Great Christmas songs

I've written about all of these here before, but you should track them down if you haven't heard them already. They'd make a great soundtrack to the season.
* Step Into Christmas -- Elton John. Phil Spector could have produced this. A whirlwind of sound, from Elton's best period.
* Happy Xmas (War is Over) -- John Lennon.
* 2000 Miles -- The Pretenders. Gorgeous, heartbreaking.
* December Will be Magic Again -- Kate Bush. You can see the cartoon video in your head.
* Remember (Christmas) -- Harry Nilsson. Gorgeous nostalgia.
* Snoopy's Christmas -- Royal Guardsmen. The long version is a great Christmas pop-opera.
* Little Saint Nick -- Beach Boys.
* Ring Out Solstice Bells -- Jethro Tull.
* A Christmas Song -- Jethro Tull.
* Merry Christmas Darling -- Carpenters.
* It's Christmas Time -- Carpenters. Even better than "Merry Christmas Darling." Almost perfect.
* Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) -- Darlene Love.
* Same Old Lang Syne -- Dan Fogelberg.
* A'Soulin' -- Peter, Paul and Mary. Kind of dark for a Christmas song, but unforgettable.
* Fairytale of New York -- The Pogues with Kirsty MacColl. Hilarious.
* Santa Claus is Coming to Town -- Jackson 5.
* The Most Wonderful Time of the Year -- Andy Williams.
* Jingle Bells? -- Barbra Streisand.
* The Little Drummer Boy -- Harry Simeone Chorale.
* Feliz Navidad -- Jose Feliciano. The best thing he ever did?
* Hurry Home for Christmas -- Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. You'll have to trust me on this one....
* Father Christmas -- Kinks.
* I Believe in Father Christmas -- Greg Lake.
* The Man With All the Toys -- Beach Boys.
* The Twelve Days of Christmas -- Ray Conniff Singers. Whatta hoot!
* The Bell That Couldn't Jingle -- Smothers Brothers. Cute.
(Late addition, 2 Jan 2018 -- Jim Croce: It Doesn't Have to be That Way. Don't know how I forgot this one. It's wonderful.)

Favorite olde-style Christmas carols:
* Carol of the Bells.
* O Holy Night.

Christmas songs I never need to hear again:
* Christmas Eve in Sarajevo -- Trans-Siberian Orchestra. So over-the-top they make ELP sound modest.
* Jingle Bell Rock -- Bobby Helms, and....
* Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree -- Brenda Lee. The two most overplayed "classic" Christmas songs.
* Wonderful Christmas Time -- Paul McCartney and Wings. Embarrassing to all concerned.
* Blue Christmas -- Elvis.

#606: A post a day for Dec.?

I usually hibernate around here in the Winter -- it's cold & dark & the rain POUNDS down 4 months on end. I've already felt myself withdrawing, battening down the hatches Bcos Winter's back & I hate not seeing the sun.
After a not-very-productive November, I could use a challenge -- so I'm gonna see if I can do a post each day in December. I don't think there's a chance in Hell that I can DO it, but I need something 2 jolt me out of my lethargy, & maybe this'll help. I love 2 write, I'm just tired of searching 4 a topic 2 hang a post on. I'm also bored with most music lately. I don't know what I wanna hear, but I sure as hell can't FIND it....
Besides, I've got some Sure Things coming up: I'll be marking 4 years of blogging around mid-month; I've got the 3rd Annual TAD Awards 4 the best stuff of the year coming at the end of the month (I don't think it was a very good year, but I may have forgotten something); I'm slowly working my way thru 2 pretty good books: Hunter S. Thompson's FEAR AND LOATHING IN AMERICA, a collection of his letters from the mid-'60s thru the mid-'70s; & John Einarson's FOREVER CHANGES: ARTHUR LEE AND THE BOOK OF LOVE, which includes lotsa stuff from Lee's unpublished autobiography....
+ maybe this'll force me 2 write some of those Big Projects I've wanted 2 work on 4 ages -- newspaper experiences, Air Force experiences, more Nostalgia, etc. Ghod, could I really have that much I wanna write about? We'll find out.... Summa these posts might end-up as lists of whatever I'm listening 2 or reading, or rants about whatever's on my mind -- there may not B much of a framework -- automatic writing? Should B fun....
Maybe the higher production will also bump up the readership numbers, which took a real slide in Nov after 3 really strong months & a killer Oct. Course I only wrote 5 real posts in Nov, so....
Enuf of the hype, onward 2 THE LATEST AT-WORK PLAYLIST....

Cat Power -- He War.
Kinks -- Victoria, Apeman, Sunny Afternoon, Dead End Street, Shangri-La, Well-Respected Man, Dedicated Follower of Fashion.
Outkast -- Hey Ya.
Aretha Franklin -- Daydreaming.
Steely Dan -- Dirty Work, My Old School.
Pogues -- Lorelei, Fairytale of New York.
Darlene Love -- Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).
Squeeze -- Pulling Mussels from the Shell, Another Nail in My Heart, Separate Beds, Misadventure.
Florence + the Machine -- Shake it Out.
Fairport Convention -- Chelsea Morning, Mr. Lacey, Book Song, I'll Keep it With Mine, Tale in Hard Time, Meet on the Ledge, Genesis Hall, Come All Ye, Stranger to Himself.
Wigwam -- Losing Hold, Grass for Blades, Eddie and the Boys, Tramdriver, Autograph, Just My Situation.
BONUS TRACK: Ray Conniff Singers -- The Twelve Days of Christmas.

OK, most of these I probly don't have 2 describe. Whatever keeps me motivated, ya know?
Cat Power's "He War" is a masterwork of rhythm & little bitty repeating guitar & keyboard parts -- mesmerizing. & she has a great voice. Lots of nice suppressed drama here.
The Kinks' stuff I've been a sucker 4 for years. Love that gtr sound on "Victoria," & the way Dave Davies screams in the background. "Shangri-La"'s a dramatic masterpiece 2. "Sunny Afternoon," "Dead End Street" & the others R fun singalongs. SHIT, I shoulda played "Days"! Maybe tomorrow....
"Hey Ya"'s just a scream. Who could resist it?
Now that I've adjusted after not hearing it 4 30 years, "Daydreaming" is Xactly the floaty masterwork I remember. Aretha's back-up singers R all OVER the choruses. & she sounds so relaxed....
"Dirty Work" I assume features early Dan vocalist David Palmer...? It's too smooth 2 B Donald Fagen. "My Old School"'s still great, whatever it means....
I think "Lorelei" was the Pogues' highpoint, absolutely gorgeous Irish folk, but "Fairytale of New York" is both hilarious & heartbreaking & should become a Christmas classic. It was featured in the romantic comedy movie P.S. I LOVE YOU. Haven't heard it played on the radio yet, somehow. Probly summa the lyrics R a problem, I'd imagine. But most people don't listen 2 lyrics, so....
After "Fairytale," I was bitten by the Christmas bug, so put on Darlene Love & Phil Spector's "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," which has all the crashing melodrama of any classic Phil Spector hit, & shoulda bn included on his best-of. You've heard it even if you don't think you have -- it ran under the opening credits of the movie GREMLINS back in '82 or whenever....
Squeeze's ARGYBARGY was their highpoint -- but a little of them goes a long way, I got 4 trax in. "Separate Beds" has some cute choruses, & "Misadventure" describes some stress-inducing Middle Eastern trips, if you can follow the lyrics....
Florence's "Shake it Out" is still the best thing I've heard in years, but tho the lyrics R great, it really relies on the booming loudness of the drums. Turn it down a little & it just doesn't hit. It demands 2 B played LOUD.
Fairport's version of Joni Mitchell's "Chelsea Morning" is busy-busy, & Judy Dyble's voice is a nice contrast 2 their later stuff. "Mr. Lacey" is a funny blues. "Book Song" sounds like it could B any mid-'60s folk group -- with some nice atmosphere. Mixed among the rest is some of the greatest British folk music ever -- tho they sure liked their grim subject-matter. "Tale in Hard Time" is a little grim despite Ian Matthews' sunny singing, "Meet on the Ledge" is dark, "Genesis Hall" is brutal -- good thing I didn't play their version of Bob Dylan's "Percy's Song"!
By contrast, "Come All Ye" is a rockin' rouser -- my favorite of all their work. Their version of Dylan's "I'll Keep it With Mine" is just gorgeous. "Stranger to Himself" is the only track I've heard from their later stuff that could stand with their classic work -- an intense, hushed funeral march. & why isn't their hilarious version of Dylan's "Million Dollar Bash" included on their 2-CD best-of?
Wigwam's HIGHLIGHTS best-of doesn't include THEIR best track ever, the rumbling & ominous "Bless Your Lucky Stars." But "Losing Hold" is a nice long workout 4 organ, "Grass for Blades" is an intense piano-based blues that gets interrupted, "Eddie and the Boys" & "Tramdriver" R lite silliness -- & "Tramdriver" is really catchy. "Just My Situation" is another long bluesy number with downcast vocals & piano from leader Jim Pembroke. These guys R worth checking out, but track down their NUCLEAR NIGHTCLUB 1st -- there isn't a really weak track on it.

1 local radio station -- WARM 106.9 -- is already playing nothing but Christmas favorites 24/7. While dialing thru stations Thursday nite I heard Ray Conniff's epic "Twelve Days of Christmas," which I hadn't heard in years. I'd forgotten what a hoot it was. 4 1, it goes on FOREVER -- in the old vinyl days they coulda filled a SIDE with this song. 4 another, it's so '50s/'60s whitebread it's hard 2 believe. Check out the way the guys sing "FIVE GO-OLD RINGS!" & "THREE FRENCH HENS!" You'll be seeing clones of Pat Boone in matching crewcuts.... & at the very end, where the chorus ...like ... IMPROVISES a bit, it's just freaking hysterical. Check it out, if you dare. The best comedy Christmas song since Barbra Streisand's "Jingle Bells?" (And does anybody know who did the '70s satire of "Twelve Days" with the verses that ended "...and a Sony transistor radio"? Drop me a line if you remember -- I haven't heard it since about 1971.
More VERY soon....

"December Will be Magic Again"

We here at the Back-Up Plan R THRILLED that R local radio stations Bgan seriously playing Christmas rock&roll favorites this past week. The best of these songs R marvelous oldies & it does yer soul good 2 hear them at least 1nce a year. They really light us up.
Don't know if we've got the Christmas Spirit yet -- it's bn a long time since we felt "Christmasy," possibly as long ago as 1971, but still. If we've gotta choose Btween "Hotel California" & Xmas oldies, we'll take the Christmas songs every time.
Local radio started Thurs nite with Elton John's whirlwind "Step Into Christmas," 1 of his greatest hits -- love the bells & chimes & synths & the cool acoustic guitar. & the whole thing's a great production.
Then we heard John Lennon's classic "Happy Xmas (War is Over)," 1 of the 1st 45-rpm singles TAD ever bought, on green-Apple vinyl, way back in 1971. John was a sentimental guy, tho he denied it, & "War is Over" still sounds great. & how bout that huge Phil Spector production?
We were shocked on Fri nite 2 hear Peter, Paul and Mary's 1962 "A'Soulin," a magical Christmas classic from their album MOVING -- the same album that had "Puff the Magic Dragon." "A'Soulin" is pretty dark & mysterious 4 an Xmas song, but it's also hypnotic & a lotta fun. & the vocals R -- do we have 2 say this? -- just freakin great.
We've even heard Andy Williams' "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," 1 of the best things HE ever did. His voice is so rich, from that '50s "crooner" background he came from -- & the song conjures up images of happy shoppers & good-natured holiday bustle ... so you KNOW it's a fantasy. But it's a good 1....
Also heard the Carpenters' heartwarming "Merry Christmas, Darling," a real classic from 1971. Their Xmas album, A CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT, has a lotta great stuff on it, if you can get past the fact that it's THE CARPENTERS. Best of all is "It's Christmas Time," which starts as a wonderful intimate Karen Carpenter-with-piano miniature & then turns in2 a huge production with chorus & orchestra. It's really moving. 1 of their best ever.
Our local classic rock station also played Cheech and Chong's hilarious "Santa Claus and His Old Lady" -- not a song, but freakin great anyway. Tell your kids Mom & Dad (or Grandma & Grandpa) useta talk like this sorta....
& on Sun nite, 1 station unXpectedly bashed out Darlene Love & Phil Spector's glorious "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)." You've heard it even if you don't think you have -- it played under the opening credits of the movie GREMLINS some 30 years ago. It's from Spector's acclaimed CHRISTMAS ALBUM that we here have never heard. But if that's a sample....
Haven't yet heard Kate Bush's gorgeous "December Will be Magic Again," & don't really Xpect 2, but it would do the American public a lotta good 2 hear it. Also haven't heard the Royal Guardsmen's "Snoopy's Christmas," a terrific 1967 masterpiece that -- in its 6-minute long version -- was to us the 1st real "rock opera."
When TAD was a kid, his favorite Christmas carol was "Carol of the Bells," possibly Bcos when those choral vocals start building up it sounds like some kinda wild windstorm comin on. But he's heard so many versions of it since then that it's kinda lost its attractiveness.
These days he leans more toward the almost supernaturally beautiful "O Holy Night" -- when it's done right it puts a lump in his throat & a tear in his eye every time.
Hope yer local music-providers R playing something good 4 the holidays.
NEbody out there heard Barbra Streisand's hilarious version of "Jingle Bells"?
...& we personally don't care if we ever hear "Jingle Bell Rock" or "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" EVER again....

Great (Mostly) Overlooked Xmas Songs!

My Ghod! It's almost Dec! Which means Xmas will B along in just a few wks, & the Holiday Season is officially underway, w/ Thanksgiving last wk & the even-more-stressful-&-perilous "Black Friday" kicking-off this past wknd. (U didn't really GO OUT in2 that madness, did U?)
So even tho it Cms like it was just New Yr's Eve a few wks ago, it's time 4 my list of Great (Mostly) Overlooked Xmas Songs!
I've bn wanting 2 do this list 4 over a yr. I've spared no Xpense 2 bring U nothing but the beast in (mostly) fairly-obscure Xmas hits. I gotta million of 'em. So, w/o further ado....
* The Carpenters: "Merry Christmas, Darling" & "It's Christmas Time" (1971) -- These R my 2 favrite trax from my fave Xmas album ever, the Carps' CHRISTMAS PORTRAIT. I can't hear this album w/o Bing flooded by tons of holiday memries, & I've gotta have it playing if some1 Xpects me 2 help decorate a tree. "Merry Christmas, Darling" got lotsa airplay when it came out & still gets played on-radio during the season, & is still 1 of Karen's best vocal per4mances ever. Even w/ the overly-lush production, it's very moving -- & there's some great sax in the middle-break!
But. When I 1st heard PORTRAIT, I wasn't ready 4 "It's Christmas Time," which at 1st is a sorta perfect miniature, Karen & a piano, at 1st it almost Cms like she's taking it 2 fast, but as the song gingerly moves 2 its subdued finish, it's a perfect moment, so sweet & quiet -- so beautiful it'll send chills down yr spine. BUT THEN the choir takes over & repeats the whole song. At 1st it Cms like it's overkill, but it's not -- their version turns out 2 B just as moving as Karen's solo vocal. (OK, in the space of a wk I've come outta the closet on both The Carpenters & Abba. I'm done.)
* The Royal Guardsmen: "Snoopy's Christmas" (1967) -- Wait, mayB I'm NOT done. This is a treasured piece from my childhood, the 1st real rock-opera (or pop-drama NEway), w/ a back-story that features a vivid picture of the battle-scarred WWI front line, an intrepid pilot fighting 4 freedom, Xmas in a foxhole, a villain who turns out 2 B not such a bad guy after all, & much more. The best thing these folks ever did (w/ LOTSA help from producers Phil Gernhard & John Abbott), & the choruses R SO joyous U can't help singing along. I haven't heard it played on the radio since 1972....
* John Lennon: "Happy Xmas (War is Over)" (1971) -- Xmas is all about getting sentimental, & this is John at his mushiest, w/ a gorgeous tune, great choral vocals, a perfect Phil Spector wall-of-sound production, & -- I swear 2 Ghod -- Yoko Ono's best singing ever. A beautiful plea 4 world peace that effortlessly gets the msg across (unlike some of John's other efforts in this area). I bot this on an Apple-green-vinyl 45 in the winter of '71 & I've still got it, & it still sounds just as great as it did back then.
* Peter, Paul & Mary: "A'Soulin" (1962) -- This hypnotic # works 4 either Halloween or Xmas, cos clearly the kids in this song R doing something like trick-or-treating, but during the holiday season. It's not Xactly a happy song (the kids R begging 4 food), but the intertwining vocals R gorgeous & the acoustic-guitar work is superb. The song closes P,P&M's '62 album MOVING.
* The Pretenders: "2000 Miles" (1983) -- I always loved Chrissie Hynde's softer side ("Birds of Paradise," "I Go to Sleep"), & this could B the most beautiful thing she ever wrote, the gorgeous bittersweet closer 2 her/their album LEARNING TO CRAWL. It's perfect, w/ the chiming gtrs that sound like snowflakes falling, the distant chill in the air....
* The Beach Boys: "Little Saint Nick" & +"The Man With All the Toys" -- "Little Saint Nick" is basically a rewrite of "409," Santa as hip drag-racer, complete w/ period gearhead jargon, & what could possibly B wrong w/ that? "Man With All the Toys" is less charming & has a less-developed tune, w/ a closing vocal "bump" apparently borrowed from Nino Tempo & April Stevens' classic "Deep Purple."
* Darlene Love/The Crystals/Phil Spector/etc.: "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" -- I'd like 2 rate this higher, but the only time I've ever heard it was during the opening credits 4 the movie GREMLINS, where it sounded just like NE of those great Crystals/Ronettes classics of the early '60s. I understand Spector's Xmas album is pretty brilliant, but I've never Cn a copy....
+ Barbara Streisand: "Jingle Bells?" -- Well now. Bet U weren't Xpecting THIS. In less than 2 mins, Barbara totally revamps "Jingle Bells," taking it at a screaming, breakneck pace, en route turning it in2 something like "Flight of the Bumble Bee." She spits the words out like a possessed woman -- she makes fun of the lyrics! It's hilarious. & tho I learned when I heard this again a coupla yrs back that it isn't quite the Lost Gem Of The Ages that I'd thot, 1nce U hear it there's nothing U can do Xcept play it again & hope 2 catch a little more of the many things this song zings right at U....
+ The Jackson 5: "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" (1971) -- Charming, joyous rendition from back in the days when Michael still Blieved in Santa. I understand Bruce Springsteen borrowed this arrangement when he did this song at seasonal concerts.
= The Smothers Brothers: "The Bell That Couldn't Jingle" -- When I was growing up, everybody in the family had Smothers Bros albums. I thot their singing was almost the weakest part of their act, the stuff that connected their comedy bits. But this cute, modest little # is pretty charming in its cozy early-'60s sorta way.
= Andy Williams: "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year" -- My Mother is 2 blame 4 this. His voice is actually pretty good, & I think the song should B played on an Ndless loop during all those ugly "Black Friday" sales....
BONUS TRACK:
* Jose Feliciano: "Feliz Navidad" -- The best thing he ever did. It's so joyous, how can U resist it? & the emotion in his voice on the choruses -- he means it.
BONUS CLASSIC:
It's probly no suprise that my favrite Xmas song ever is "Carol of the Bells." But it's important 2 find the Right version. Trans-Siberian Orchestra does a version that's just 2 much, 2 overblown -- Phil Spector w/ super-heavy gtrs. When I was a kid, I think it was the version by Eugene Ormandy & the Philadelphia Orchestra that my Mom always played. But I have yet 2 track this 1 down....
...I'm sure there's plenty I'm missing, like NEthing from the past, oh, 30 years....
...The Beatles' annual Xmas msgs 2 their Fan Club were always hysterical, & Apple released a limited-edition album of them in the early '70s -- but where can U find them now?
...I also Cm 2 remember a kitschy # by Steve Lawrence & Edie Gorme called "Hurry Home for Christmas" that my Mom was a sucker 4, & that I liked enuf that I can still recite the choruses from memry -- but after including Barbara Streisand & Andy Williams in this countdown, I'm not gonna push my luck.
...Dolly Parton did a song called "Hard Candy Christmas" that was pretty great....
...I'm also aware there's no Elvis in this list -- "Blue Christmas" has a certain kitschy charm (love those swooning-Gulf-breeze backing vocals -- by The Jordanaires?), but it ain't Xactly obscure, & I've never heard "Merry Christmas, Baby."
...The Harry Simeone Chorale's "The Little Drummer Boy" is such a Xmas Classic it won't fit in2 this list either, but I'd agree it's a timeless piece of brilliance, still moving after all these yrs. Joan Jett's flat rendition of it can't come close (& I like her).
...The Moody Blues, Jethro Tull & The Beach Boys have all released Xmas albums, but I've only heard bits & pieces of each....
OH CRAP, I ALMOST 4GOT: *Cheech & Chong's "Santa Claus and His Old Lady" (1971) -- This isn't a SONG, but it sure is hilarious, among the Very Best things they ever did, & 4 a lotta yrs, trying 2 obtain a copy of this 45 woulda cost U about $2K (tho U can now get this on C&C's 2-CD best-of anthology WHERE THERE'S SMOKE...). Why didn't I grab a copy of THIS 45 back in '71 when I picked-up Lennon's "Happy Xmas"? Musta bn part of that early-onset Alzheimer's that I'm now suffering-from WAY WORSE....
...& I really DID 4get: *Jethro Tull's "Ring Out, Solstice Bells" (1977) -- I must REALLY B losin it, or I haven't had enuf coffee.... This is a cute little folk-dancy-style holiday song, w/ great singing, acoustic-gtrs & lutes, flute of course, jingling & clanging bells, jumpy handclaps & lots more. It's gotta really nice, lite folky feel that I thot Tull hadda superb touch 4 (WAY better than mosta their heavier stuff, I still can't take mosta AQUALUNG), & U can probly even Riverdance 2 it, if that's yr thing.... SONGS FROM THE WOOD is probly still my fave Tull album....
...MY SON (ADD) REMINDED ME THAT I 4GOT A REAL CLASSIC:
* Kate Bush: "December Will be Magic Again" (1980) -- Told ya the Alzheimer's was gettin me. Basically a series of sorta-goofy surreal images of summa the things that make Xmas special, sung w/ a bright, childlike innocence & absolute confidence that All Is Right w/ the world, this is 1 of the most gorgeous songs Kate has ever done, & woulda topped the above list if I had NE brain left AT ALL. It's so pretty, & so crystal-clear, that w/ the jangling bells U can hear the snow falling on the city's black-soot-icicled roofs. It's on her 2-CD THIS WOMAN'S WORK best-of, along w/ a lotta other great stuff -- go get it. U won't B sorry. & Many Thanx 2 ADD 4 reminding me about it. Talk about saving the best 4 last....
YEEZUS, HERE'S ANOTHER 1:
* The Pogues: "Fairytale of New York" (1983) -- This really is a modern-day Xmas song, Mphasis on the "modern." & it's hilarious. Starts out as a sweet, mournful, nostalgia-packed ballad. Sorta. & then the verses get a little (more) twisted.... Singer Shane MacGowan's vocals R his usual slurred stuff, tho U can almost follow the words 4 a change, & the backup vocals by the late Kirsty MacColl R wonderful, even when she's swearing. I won't spoil the fun 4 U, but 1nce it gets going, the verses R hysterical. Probly not 1 4 the kids. The song's been used recently in the great romantic-comedy movie P.S. I LOVE YOU, & possibly some others. Right up there w/ "Lorelei" among the very best things the Pogues did....
Your thoughts?....