...a little Setzer in your pants.
Finally got a quick look behind the curtain as we're learning a bit more about this year's crop of Christmas albums. The biggest previously undisclosed name (so far) is that of that Stray Cat dude, Brian Setzer. Ever since Brian ditched the Rockabilly for Neo-Swing, he's been a frequent Christmas flyer. With Orchestra in tow, Brian released "Boogie Woogie Christmas" in 2002. He followed that one with "Dig That Crazy Christmas" in 2005. That same year Brian also issued the DVD, "Christmas Extravaganza". A pair of Christmas "Best Of"s were released in 2008, "Christmas Rocks" and "The Ultimate Christmas Collection" (the latter including a performance DVD). Finally, in 2010, we got "Christmas Comes Alive" (which, as the title suggests, was a live album featuring the best Christmas tunes in Brian's holiday portfolio).
Though the details, as yet, are scarce, The Brian Setzer Orchestra is on the holiday schedule once again. This year's album is "Rockin' Rudolph" and is currently planned for an October 16 release. It will reportedly be issued in both CD and vinyl formats.
I usually leave the speculation to the mentalists--especially as I'm so very bad at it--but one has to wonder, given his already sizable holiday Swing catalog and given that his most recent album release was last year's "Rockabilly Riot", if maybe Brian is going to lay a Rockabilly Christmas album on us this time around. It'd be super cool, that's for sure, but it's likely to Swing and Rock regardless of its direction, because that's just kind of what Brian Setzer does whatever he does. And don't read too much into the notice billing the release to BSO. This far out, the distributors know about as much as I do what Brian's up to.
Additionally, "Boogie Woogie Christmas" is slated for a vinyl release this year, for those who had that included in their lists to Santa. Release date for that one is tentatively scheduled for October 30.
Finally got a quick look behind the curtain as we're learning a bit more about this year's crop of Christmas albums. The biggest previously undisclosed name (so far) is that of that Stray Cat dude, Brian Setzer. Ever since Brian ditched the Rockabilly for Neo-Swing, he's been a frequent Christmas flyer. With Orchestra in tow, Brian released "Boogie Woogie Christmas" in 2002. He followed that one with "Dig That Crazy Christmas" in 2005. That same year Brian also issued the DVD, "Christmas Extravaganza". A pair of Christmas "Best Of"s were released in 2008, "Christmas Rocks" and "The Ultimate Christmas Collection" (the latter including a performance DVD). Finally, in 2010, we got "Christmas Comes Alive" (which, as the title suggests, was a live album featuring the best Christmas tunes in Brian's holiday portfolio).
Though the details, as yet, are scarce, The Brian Setzer Orchestra is on the holiday schedule once again. This year's album is "Rockin' Rudolph" and is currently planned for an October 16 release. It will reportedly be issued in both CD and vinyl formats.
I usually leave the speculation to the mentalists--especially as I'm so very bad at it--but one has to wonder, given his already sizable holiday Swing catalog and given that his most recent album release was last year's "Rockabilly Riot", if maybe Brian is going to lay a Rockabilly Christmas album on us this time around. It'd be super cool, that's for sure, but it's likely to Swing and Rock regardless of its direction, because that's just kind of what Brian Setzer does whatever he does. And don't read too much into the notice billing the release to BSO. This far out, the distributors know about as much as I do what Brian's up to.
Additionally, "Boogie Woogie Christmas" is slated for a vinyl release this year, for those who had that included in their lists to Santa. Release date for that one is tentatively scheduled for October 30.
Over the weekend, we also learned that the always delicious Kylie Minogue is on the verge of releasing a Christmas full length. It's said that Kylie wants to take her time with her next non-holiday effort but feels its important to get new music to her legion of fans (few in America realize what a huge star Kylie is overseas). A Christmas album seemed to be the answer to her riddle. If you're at all familiar with Kylie's body.... of work (sorry, couldn't resist), it will come as no surprise to you that the album is going to have a decidedly dance oriented sound. "Disco-influenced" is probably the safe description. Unidentified sources told the British press that Kylie is half-way through recording it and that the album will feature "festive classics" and some original material. This will be her first Christmas album, though Kylie currently has two holiday tracks in circulation--"Santa Baby" (recorded in 2000) and "Let It Snow" from 2010. Both of those sported a much more traditional Christmas sound.
By now, you're no doubt aware that the group Train is working on a Christmas album, tentatively titled "Christmas In Tahoe". Every year, there's always one pending album from a well known artist that I can't seem to get excited about and this is this year's. See, I still haven't forgiven them for their soft-drink jingle masquerading as a Christmas song. Every time I think of this album, I can't help but imagine an entire record of holiday jingles for McDonalds, Geico, Kelloggs, etc. This is your shot at redemption, guys. Don't mess it up.
One of the big sleeper holiday hits of the past 5 years was "Joy - An Irish Christmas" from the husband and wife team of Keith and Kristyn Getty. That record was released in 2011. This year, Keith and Kristyn will be vying for your attention with "Joy - An Irish Christmas (LIVE)". The set will be available on CD and DVD and hits the virtual shelves October 9. Look for their live Christmas concert on PBS stations this fall.
As was the case last year, there are lots of classic Christmas albums making their way to vinyl this year (either "again" or for the first time ever). We'll cover those and the albums finding their way to CD for the first time in a separate post. We also expect a bunch to be re-issued digitally, including an oddball that's a personal favorite of mine, "Calypso Christmas" by the Esso Trinidad Steelband. Looking for something different for your holiday mix? Nothing is quite so different as Steel Drum bands. Although not quite as delightful as their cover of "I Want You Back", I played the heck out of this 1967 record when I was working college radio (my personal copy; the radio station didn't have it in their library). Look for it November 1.
And one bit of bad news. The Blue Hawaiians failed to reach their Christmas album funding goal through Kickstarter. With Kickstarter, that means that those who pledged will not be billed and the group gets nothing for their efforts. Though the band says they're determined to see this record get made, it won't be happening this year. We'll let you know if they decide to re-launch the crowd-funding campaign.
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