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HEY SANTA

9/30/2014

While I get myself together for the first "singles" post of the season, here's one to warm us both up.

Daniel Mark Baird enjoyed some success with "The Eagle Still Flies". You might have already heard that one and, if you haven't, it's bound to be included in collections of music inspired by 9/11 down the road. In the meantime, Daniel's set his sights on Christmas. "Hey Santa" releases officially in October (which should be rolling around any day now). It's a digital single and Daniel would like to raise enough money via Kickstarter to film a video for the song (the video for "The Eagle Still Flies" was very well done, so we're not talking some homemade iPhone video, here). He's still got quite a ways to go to raise the necessary funds and only a week left in the campaign, so drop a few coins in the pot, if you're so inclined, after watching the Kickstarter video below (you'll hear the song about a minute and a half in).

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ALL IS BRIGHT

9/28/2014

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There's a new collection of all new recordings featuring some of the brightest stars in Contemporary Christian Music on the horizon. "All Is Calm, All Is Bright: Songs Of Christmas" bows on October 21 and features such favorites as Sandi Patty, Jaci Velasquez, and former American Idol contestant Melinda Doolittle. The album will be available through Parable Christian Stores and, through their partnership, retail outlets such as Cracker Barrel, Target and Wal-Mart. The record features 11 new recordings of holiday favorites and two all-new compositions.

1. O COME ALL YE FAITHFUL/ JESU JOY OF MAN'S DESIRING
2. ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH Featuring Cindy Morgan
3. IN THE BLEAK MIDWINTER Featuring Ginny Owens & Cindy Morgan
4. BIRDS OF BETHLEHEM
5. IT CAME UPON THE MIDNIGHT CLEAR Featuring Nic Gonzales (of Salvador) & Seth & Nirva
6. AVE MARIA Featuring Sandi Patty & Andrew Greer
7. SING WE NOEL
8. THE FIRST NOEL Featuring Montell Jordan
9. HEARTBEAT OF A BABY Featuring Jaci Velasquez
10. GENTLE MARY LAID HER CHILD
11. CHILD IN THE MANGER Featuring Melinda Doolittle & Ginny Owens
12. O HOLY NIGHT Featuring Andrew Greer
13. SILENT NIGHT

And, yay, Idina Menzel finally shared the track list for "Holiday Wishes", due out October 14.

1. Do You Hear What I Hear?
2. The Christmas Song
3. Baby It's Cold Outside (with Michael Bublé)
4. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
5. All I Want For Christmas Is You
6. What Are You Doing On New Year's Eve?
7. December Prayer
8. When You Wish Upon A Star
9. Silent Night
10. River
11. Holly Jolly Christmas
12. White Christmas

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THERE'S ALWAYS MORE

9/26/2014

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Like laundry and dishes, there's always more Christmas music to tell you about...especially at this time of year. But first we have to visit the department of corrections for a bit.

We told y'all in our last post that The Connection was coming forth with tidings of great Rock n Roll joy this holiday season. And that remains the True. But I had the title of the disc as "Christmas Collection" when, in fact, a view of the very cover I posted would've revealed the title as "A Christmas Gift For...". Duh! The good news is that Amazon now has a listing for the digital edition (remember, CDs will be available from the group), so you can check out the samples of the new songs for yourself.

India Arie, Motown's Grammy winning vocalist, has turned up on the Christmas release schedule. "Christmas With Friends" is slated for a November 4 release. India is also featured on the "Motown Christmas" album which arrives this coming Tuesday. India's Christmas record contains some of the last recorded work of Jazz legend Joe Sample, who passed away September 12.

And The Roys have "Bluegrass Kinda Christmas" coming out on November 18. The Roys are a brother and sister duo who have really exploded on a rural music scene that can use some new heroes. If you like Bluegrass at all (or Country, for that matter), check out "The View", the current album from the pair.

The Mark Kozelek album "Sings Christmas Carols" has been moved up a week to November 4 and Barnes & Noble are among the first mega-retailers on the scene with a pre-order listing. For more, check out this piece from Christmas Underground.

It's always fun to unveil cover art and we've got what is purported to be the cover for "Home For Christmas" by Tom Wopat and John Schneider. I see they managed to get the General Lee on there. Those of you who didn't participate in the Kickstarter campaign can look for the record about a month from now.

We've got a couple more Exclusives to tell you about. Idina Menzel's "Holiday Wishes", coming October 14, will also be released in Target Exclusive form on the same day. The Target version will feature two additional songs exclusive to that store. Meanwhile, Boston based Newbury Comics is offering an Exclusive red and white vinyl version of Vince Guaraldi's "A Charlie Brown Christmas". The candy cane colored vinyl is limited to 1500 and customers may purchase no more than five copies each. That one will also be officially released October 14.

Mentioned, in our last post, that Document Records will continue their highly successful "Blues Blues Christmas" series with Volume 4 this year. I'm already hearing that, as predicted, the release date has been moved back into November. But we also got the track list and this is one set where that's very important to see before laying your money down. Two discs once again and here they are.

DISC ONE:
1. Please Come Home For Christmas - Charles Brown
2. Christmas Time Blues - Roy Milton
3. White Christmas - The Drifters
4. Guitar Jingle Bells - Arthur Guitar Boogie Smith
5. Santa Claus Blues - Peetie Wheatstraw
6. Santa Claus Blues - Clarence Williams Blues Five
7. Santa Is On His Way - Bob Wills
8. Looking For Me Santa Claus - Sam Manning
9. It's Christmas Time - The Qualities
10. I Hear Jingle Bells - Freddie King
11. Santa Claus Blues - Champion Jack Dupree
12. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer - The Cadillacs
13. Santa Done Got Hip - The Marquees
14. Cool Cool Xmas - Bobby & Boobie
15. Sleighbell Rock - Chuck Blevins
16. Mambo Santa Mambo - The Enchanters
17. Cowboy Santa Claus - Bill Lacey & Lil Armstrong
18. Father Christmas - The Mighty Spoiler
19. Love For Christmas - Jackson Trio
20. Christmas In Heaven - Billy Ward & His Dominoes

DISC TWO:
1. Christmas Time - Coree Carter
2. Mr. Santa Claus - Nathaniel Mayer
3. It's Christmas - Marvin & Johnny
4. Cowboy Santa Claus - Prairie Ramblers
5. Santa Clause Rock And Roll - Kathy & Jimmy Zee
6. Tell Santa Claus - Nap Hepburn
7. Xmas Eve Baby - Johnny Moore's Blazers
8. Christmas Eve - Gribble Lusk York
9. Answer To Maple On The Hill - Dixon Brothers
10. Silent Night - Golden Gate Quartet
11. Children Go Where I Send Thee - Victory Five
12. Twenty-Fifth Day Of December - Middle Georgia Four
13. A Mother, A Father, A Baby - Dixon Brothers
14. Sweet Little Angel Boy - Ward Singers
15. A Child Is Born - Angelic Gospel Singers
16. Glory Glory To The King - Ward Singers
17. Can This Be Christmas - Falcons
18. Christmas Is A Joyful Day - Executor
19. Happy New Year To You - The Qualities
20. After New Year's Eve - The Heartbeats

It's looking like a pretty good season for Bluegrass fans, with holiday sets from Claire Lynch, Rick Lang, and The Roys all on the schedule. For those who prefer a compilation, we've got one of those, too. Some of the tracks on "Christmas In The Smokies" I know very well and some I don't know at all. And that's kind of what you want in such a collection. Release is scheduled for November, but we don't yet have the precise date. What we do have is cover art and the track list. And that's enough for me.

Christmas In The Smokies - Lorraine Jordan & Carolina Road
Jingle Bells - Phil Ledbetter
My Christmas Dream - Josh Williams
The Christmas Song - Newton & Thomas
Frosty The Snowman - Scott Vestal, Wayne Benson, Jeff Autry
A Carpenter, A Mother & A King - The Village Singers
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - Newton & Thomas
Stuck In The Chimney - Fred Travers
There's A New Kid In Town - Wildfire
Winter Wonderland - Wild & Blue
It's A Time For Joy - Matt Wallace & Jesse Gregory
White Christmas - Charlie Waller & The Country Gentlemen
O Come All Ye Faithful - Ross Nickerson
Away In A Manger - Larry Stephenson
Go Tell It On The Mountain - Special Consensus

The British Boy Band The Vamps, currently ripping up the UK charts with their cover of Paul Simon's "Cecilia", have been joking about a Christmas album for a couple of weeks. I didn't add them to The List--not even as a Possible--because, well, they're goofballs and I wasn't taking their Christmas album jokes seriously. Guess I was wrong. The band has recorded 8 holiday songs, including two originals. They've tacked the 8 new tracks onto their debut album, making for an extended digital download of "Meet The Vamps" (no hard copy of the Christmas songs) which will be released December 1. As of right now, the only place you can find to pre-order this is The Vamps web site and it is ONLY available to UK customers. At least that's what it says (I didn't try it, myself). All things make their way here sooner or later, so I wouldn't be all that concerned about it. Given that it doesn't release until December 1, you can wait a good long while to see if it turns up domestically. I mean, it's not as though anybody ever runs out of mp3's. And the way this year's been going, I wouldn't be surprised if it comes out on goofball colored vinyl (or "coloured" vinyl, since its British). Your tween daughter might be less philosophical, though.

Now, how am I supposed to ignore this one? It's a Christmas album from Smooth Jazz keyboard man Tom Grant called "There's A Kitty Under The Christmas Tree". All together now. Awww. The album also features Rebecca Kilgore, Phil Baker and others. Outside of the title track, the songs, here, should be familiar to you. No release date, yet, though probably in November.

1. Christmas Dreaming
2. Winter Wonderland
3. Blue Christmas
4. Angels We Have Heard on High
5. Baby, It's Cold Outside
6. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
7. I'll Be Home For Christmas
8. Winter Warm
9. My Favorite Things
10. White Christmas
11. Let It Snow
12. There's A Kitty Under The Christmas Tree
13. Sleigh Ride

Finally, it's been 60 years since the film "White Christmas" was released. That movie featured Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney, and Vera-Ellen. According to BingCrosby.com, included with the Diamond Anniversary Blu-ray edition is an exclusive CD featuring 12 Christmas tracks from the stars of the film (and others). Eight of those tracks, they say, have never before been released in any format. The Blu-ray with bonus CD hits the shelves October 14. Dang. You know, I don't even have a color for Blu-ray on The List. Guess I'm gonna have to come up with one.

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YEAH, YEAH, I KNOW...

9/22/2014

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Yeah, so Darius Rucker gave us all the deets on his upcoming Christmas set a few days back. I love the Hootie man and I'm sure I'll be picking it up, but we were deluged with comments and emails about it.

Here's the thing. Its after Labor Day and this is Stubbys. There is no shortage of post-Labor Day coverage of Darius Rucker and his Christmas album announcement. [Note: the following searches were done several days ago; the number of hits is in constant flux] Do a Google search of "Darius Rucker Christmas album" and you'll get 196,000 results. 196,000! 932 "news" alerts alone. Now do a search for "Jason Manns Christmas album". 49 results, almost all of them from Supernatural fans on Twitter. No "news" results at all. Now try "Gonna Have A Really Soulful Christmas". 150 hits and, once you really boil it down, its really just us giving you any useful information (most of the rest is blog rolls of our post or the listings at on-line retailers). Before Labor Day, sure...any news is vital news. After Labor Day...Hootie will find you. Trust me, he will. I'm here to tell you about the releases you might otherwise miss.

Like who out there is talking about The Connection? (ONE Google result...and its us)

If you're a long time visitor to Stubbys (and aren't otherwise from New England), its likely you first met The Connection in 2011 when the group released "Rock N Roll Christmas" which, at the time, was a free download. That was paired with a faithful cover of the Ramones' "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)". Last year, they were back with an even better Christmas tune (IMHO), "Christmas Time Again". This year, they're going all out with an entire "Christmas Collection". Nine songs in all (that we know of, anyway), including their previous holiday tracks and five all new tinsel tunes. And this group just keeps getting better and better. Ain't just me saying that. Little Steven (Springsteen's E-Street Band) loves these guys and the Rock N Roll Hall of Fame hired The Connection to do 90 minute show at their annual Spring Benefit earlier this year.

1. Money Honey Baby
2. I Feel Fine (Its Christmas Time)
3. Christmas Bells Are Ringing
4. West Coast
5. Better Late Than Never
6. Christmas Time Again
7. Rock N Roll Christmas
8. Poor Boy
9. Merry Christmas (I Don't Want To Fight Tonight)

You could call The Connection a Pop Punk band, or a Power Pop band. They're really a nice natural collision of 60s Garage Rock and Ramones era Punk. I say natural because its a sound that would seem a natural evolution (or, depending on your point of view, devolution) of where Pop Rock music would have naturally gone, post Punk. But there are very few bands out there successfully combining that Garage rawness, Pop sweetness, and Punk aggressiveness as The Connection does. I think "Money Honey Baby" is about as good an example of this as any. That's a hit in any era. "West Coast" layers Ramones styled vocals over a Springsteen-esque riff. And the band digs deep for an early Blues flavored aggressive Rock N Roll sound with "Better Late Than Never". There's a bit of Byrds-like jangly Country Rock on "Christmas Bells Are Ringing". And a bit of Ragtime Folk on "Poor Boy". And, though recorded years back, "Merry Christmas" sounds all the more a poignant tribute given the loss of Tommy Ramone (last of the original Ramones) earlier this year.

A thoroughly enjoyable record from start to finish, "The Connection's Christmas Collection" officially releases November 1 on CD and in digital formats. There's no listing for it yet, but keep your eyes on The Connection's Bandcamp page and their official web site as we get closer to November.

Now isn't that better than another rehash of the Hootie set?

Another artist with an upcoming Christmas album that I bet you haven't heard about is Gaby Moreno (One google hit...not us). Hopefully you've heard of Gaby but, even if you haven't, you're probably familiar with some of her work. Gaby co-wrote the theme from the NBC show "Parks And Recreation", she sang the song "Smile" for the documentary film "The Cove", and she was also heard in the film "Fred Claus", singing "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" with Matt Turk. Most recently, she's been touring with Dr. House, Hugh Laurie, another name to add to her collection of touring partners that already includes Ani DiFranco and Tracy Chapman. With a deep knowledge of music ranging from the earliest blues and folk to the latest rock n roll, Gaby's an artists' artist--the kind of singer/songwriter other people can't wait to work with.

We've been given no details on the Christmas album, except that a November release is planned, and that makes it tough to talk about because Gaby does so many things so well. Her earlier Christmas EP, "A Good Old Christmastime", had an old timey Jazz/Blues feel. And you gotta give her mad props for covering the Rev. Clayburn's "The Wrong Way To Celebrate Christmas Day". But she's been known to do Blues with a sharper edge, contemporary Jazz ballads, and even the occasional straight up Folk Rock track. Plus she sings in both English and Spanish. The possibilities are limitless. I'm guessing, though, we will get a few original songs. Whatever approach she's taken is bound to be winning...just as everything she's done to date has been. In the meantime, make sure you check out "A Good Old Christmastime". If you haven't checked it before, you'll be happy I steered you to it.

This next artist I pulled from a fan forum. Fan Forum's are notoriously unreliable sources for Christmas music news. True enough, fans frequently get the early word when a holiday record is in the works and some are close enough to get inside info on what's going on when recording is underway. But, just as often, there's at least one guy just looking to stir up a hornets next with a fake Christmas album rumor. This one's even worse because, whatever these folks are fans of, it doesn't appear to be the guy they're talking about.

Peter Andre is as much a "personality" as he is a singer, and he's about as popular across the pond as Miley Cyrus or Kim Kardashian in this country (which means he has enough fans to have a career, but pretty much everybody else hates him). Now I'd never heard of the guy until I stumbled into that forum. But I immediately hopped over to check the samples for "Big Night", the most recent album from the English/Australian artist. The big thing about "Big Night" was that Andre was working with a Big Band. But, rather than striving to recreate the vintage sound of the Big Band era, Peter was going for a fusion of Contemporary Pop and Big Band Swing. And it worked, I thought, for the most part. "Big Night" doesn't sound like the anything from the New Swing movement, nor like the Brian Setzer Orchestra. It sounds much more like classic Motown...except when it doesn't...only even bigger. Or, um, Spiral Staircase? Or maybe like Count Basie meets George Michael. Overall? Astounding. I really liked it. Sure, its not David Bowie or even Michael Buble, but the sound is fresh.

Recently, Andre signed on to do the fall commercial campaign for Iceland, a British supermarket chain that specializes in frozen foods. And the campaign's generated quite a bit of buzz. Not all of it good ("What's the difference between Peter Andre and an Iceland frozen pizza? One is a cheap, cheesy, over-processed mess... And the other is an Iceland frozen pizza"). But I think I'd really dig a Christmas album with the "Big Night" sound.

So anyway, there's a rumor of a Christmas album...featuring the new Big Band Swing Peter Andre. And I, for one, am intrigued. Sure, it'll be an Import. But maybe it'll be only 89p (ah, you've got to watch the commercials to get that one).

Here's something else that's completely different. "Christmas On The Farm" from Farmer Jason (111 google hits). Stubby, what are you talking about? Yeah, OK, so it's a kids album. If you have kids, you might know Farmer Jason from the PBS program. But, if not, maybe you know Farmer Jason better as Jason Ringenberg of Jason & The Scorchers? Yes, THAT Jason & The Scorchers, pretty much the inventor of Alt Country and the whole Americana movement. Even his kids music swings and rocks. "Christmas On The Farm" was funded through Indiegogo and is expected to have an October release. Tracks include "The Animals Sang" and "Santa Drove A Big John Deere". I think it might be worth a listen.

Did you know we're getting another volume of "Blues Blues Christmas" from Document Records this year (3 google hits, only two of which are legit and they're both from Allegro Music)? This will be Volume 4. As the first three were awesome, I'm expecting no less with this one. There have been no more comprehensive compilations of vintage Christmas Blues and Gospel. Release date is October 14. Expect it to be delayed, though; they're always delayed.

Even as he raises money for his next album, due in May 2015, Michael Grimm is promising a Christmas record around Thanksgiving time. Grimm was the winner of "America's Got Talent, Season Five". He's got a very soulful voice which he puts to use singing Blues, R&B, Americana, and just plain Rock. And there's apparently going to be a Christmas album featuring the cast of the television show "Nashville" (and friends) this year; just wrapped the recording sessions, by all accounts.

David and Don are David Schelzel of The Ocean Blue and Don Peris of The Innocence Mission. David says the two are working on a Christmas album, now. As he told PopDose "We’ve been doing songs around the holidays for years so this time we are trying to finish a proper full-length holiday album that should come out later this year. Or next." 

And here's why we care:

Roots artist Carly Jamison (43 google hits) has been toying with the idea of a Christmas record for a few years, now. In fact, you can still grab her raw demos for "Oh No Santa Claus" (2012) and "It Feels Like Christmas (Every Single Day)" (2013) as free downloads--just click on the song titles. This year, Carly got the Christmas itch and needed to scratch it good. So she called a group of world class musicians and the studio with one message: we need to cut a Christmas EP ASAP. Don't have a release date, yet, but it'll be interesting to hear what Carly comes up with.

There's been no shortage of news about the forthcoming holiday album from The Blind Boys Of Alabama and Taj Mahal. The Blind Boys first Christmas album in 2008, "Go Tell It On The Mountain", remains an annual must listen. Adding in the classic Folk Blues artist Taj Mahal is just icing on a sweet Christmas cake. For when Gospel meets Blues, it is literally the best of both worlds. Taj is only the featured singer on two songs on the new album, "Talkin' Christmas", but eight of the record's twelve tracks are all new compositions. Look for it on October 21.

1. Do You Hear What I Hear?
2. Christ Was Born on Christmas Morn
3. What Can I Do? (feat. Taj Mahal vocals)
4. Talkin' Christmas
5. Merry Christmas to You
6. Silent Night
7. There's a Reason We Call it Christmas (feat. Taj Mahal vocals)
8. The Sun is Rising
9. No Room in the Inn
10. Jesus Was Born
11. Who Will Remember?
12. Merry Christmas!

Now, I don't mean to overdo the "not really a Christmas album" write-ups. Mentioned Primus before and there's always one or two I put on The List each year. But, as I'm far too fond of saying, its all about the music to me. And when the Rance Allen Group has a new album that sounds as good as the one they're about to release (November 11), well, Sugarpie Honeybunch, I can't help myself.

The Rance Allen Group is a Gospel group of brothers that formed (professionally) in 1970. They were the first act signed to the Stax subsidiary label Gospel Truth. Along the way, they recorded one of the most smooth and soulful renditions of "White Christmas" in the history of the world.

The new album is "Celebrate" and that title raised my hopes for a Christmas record. Well, its not, but it just sounds too good to ignore. Here's the lead single, "A Lil' Louder". Crank that sucker!

1. A Lil' Louder (Clap Your Hands)
2. Celebrate
3. Champion
4. Sounds Like Rain
5. Step Out
6. U R Not Alone
7. Turn It Around
8. Feel The Spirit
9. He's Real
10. Stay Focused
11. Through The Fire
12. Walking In The Sand

And just so the Hootie fans don't hate me, here's the track list for Darius Rucker's "Home For The Holidays"--out October 27.

1. "I’ll Be Home For Christmas"
2. "White Christmas"
3. "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow"
4. "Winter Wonderland"
5. "Please Come Home for Christmas"
6. "What God Wants for Christmas"
7. "Baby, It’s Cold Outside" (featuring Sheryl Crow)
8. "O Come, All Ye Faithful"
9. "You’re A Mean One, Mr. Grinch"
10. "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing"
11. "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas"
12. "Candy Cane Christmas"

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NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

9/21/2014

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For those of you who were waiting--and you know who you are--the limited edition vinyl re-issue of Kay Martin's "I Know What He Wants For Christmas...But I Don't Know How To Wrap It" is now available for pre-order through Amazon. If you'd like to read more about the disc, check out our earlier post.

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GONNA HAVE A REALLY SOULFUL CHRISTMAS

9/17/2014

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Finally got something new up on the International Page. But its worth calling your attention to it here on the home page. "Gonna Have A Really Soulful Christmas" is an import collection that arrives at Amazon on October 14. It's a two-disc set with over 2 hours of vintage Soul and R&B. It's got a decent SRP for that (just over $20) and a track list that covers the waterfront from the tired and true (yes, I meant to type "tired") to some very hard to find sides (a little less hard to find, perhaps, in this digital age, but certainly difficult to find in hard copy form). Not sure--somebody will probably tell me--but I think a few of these tracks are making their CD debut (Sandy Baron's "Swingin' Santa"? Bueller? Bueller? Anybody? Anybody?). And a lot of it comes to you courtesy of the different copyright laws in Europe and the UK. The label, itself, Hoo Doo Records, is based in Barcelona, Spain. And releasing music that is Public Domain under European law is what they do. By most accounts, they do it pretty well. Now, I'm not going to put this in the same category as the "Santa's Funk & Soul Party" albums from the German Tramp label (who DO pay royalties, btw), but its not a bad little collection to pick up if you dig vintage Soul. And who doesn't, right? I spent a lot of time typing up the track list, so please, out of respect for my carpal tunneled wrists and fingers, check it out on our International Page.

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CHRISTMAS IS SUPERNATURAL

9/15/2014

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Christmas is coming. So is Halloween. And, while I'm not a real big fan of holiday crossovers (Tim Burton's "The Nightmare Before Christmas" does nothing for me), this particular time of year always does put me in mind of some of my favorite TV shows, for some reason. My favorite show of all time, I think I'd have to say, is Buffy The Vampire Slayer. That show had everything, as far as I'm concerned. At root, it was allegory. At root, it was about friendship. Previous slayers had died while Buffy lived because she had friends (alright, she died at least twice, but she always came back, so we'll let that slide). My favorite current show is probably Supernatural. Like Buffy, once you boil Supernatural down, its about something other than monsters. I've always related to Supernatural as a show about brothers. I've got brothers, myself, and I love watching that relationship in all its ups and downs.

What does this have to do with anything? Stick with me for a second.

Jason Manns is an independent artist. I'd describe his sound as a soulful folk pop. I like his sound a lot. He's got three albums on Amazon, including last year's "Move", if you want to check them out. And I was a bit disappointed that I missed his Kickstarter campaign, last Christmas, for this year's coming Christmas album. Still, although I won't be buying as much as I have in seasons past, this one was on my list.

As it happens, Jensen Ackles (Dean in Supernatural) plays guitar, writes songs and, from time to time, even sings. He's played and sung a lot with Steve Carlson and...Jason Manns. And, judging from the Instagram feeds, Jensen is highly likely to be among the friends on Jason's "Christmas With Friends". See, I told you we'd tie this together.

Jensen's not the only musical friend Jason has. He's not even his only friend with ties to Supernatural. Julie McNiven will be providing some vocals on the record. Ah, I love redheads. You might know Julie from Mad Men, but Supernatural fans will remember her as the fallen angel Anna Milton from seasons four and five. And who knows what other friends will drop in? Castiel, is that you? (Well, we can hope). Contrary to some of the twitter on Twitter, I'm not expecting Jason's album to be "a love letter" to Supernatural fans. But I was already looking forward to this one and the tie-in just gives it a little more juice for me. Should be a blast.

"Christmas With Friends" officially releases December 1, but pre-orders (for folks who missed the Kickstarter campaign, like me) are being accepted now. Jason doesn't plan on making a lot of extra copies, initially. And, given that his Kickstarter goal was $5000 and he actually raised over $43,000, pre-order is the way to go if you want your copy before Christmas (cause $43,000 equals a whole lot of pre-orders).

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WHAT ELSE YOU GOT IN THAT SACK, SANTA MAN?

9/10/2014

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What would happen if all the kiddies wrote to Santa but Santa never got the letters? Would Christmas be cancelled? Thankfully, the Postal Service is pretty reliable. The Interwebs? Not so much. Used to be my web host notified me automatically when there was a comment pending moderation. When I stopped getting notifications, I just assumed no one was commenting. Well, that turned out not to be the case. Brigitte of Lie In The Sound, one of my favorite people on the planet, wrote me recently to say how happy she was to see me back at the blog thing. She mentioned that she'd left a comment or two which caused me to check the comment log. Sure enough, there was nearly a year's worth of comments waiting for me. So I apologize to you all. I wasn't ignoring you on purpose. I just didn't know.

My favorite missed comment was from Rob Parissi critiquing my critique of his 2012 Christmas single. Rob, you're right. I'm nobody. I have no credentials to speak of. I'm just a guy who loves music and listens to an ungodly amount of Christmas music, for some reason. I'm a freak. Or a geek. Or both. A guy with an itchy google finger and a blog. Heck, they'll give anybody a blog. Listening to as much Christmas music as I do, some things hit you right and some don't. I just found your mix of Funk and Smooth Jazz an odd cocktail is all. I didn't hate it, but I didn't love it. And I say (somewhere on this blog) that I'm far from the final word on any of this stuff. But what I did do, hopefully, was let a few people know that you'd done a Christmas single so that they could check it out for themselves. Because, in all fairness, it wasn't well publicized and I think very few people knew about it. And guess what. I just did it again. So you're welcome. Long after this world turns to dust, Rob, I'm sure your work will live on and mine won't. And I'm cool with that.

Now back to unwrapping presents.

I'm not holding out any hope for the long promised Pat Benatar or Meatloaf Christmas albums. But we have received word, albeit by carrier pigeon, that we might get a Heart Christmas album this year. Now, we have been given no details into the possibilities of what the Wilson sisters, Ann and Nancy, might have in mind--just a title ("Home For Christmas") and a release date (November 11). At present, its strictly a digital release (no hard copy--not this year). Now I recall that, last December, Heart did a Christmas concert in Seattle (with lots of "friends") which was broadcast live on AXS TV (the videos are all over YouTube). And, OK, the title of that concert was "Home For The Holidays". Close enough. Things are beginning to add up, doncha think? You don't? Oh. Well, I'm going to keep going anyway. I'm suspecting that we're going to get a Live Christmas album--the soundtrack to last year's holiday show--and possibly an accompanying DVD (on Sirius recently, Nancy said the group had both an album and a DVD in the works, though she didn't specify Christmas). Songs performed at last year's concert include Joni Mitchell's "River", "All Through The Night", "Please Come Home For Christmas" and..."Stairway To Heaven"? How'd that get in there? (Hope they leave it in, though; the choir was awesome.) And Nancy and Sammy Hagar did "Santa's Going South For Christmas". So that'd be pretty cool, doncha think? Hey, if it winds up being a studio album, so much the better (we did get that Christmas single last year, didn't we).

Just to give you a few more seconds to finish listening to Heart before listening to the Living Sisters...

You know who I feel sorry for this year? Tim Neely. Tim Neely compiled and wrote the indispensable "Christmas Record Price Guide" for Goldmine, chronicling all the vinyl Christmas releases in history. And, even though Goldmine has no intentions of publishing an updated edition, Tim still keeps track of every year's new vinyl releases. Most years, that's probably not too daunting a task. But this year, we're being overwhelmed with vinyl. I mean, look at The List. Most years, its a sea of red (new CD releases) with a dot or two of blue (vinyl releases). This year, there's an awful lot of blue on there. It's Global Warming, I tellz ya! It's almost as though the record labels are figuring this is the last year they'll have to make money. Maybe they know something we don't. Maybe the end of the world is indeed nigh. Anyway, more vinyl records for the schedule. October 14 will see the release of Dave Brubeck's "Christmas" and, on October 21, we'll get "An Oscar Peterson Christmas". Both were Telarc Jazz releases in the mid-90s and I don't think either has ever been on vinyl before. Cool beans! And, coming October 28, Friday music is releasing a limited edition vinyl pressing of Bobby Darin's "25th Day Of December". It's been remastered with care from the original Atco tapes and comes on collectors grade vinyl (180g) with original cover art. There's more, of course, but, suddenly, vinyl is so...uneventful.

And here's a little item from the overseas press. Tony Bennett and Lady Gaga, who have an album of duets due soon, "Cheek To Cheek", have signed to do the television Christmas campaign for H&M stores. H&M is a clothing chain based out of Sweden, but they do have American stores as well. So here's hoping we get a Christmas duet out of the campaign. Otherwise, who cares?

Now back to our regularly scheduled blog post.

Ooh, these presents are all sparkly and pretty!

Well this seemed to come out of nowhere, but I'm certainly happy it did. The Living Sisters is a "supergroup" specializing in harmony vocals. The group consists of Inara George (Bird & The Bee), Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond), and accomplished solo artists Eleni Mandell and Alex Lilly. They started singing together for fun (in assorted combinations) back around 2006, then began recording for realz in 2009. Most of the good singers I've met in my life love harmony vocalizing. Its really an incredible skill or gift to do it well.

Two releases behind them, now--"Love To Live" and "Run For Cover"--Christmas would seem to be a natural next step. I, too, love harmony vocals and the songs of the season lend themselves well to that. But, to me, the best part of the coming "Harmony Is Real: Songs For A Happy Holiday" is that the ladies have written EIGHT brand new holiday tunes. I, for one, can't wait to hear such future classics as "Kadoka, South Dakota" (say that five times fast) and "Neon Chinese Christmas Eve". And I always consider it an extra bonus when a Hanukkah track is included (though, by my math, it's one of the covers).

"Harmony Is Real: Songs For A Happy Holiday" is on Vanguard Records (so you know its good). Look for it October 28.

1. Harmony is Real
2. Kadoka, South Dakota
3. Jingle Bells
4. Merry Happy Christmas
5. Skip the Sugar (Good Girl)
6. Christmas in California
7. Baby Wants a Basketball for Christmas
8. Little Drummer Boy
9. Neon Chinese Christmas Eve
10. Hanukkah
11. Silver Bells
12. Don't Go To Sleep

We briefly mentioned David Myles at least once before. The Canadian roots artist has been working on "It's Christmas" which is now available for pre-order through Maple Music. Although the price for the disc is more than fair, it IS an Import, so your postage will be up there (fwiw, these Canadian albums generally issue domestically the following year and I haven't given up hope there will be a domestic release THIS year). But Maple Music does accept Paypal, so you've got that going for you...which is nice. "It's Christmas" will begin shipping October 22, give or take. The CD comes with 5 Christmas cards. And, hey, you can get the album on white vinyl, if you'd prefer. That version also comes with 5 Christmas cards, as well as a download card. For each record or CD sold, a donation will be made to Canada's food banks. David chose an interesting selection of cover tunes, including Jimmy Wakely's "Star Of Hope" and the old Buck Owens chestnut "Blue Christmas Lights". But I confess I'm fascinated by the title "Santa Never Brings Me A Banjo".

It’s Christmas
The Christmas Song
Star of Hope
I’ll Be Home for Christmas
Santa Never Brings Me A Banjo
Let It Snow
Blue Christmas Lights
Les Cloches Du Hameau
It Snowed
The Gift
Sleigh Ride
White Christmas
Silent Night

Are you familiar with Maysa? Well, if you're not, you should be. Most of us first took note of Maysa singing with the British Jazz/Funk group Incognito. But, before that, she'd backed Stevie Wonder. Her debut solo album was released in 1995 and she's done a lot of work with a lot of different artists in a lot of different media (including appearances on The Tonight Show and Arsenio Hall). Her last few records have all scored well on Billboard's Contemporary Jazz charts and that's the thing, you see. She's got the range, the voice and the talent to do it all. She's got the smoothness to seduce with Soul, the perfect pitch and intonation and the natural ability to improvise to amaze you with Jazz, and the power to blow you away with Funk or Gospel. The name that keeps coming to my mind is Sarah Vaughn, but that's probably unfair to both of them. Anyway, Maysa brings all of her talents to bear with each song she sings. Her voice is rich and lush like honey-dipped chocolate. You need to know Maysa. She will win you over with a single note. She's that good.

As it happens, Maysa has recorded a Christmas song or two before. Keeping in mind that she gets better every day, I think those two songs will leave you longing for more. Back around 1997, she contributed a gorgeous version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" to the soulful collection "Tis The Season". More recently, she did a slightly jazzier version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (with Brian Culbertson) on "Soul Of The Holidays". "A Very Maysa Christmas" hits the streets October 28.

Joy To The World
Jingle Bells
The First Noel
The Night Before Christmas/Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Silver Bells (feat. Gerald Albright)
This Christmas (feat. Will Downing)
It's The Holidays
Christmas Time Is Here
The Little Drummer Boy
Pray For Peace

You're all familiar with the Icon series. Its a way of repackaging material to sell again. They usually carry a budget price and they're often released toward the end of the year. The reasoning is pretty obvious. You're out Christmas shopping for your kids or for a friend of a friend and you've got no clue what to get them. But you know they like so-and-so and, hey, here's a CD that's pretty cheap by that very so-and-so and it looks like its got tunes even I have heard. Perfect! Never mind any real fan of that artist actually has all that music already. At least they knew that you liked that artist and you'd have bet they didn't even know that much about you. There's a ton of Icon Christmas releases coming out this year and I'm paying them very little attention. But this one..... I looked at the track list on "Icon Pop Christmas Favorites" and said, hey, this is a little different. I don't think a number of these tracks have been released on hard copy of any kind before. Sure, the Anberlin track has made the rounds. But Owl City's "Peppermint Winter"? Not so much. And Javier Colon? How many people do you suppose remember that Colon was the first season winner of The Voice? How many of them even knew he had a digital Christmas album (well, EP)? And any set with The Bird and The Bee draws my attention. So, if this carries the usual Icon budget price tag, it's going to be worth picking up. And, if not, its still worth taking note of. Look for "Icon Pop Christmas Favorites" (and also "Icon Country Christmas") on October 21.

Happy Christmas (War Is Over) - MAROON 5
She's All I Want For Christmas - LLOYD
Peppermint Winter - OWL CITY
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - KEYSHIA COLE
Wish List - NEON TREES
The Christmas Song - JAVIER COLON
Winterlove - PARACHUTE
Santa Baby - FAITH EVANS
Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - ANBERLIN
Carol Of The Bells - THE BIRD AND THE BEE
I'll Be Home For Christmas - CHRIS MANN

There's some good holiday Jazz coming this year. I'd say we could use a little more Hammond B3 organ, though. And, what do ya know, here comes Joey DeFrancesco to the rescue. Joey is known as "The Master of the Jazz Organ". I have a hard time putting anyone ahead of Jimmy McGriff, but there's always room for more Hammond B3 organ Christmas Jazz. And Joey's about to give us two CDs worth. "Home For The Holidays" features one disc subtitled "The Party" and another subtitled "The Tradition". Is it any surprise "The Party" is the longer of the two? 23 tracks in all. Joey goes solo, trio, quartet and quintet at various points on the album--whatever the song calls for. In addition to the organ, he also plays piano and trumpet and even sings a couple of songs along the way. Tis a Merry Merry Christmas, indeed. "Home For The Holidays" is scheduled to hit the record shops October 28. And this just happens to be a record we have a pre-order link for (via Barnes & Noble).

DISC ONE: THE PARTY
1. Mistletoe & Holly
2. Home For The Holidays
3. Baby Its Cold Outside
4. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
5. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
6. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve
7. Christmas At 3 A.M.
8. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer
9. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
10. The Christmas Song
11. Merry Christmas Baby
12. I'll Be Home For Christmas
13. Blue Christmas

DISC TWO: THE TRADITION

1. Joy To The World
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
4. We Three Kings
5. O Come All Ye Faithful
6. Silent Night
7. What Child Is This
8. Away In A Manger
9. The First Noel
10. O Holy Night

Almost last, but certainly far from least...

There's a new Christmas record on the way from the too eclectic for words TriBeCaStan. I love these guys! It's a little too simplistic to describe them as a mix of Jazz and World Music, but that's the general condensed version. You may recall their first Christmas EP, "The Twisted Christmas". I sure do. There's always that point, every Christmas season, when the traffic and the crowds and the general chaos of the season reaches a ridiculous level. And that's when I pull out "The Twisted Christmas". It actually helps me to smile at the absurdity of it all, rather than letting it get the best of me. It's also a good disc for late night listening, because I always hear things I hadn't heard before. Just amazing stuff.

All we know about the coming TriBeCaStan holiday set is that its called "Coal Again!", its set for release October 28, and it contains 6 songs (two more than the last one). Expect the unexpected. Heck, expect the impossible. TriBeCaStan will deliver. Read our write-up of "The Twisted Christmas" and buy it, if you haven't already.

Well, that's about all the presents I have for this trip. But I feel compelled to mention this non-holiday release that's coming soon. I think most of us grew up on "Willy Wonka" (the Gene Wilder one, not that Johnny Depp mess). It's kind of become a defacto holiday movie because somebody always shows it at Christmas time. Well, the group Primus has decided to pay tribute to that film by twisting the music like Oompa Loompas twist taffy. Says Les Claypool, "The notion wasn't so much to go in and redo the soundtrack note for note as much as it was to utilize the classic elements of the music yet try to reflect some of the darker undertones of the Roald Dahl books." The original band is back together for this one. "Primus & The Chocolate Factory" releases October 21. It might not be for most Christmas collectors, but I can't help but imagine their take on "Pure Imagination" is going to end up on somebody's mix-disc this Christmas.

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I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

9/8/2014

7 Comments

Like I said, Labor Day come and gone and now the neat stuff is coming to light.

For a couple of decades, Kay Martin's Christmas album was the not so secret desire of every Christmas music collector. Released in 1962 (on green vinyl, no less), "I Know What He Wants For Christmas...But I Don't Know How To Wrap It" was what was known, at the time, as a "Party Record". "Party Records" were the "Parental Advisory" records of their day--ranging from raunchy stand up comedy to nightclub singers specializing in double or even single entendre. These were the records they didn't sell "over the counter", the records the adults kept under lock and key only to play after the kiddies had gone to bed, lest it burn their little ears and lead them to a life of debauchery. What's funny isn't that Kay's record is so incredibly tame by today's standards--of course it is--but that, even in 1962, the lyrics of half the rock music on the radio was every bit as sexually charged, if not more so. But part of the whole cache of the Kay Martin LP and the other "Party Records" is that they were "forbidden". It reminds me of a very popular coin operated peep show from the fifties that advertised "Live Nudist Colony". When you dropped the coin in and the blackness gave way to the light...it was an ant farm. And, of course, anybody who paid the coin and only got ants was going to be far too embarrassed to blow the whistle on the scam.

I've listened to a lot of the old "Party Records" through the years--Belle Barth and B.S. Pully and Rusty Warren and Redd Foxx, of course. These folks were brilliant performers. They didn't need to "work blue"--it just paid better. Ah, but this album...this...Christmas album. "I Know What He Wants For Christmas" was special. Perhaps because it was a Christmas album (did I mention the green vinyl?). I like the way Rob Martinez described it on the Christmas Yuleblog several years back. "This wasn't an album to the Christmas music community - it was a secret handshake that gained you entrance into the fraternity of die-hard holiday music lovers." Every bit of it, Rob. After the Internet was born, the "secret" was out and, via file sharing and eBay, Kay Martin's record reached new heights of demand and popularity. Copies of the actual LP routinely went for 60, 70, even 100 dollars. Hmmm. Looks like they still do. And let it be known that Kay could actually sing. She had the chops and the looks (she was once a centerfold and pin-up model), but she also had an "act" of song and humor and, in those days, that meant steady income. Sadly, Kay passed away about 2008.

So, by now, I'm sure you've figured out that I'm not talking about this delicious slice of holiday magic for mere nostalgia. I'd put it on the Essentials page if it were that (another poor neglected page). So here's the deal.

Rockbeat is reissuing Kay Martin's "I Know What He Wants For Christmas" on October 28. No, not on CD. On VINYL. On GREEN VINYL. It's basically an exact replica of the original recording--right down to the original front and back covers. So if you've ever wanted to own your very own copy of this legendary recording in its original format, without putting up the rent money to get it, now's your chance.

Personally, I confess to having mixed feelings about such "replication" releases. I only ever bought one collectible in my life as an investment. It was a sure thing. And I was right. It went up, up, up in value. And, just as I'm patting myself on the back for doing the smart thing for once, they reprinted it...and they might as well have stuck a pin in a balloon and popped it good and proper. But, where Christmas music is concerned--where Kay Martin is concerned--I just want everyone to have the opportunity to hear the music and the humor. And Rob of the Yuleblog was right about that as well. It's still an incredibly fun album. It's lost nothing in the past 52 years.

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METAL KALIKIMAKA

9/5/2014

1 Comment

Labor Day over, we're finally ready to heat up for the holiday season. Before Labor Day, you mostly hear about the Contemporary Christian and the more traditional Big Star vocalist projects. But Rock, Jazz, Blues...you rarely hear more than whispers until after Labor Day. It's like a rule or something. Heck, you might not hear about some major Rock releases until Columbus Day.

So, last week, Seth MacFarlane does a bit of PR for "Holiday For Swing" and, today, Idina Menzel gives us the release date, title and cover art for "Holiday Wishes"--am I noticing a "holiday" theme this year? Anyway, there's Idina's cover off to your right. Look for the album October 14. The "Frozen" star promises "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", "Holly Jolly Christmas", Joni Mitchell's "River" and a new song, "December Prayer". Full track list coming soon.

And Darius Rucker of Hootie & The Blowfish tells us his coming Christmas album will have "a couple originals on it and I think eight of the standard stuff". Among the highlights are "You're A Mean One Mr. Grinch" and "Baby Its Cold Outside" (a duet with Sheryl Crow).

I should probably save this next one for a singles round-up, but its a real rock release AND its vinyl. Unfortunately, right now, its only going to be available as an import. Hopefully, it'll work its way to Interpunk or something before the season's over. Hey, a guy can hope. It's a limited edition 10" single from the British Progressive Rock band Magnum. The band has been around since 1972 (excluding a five year hiatus at the end of the 90s) and still features two original members, vocalist Bob Catley and songwriter/guitarist Tony Clarkin. Due for release October 24, the full version of "On Christmas Day" runs more than 7 minutes (ah, Progressive Rock, how I've missed you)--thus the need for ten inches. The flip features a radio edit (Radio Edit? We don't need no stinking radio edit!) and another newly cut track, "Born To Be King". Visit the band's web site and maybe you can get more information (but probably not). Thankfully, "On Christmas Day" will also be released digitally; the mp3 version, at least, ought to reach American shores.

There will also be a Christmas album from Blue Rodeo this year. "A Merrie Christmas To You" is scheduled for release November 4 and features a couple of holiday standards, a couple of originals, and a selection of more recent (and more folky) additions to the holiday canon, like Joni Mitchell's "River", Big Star's "Jesus Christ", and Gordon Lightfoot's "Song For A Winter's Night". The Canadian Country Rockers have been around since 1987, but the only Christmas track of theirs that I'm aware of is "Blue Christmas" from 1988 (and I'm not even positive that wasn't "promotional only"). This release, too, figures to be only available as an import this year, but at least it only has to come from Canada.

We've added a couple of new Southern Soul titles to The List. "Southern Soul" is, itself, a fairly broad term. In general, though, its a more classic soul sound with a bit of blues influence and definitely some sexual themes. These days, lots of Southern Soul is released on small independent labels and the artists play a fairly regional circuit. So many of the artists have been big stars in their smaller universe for some time, even if you haven't run across their music before. And, pardon me for saying so, they work their asses off. If you've never experienced an authentic Southern Soul show, you need to add it to your bucket list. But, anyway, if you dug Tyrone Davis and Willie Hutch and Clarence Carter, Stax and Atco back in the day, you'll probably like Southern Soul a whole lot. Sir Jonathan Burton, whose "Southern Soul Christmas" arrives November 4, has been around for a while so this set is probably overdue. He's currently based out of North Carolina and you'll find plenty of his music on Amazon. Burton writes lots of his own music, but he'll also be covering such R&B standards as "Please Come Home For Christmas". "Yes! Now This Is What I Call Southern Soul Xmas"--also due November 4--features 14 tracks of Christmas, deep fried Southern Soul style. Artists include J-Wonn, TK Soul, Big Cynthia, Hollywood Hayes and more. And the titles you'll want to hear include "I Got Your Cookies And Milk" and "Santa Was A Freak Like Me".

And we've gotten word this week of a few new holiday releases in Scandinavia. Figure on paying import prices if you want these this year (eventually, they'll wind their way to Amazon MP3). The big news for our Swedish friends is a new winter-themed album from Sarah Dawn Finer. Sarah's first Christmas album, "Winterland", was released in 2010 and, as it happens, we managed a small write-up on out International Page (poor page hasn't seen much action in a few years). The new one, "Vinterland", has a November 7 release date and, unlike "Winterland", is sung entirely in Swedish. The album will include some Swedish material (covers of the ever popular "Jul Jul" and the much more recent "Valborg"), interpretations of more interesting fare (Tori Amos' "Winter") and some originals co-written with some top notch Swedish songwriters. Also coming in November is a Christmas album from Sonja Alden, "Jul I andlighetens Rum" (roughly "Christmas in the room of spirituality"). Given that Sonja's upcoming October release is "I andlighetens Rum", I'm thinking the Christmas record might be an expanded version of the earlier release featuring bonus Christmas tracks. But, hey, I don't speak Swedish and google translate isn't as helpful as you might think.

None of which has anything to do with the title of this post, does it? Don't you hate when bloggers do that?

So what is "Metal Kalikimaka" anyway? It's the title of a forthcoming Christmas album from Tin Idols, a collective of Hawaii's best metal and hard rock artists. And technically, the album title is "Metal Kalikimaka--Volume 1". Hey, look, all that stuff above is great--I'm greatly looking forward to all of it--but I go out there looking for the absolutely new and different and the stuff that gets precious little publicity (if any) anywhere else. Last post, we had an exciting New Age project from David Lanz and Kristin Amarie and, this post, we're going all the way to the other end of the rainbow hoping to find another pot of gold (oh, wait...wrong holiday).

Tin Idols is the brainchild of producer/musician Gerald K. Gonsalves. Most Hawaiian music tends to be laid back and breezy, but Gerald is on a mission to expose the Islands and the rest of the world to Hawaii's fine Metal scene. To that end, he gathered up some of best musicians and vocalists of the genre playing the Islands and, last year, released an ambitious Metal reworking of "Jesus Christ Superstar" that they called "Jesus Christ Supernova". And it was well received, critically and commercially. So Gerald's "getting the band back together again" to take a run at the songs of the season. Hopefully, he'll have Cathy Malia Lowenberg back for this holiday outing; she did an awesome Mary Magdalene. Tin Idols are promising 17 tracks, including one original.

"Metal Kalikimaka" is crowd funded through Indiegogo. Unlike Kickstarter, Indiegogo lets the artist use whatever money they raise even if the campaign fails to reach its goal. But their target--which is mostly to cover the cost of licensing fees--is not at all unrealistic and they've got a couple of months to reach it. Who knows how this thing will turn out in the end? But its so crazy, it just might work. I'll drop a dime in the pot and hope the Tin Idols give us at least one track that's a Metal rendering of the Brothers Cazimero or Na Leo. That would be so totally worth it. That would be awesome. Judging from the taste we gave you up top (featuring Sandy Essman on vocals and Byron Moline on guitar), it's gonna be pretty awesome regardless. Visit the Tin Idols on Facebook and, if the spirit moves you, drop over to Indiegogo and let's get this record flying. Or...surfing. Or...canoe paddling. Or...whatever it is Metal Christmas records in Hawaii do.

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HEY SANTA

ALL IS BRIGHT

THERE'S ALWAYS MORE

YEAH, YEAH, I KNOW...

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER

GONNA HAVE A REALLY SOULFUL CHRISTMAS

CHRISTMAS IS SUPERNATURAL

WHAT ELSE YOU GOT IN THAT SACK, SANTA MAN?

I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT FOR CHRISTMAS

METAL KALIKIMAKA

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