Li'l38:
I get busy this time of year - playing 3 or 5 nights a week. Parties, services, events, etc... so I have some opinions on this subject.
O Holy Night - its quite simply the finest Christmas song yet written. Its from (I believe) 1847 or 1848 - and like lots of these kinds of tunes, was probably a bar song that got adapted. I prefer it in a laid back 3, traditional arrangement. Playing this song in 3 is often risky, as it gets all sing-songy and turns into some silly waltz, complete with elbows flailing and heads bobbing. Far too undignified for such a song as this. An arrangement in 4 is great, but most singers can't get away from all the bad swingy 3's they've heard this song mangled into, so a laid back 3 is best. This song is from a different time when Christmas songs were serious fare. Its one of the first recorded pieces of music ever, with Enrico Caruso's classic performance that laid the foundation for the next 70 or 80 years to follow. I'm a huge fan of this tune. I have no less than 50 or 60 versions of it, I have wrapping paper, ornaments, sheet music from all eras (1900's, 20's, 30's, etc.) and other OHN stuff. It is the granddaddy of all Christmas tunes. Its quite venerable and is in no pearl of being knocked off by the likes of John Lennon or Bruce Springsteen or Mariah Carey.
What Child is this - the little known, seldom played Roberta Flack version. Piano and her. Unreal. She "Flacks it" as only she can - all minor-y with jazz changes and stalls and very silky vocals. The tag is quite unexpected (unless you kow her) and it just wraps the thing up so wonderfully. I never fail to chill when I listen to this arrangement of this tune. This is one of those songs that gets murdered by most artists. I highly recommend locating her version - its worth the search and will change the way you think about this tune.
A Charlie Brown Christmas - I'm doing a set this weekend where we're playing this stuff. Always fun. Its like a faded photograph, this record. Its a musical snapshot from another era and time that will never be repeated. Anyone over 40 holds this stuff in a special dusty place in their heart.
O Come All Ye Faithful (Take 6) - Until you've heard the Take 6 version of this tune, you've not heard what angels sing at this time of year. Quite simply, its breath taking. Some songs (or arrangements of songs, better) are not only good, but important. This is one of those. I well up even now as I write this - this song is responsible for changing the way I think about more than just Christmas.
OK - I'm back now. Woof.
I must have 200 or more Christmas CD's. All genres and styles. The reggae stuff is silly fun. The vocal stuff is excellent (not the mass chioir stuff, the ensemble stuff.) The classical guitar stuff is always great (well, most always great...) 99% of all the pop stuff sucks. I mean really sucks. There is no shortage yesteryear's "classic rock" acts and tomorrow's 99 cent bin pop artists contributing to the land fill of bad Christmas music that's out there these days. And no shortage of radio stations hawking this sad swill. From the pretentious Starbucks collection yawnfest stuff to the former Stadium rockers meet Billy Mack nonesense, most of it is just bad and bad some more.
The thing is, its such a cheezed out time of year. You have to sift through the crapola that gets thicker every friggen year to get to the good stuff. But its there. The good stuff is there.
I love Christmas.
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Ken
I'm also hooked on Trans-Siberian Orchestra's Christmas stuff...
