holiday spirit. With this album's goal of comfortable amiability, that's enough.
Wilson doesn't go for radical re-interpretations either, but considering how few people actually listen to jazz these days, it'll seem that way to the layman. On A Nancy Wilson Christmas, she gives "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" some serious swing with help from the Dizzy Gillespie Alumni All Star Big Band. The crusty staple "White Christmas" gets a lilting bossa nova workout, "O Christmas Tree" receives a free bop reading that all but dispenses with the original melody and "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve," augmented by an ace solo from saxist Darmon Meader, plumbs the depths of the blues. Especially impressive is "Carol of the Bells," which seriously jazzes up the classical melody of the original with soul, charm and a savvy arrangement. Wilson is in fine voice throughout, and all proceeds from the sale of the disk go to the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild Jazz program. A Nancy Wilson Christmas would make a nice gift for pretty much any family member. (more)
