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YESTERDAY ONCE MORE

9/28/2016

Because so much of what makes Christmas special are the ties to the past and the continuity through generations, its only natural that many artists recording Christmas albums attempt to recapture a sound of the past. Usually, you find artists attempting to recreate the big band "crooner" sound exemplified by Sinatra or Dino or Bing. And, among contemporary Pop singers, the Phil Spector formula is a standard target. Some such efforts succeed gloriously and some not so much. But obsessive Christmas music collectors are always happy to find releases under the tree that bring back other by-gone eras where, perhaps, the only Christmas music native to the time are a handful of obscure 45s. Its one reason excitement builds when a nostalgia act hops on the bandwagon. But it can be even better when contemporary groups with a fresh perspective on a vintage sound take the plunge.

While I've been disappointed in many of the Roots Rock Christmas records from the 80s through the aughts, we've recently been getting some killer stuff in the genre. I'm still bopping along to last year's release from Kerry Pastine & The Crime Scene. "It's A Crime Scene Christmas" was reviewed here--before the CDs were available--and is available here. Absolutely brilliant stuff and amazing fun. And there was another brilliant release in 2014 that we'll talk about in a minute. But my favorite Roots Rock release so far this year is from the UK's Western Star label.

1. I Want Christmas - El Camino
2. Another Christmas Without You - The Epileptic Hillbillys
3. Santa Was A-Rockin' - The Elfish Presleys
4. Blotto In The Grotto - Little Timmy Tinsel & The Fairy Lights
5. Santa's Here - Thee Elfmen
6. The Christmas Twist - Jack Rabbit Slim
7. Keep The Receipt (This Christmas) - The Bad Detectives
8. We're Off To See Santa - Sharna-Mae & The Mayhems
9. Santa Clause You Dirty Rat (Bring Back My Guitar) - Weazeldust
10. Hey Hey It's Christmas - The Go Go Cult
11. Just Another Day To Me - Lew Lewis & The Twilight Trio
12. Cruel Yule - Thee Elfmen
13. Blue Mistletoe - Mary Kissmas & The Mistletoe
14. Cadillac Under My Christmas Tree - The Bad Detectives PURCHASE CD FROM WESTERN STAR
15. Santa's Lost On The Underground - Little Timmy Tinsel & The Fairy Lights DIGITAL FROM AMAZON
16. Christmas On Mars - Thee Elfmen
17. Will Santa Come Down The Chimney - The Elfish Presleys
18. Creepy Christmas Party - Las Pistolas
19. Christmas On The Plastic - The Bad Detectives
20. Egg Nog Twist - Thee Elfmen
Bonus Tracks…
21. Blotto In The Grotto (Radio Edit) - Little Timmy Tinsel & The Fairy Lights
22. Santa's Here (Giggsy version) - Thee Elfmen

JACK RABBIT SLIM

Western Star is a British label and recording studio founded by Alan Wilson. Wilson doubles as a member of The Sharks, a Rockabilly/Psychobilly group originally formed in the late 70s, popular in the 80s, and reunited in 1999. As you might have guessed then, the Western Star label specializes in Rockabilly and Psychobilly. "The Western Star Rockabilly Christmas Party" is a 22 track record featuring Rock, Rockabilly and Psychobilly from their stable of artists (which includes a couple of Christmas specific bands, notably Thee Elfmen). You might recognize the track by The Bad Detectives, "Cadillac Under My Christmas Tree", which we and many others featured as a single several years back. Further digging reveals that a number of the other tracks are from past singles as well, but I don't think I'd come across any of them (other than the Bad Detectives) before. Most, if not all, of the singles were digital anyway. In any case, having all these tracks--new and/or old--on a single CD is very much a public service.

A few of these songs wore out their welcome with me quickly (I don't always get British humor), but just a few. For the most part, "The Western Star Rockabilly Christmas Party" had me boppin' for the last week or so. My quickie favorites included "Christmas Twist" from Jack Rabbit Slim, "Blue Mistletoe" by Mary Kissmas, "Keep The Receipt" by The Bad Detectives, "Eggnog Twist" by Thee Elfman (which sounds Surf), "We're Off To See Santa" by Sharna Mae and the Mayhems (which has a deliberate Johnny Cash and June Carter "Jackson" feel to it), and....well, you know, I could carry on all day. There are a couple of Christmas/Halloween tunes, here (which I know some collect) including Las Pistolas' cover of Screaming Lord Such's "Creepy Christmas Party" and "Hey Hey It's Christmas" by the Go Go Cult.

The (Import) CD was released September 19 in the UK. You can get it from Western Star, who are nice enough to provide pricing in US dollars. The CD is cheap, the shipping not so much, but it all works out to about the standard cost of a new CD (maybe even a tad cheaper, depending on the CDs you're buying). Amazon don't got the CD (even as an import), but they have the digital version. That, too, is relatively cheap for 22 tracks. Good stuff. Get you some.

This next one may well be the most amazing new Christmas song I've heard since Stubby's opened up shop and possibly going back even further. Are you ready? If you haven't heard it before, it's gonna get ya.

That, my friends, is a HIT in any era. Not only do the hairs on the back of my beck stand at full attention (my infallible hit detector), the hairs on my whole body join in. Goosebumps, I tellz ya. They've woven together hit making bits from the fifties through the eighties. The opening reminds me of the Nairobi Trio, then it's into Four Seasons territory with that marching/hand clapping beat, girl groups, check, a little Leslie Gore, a tiny dash of late sixties psych, a whole lotta sweet soul ballad under the surface, and a change that's pure late sixties/early seventies Sunshine Pop. "Christmas In My Heart". Oh my God, I could listen to that song all day.

The Holy Rocka Rollaz are a Minneapolis Roots Rock group (by the way...there's been some great music coming out of Minnesota in recent years) and, back in 2014, we had them on our list of coming releases but we never got them into the chronological listings because, well, I get too busy to double back. The album "Have A Merry Christmas With The Holy Rocka Rollaz" was, indeed, released--on December 5, 2014. Hard copy sold out. Twice! (But you can still grab the digital)

"Christmas In My Heart" was the 2015 single from the album. Everything about it is perfect. The drumming of Matt Alexander? Perfect! The vocals from stand up bassist Lisa Lynn? Perfect! Even the Cheesy Organ (I swear, that's what its called) played with one finger by guitarist and front man Mark Flora is absolutely gosh darn perfect! I mean...it's perfect. And, ironically, that could be its greatest flaw. Say what, now, Stubby? See, a true standard of the season has to sound great no matter who is doing it in whatever style they do it. And I can absolutely hear this song being covered by a great many artists in a great many genres. Heck, Frankie Valli just finished his first solo Christmas album and, already, I can tell that album is going to disappoint me because "Christmas In My Heart" isn't on it. So, yes, I can hear this song being covered often. I just can't imagine anybody ever doing it as well.......
Ah, I'm just funnin' you. That even makes it more of a standard. Who does "Sleigh Ride" better than Leroy Anderson? Anybody top Bing on "White Christmas" yet? And you can sing "Merry Christmas Darling" from now to the end of time--and people will--but that's always going to be Karen's song. No, there's no flaw here. It's the perfect version of a perfect song. And it'll take a while (it always does), but I fully expect "Christmas In My Heart" to become a fixture of the season. I do. Already is--in my house. This song has legs. And I bet the Holy Rocka Rollaz know how to use 'em.

And you know what Mark Flora would like for Christmas? A Rankin-Bass animation to go along with their great Christmas songs. So, Santa, I know you know some talented animators (Santa knows everybody). Hook a brother up, will ya? He's been very very good.

The whole "Have A Merry Christmas" album is stellar, by the way, with the original tunes shining the brightest. You can hear the spirit of Buddy Holly on here. At least that's who I was thinking of on several of the tunes. A lot of people don't know that Buddy was planning a Christmas record. He was going to get started on it after the Winter Dance Party tour. It might have come out in '59 (though, Buddy being a bit of a perfectionist, 1960 seems more likely). True story. So it was nice to hear that pure influence on the album. But "Christmas In My Heart"? That's all the genius of the Holy Rocka Rollaz. And I, for one, can't thank them enough.

1. We Wish You a Merry Christmas
2. Under the Mistletoe
3. Joy to the World
4. Christmas in My Heart
5. Santa Come Home
6. Silent Night
7. Merry Christmas!
8. Jingle All the Wray
9. Always Christmas
10. O Holy Night

HOLY ROCKA ROLLAZ WEB SITE
PURCHASE FROM CD BABY

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DAVID WOOD - A CHRISTMAS GIFT (REVIEW)

9/21/2016

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A quick reminder that you only have a few days left to listen to Elizabeth Chan's "We Are The Stars" from her forthcoming "Five Golden Rings" before the special Stubby's Christmas preview disappears. Full details here. Now....

FAIRVIEW GUITAR AND REPAIR
PURCHASE CD FROM AMAZON
PURCHASE MP3 FROM iTUNES
PURCHASE MP3 FROM AMAZON

1. Prelude
2. Angels We Have Heard On High
3. Oh Come All Ye Faithful
4. Oh Little Town of Bethlehem
5. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
6. The First Noel
7. Away In A Manger
8. We Three Kings
9. Coventry Carol
10. Bright Star on a Cold Snowy Night
11. Christmas Time Is Here
12. Silver Bells
13. O Holy Night
14. What Child Is This?
15. Silent Night
16. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
17. I'll Be Home For Christmas
18. Christmas Angels
19. The Spirit of Giving
20. Postlude
21. Auld Lang Syne

David Wood has been playing guitar since he was 8. He studied Classical guitar in North Carolina, then headed on up to Nashville in 1987 to try and break into Country music. And he did alright, too, spending 20 years playing with Lorrie Morgan, Joe Diffie and Doug Stone, to name a few. I mean, really, if you listened to this guy and didn't hire him, there may be something wrong with your hearing. He's done the studio thing, played on the late night TV shows (including The Tonight Show when Johnny Carson was still the host) and played the Grand Ole Opry (of course). And, for all of that, I don't know that he ever recorded and released any solo material until very recently. Sure there's lots of "David Wood" music on Amazon and iTunes--there's this David Wood and that David Wood...but not THE David Wood.

David and a partner opened up Franklin Guitar and Repair in 2004. Two years later, the partner left and David had to get off the road to tend to the business. As it happened, he'd been working on an album in memory of his older brother, Ed, who had died of lung cancer in 2001. Ed had taught him his first songs on the guitar. It wasn't anything he intended to release. That wasn't why he did it and it wasn't what it was about. But David had some friends who thought the music was something others would enjoy hearing and, thus, "Dreaming" was released in 2010.

Cut to today and we have David's first ever solo Christmas album, "A Christmas Gift". Amazon has the album listed as "Classical" and, sure, I get that. But that's not really what I heard when I was listening for the first time. In fact, I'd have a hard time putting "A Christmas Gift" into a single category of any kind. "Classical", to me (and, yes, it's a personal bias I'm aware is unfair), makes me think of stuffy people in frilly outfits doing those Victorian era dances where everything is perfectly synchronized but you never actually touch your dance partner. What I hear listening to David Wood on "A Christmas Gift" is someone who has played guitar for a good many years bringing the sum total of what he's learned in all that time to this moment in time and channeling it all through his guitar. So there's a little bit of a lot of things in here but, mostly, a whole lot of David Wood's soul. Every note is conveyed with a kind of love that's impossible to fake and with the gentle tenderness of a father holding his new born son or daughter for the first time.

DAVID WOOD

"A Christmas Gift" starts off simple enough. "Angels We Have Heard On High" does feature a "Classical" structure. I'd say. It's when you get to "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" you start hearing more. It's subtle at first, like a Hawaiian breeze. And I chose that analogy purposely because it was the first point in the record (and definitely not the last) where I heard some of what I hear when I listen to Hawaiian music. No, not Slack Key. Here's what I'm saying. When you listen to certain Hawaiian music, you find that, sometimes, the (for lack of a better word) beats aren't always where you'd expect them to be. They stretch the spaces between some of the notes so that, for a moment, they're actually a tad behind. It's as if they're telling you, through the music, "What's your hurry, brah? Slow down, enjoy the moment." And for that moment that they're a tad behind, it's like you're hanging in mid-air and time stops. It's just a moment, but its an amazing feeling. If I actually knew something about music, I could probably relate that to you in a way that makes sense. I'm just going to say that that feeling is most evident, here, in Wood's arrangement of "Auld Lang Syne". "Silver Bells" is another in this vein. "Silver Bells" has never been a personal favorite, but Wood finds every bit of the beauty that lurks beneath the surface and brings it out.

Other tracks give me a New Agey vibe. "What Child Is This?" and "Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel", in particular, have that meditative quality and call to mind a visual image of butterflies softly dancing around a Chinese lantern. In spite of the excesses of the season and the "Happy Happy Joy Joy" of much of the music that can be headache inducing, many of the traditional carols are written in a minor key. Sometimes its magic and sometimes not so much. "Emmanuel" has always struck me as a bit mournful, but the quiet reverence Wood brings to it pulls the tune up to the place where the season's best songs live--where sadness and longing co-exist with joy and hope and, in the end, the latter prevail. (I know some of my analogies are off the wall, but what "Emmanuel" made me think of was Ernest Hemingway's "The Old Man And The Sea". Honestly. Sort of a "dignity in the face of struggle" kind of thing. Now take that to a therapist and I'm sure they'll call me crazy. And they wouldn't be wrong.)

Still other tracks have a folksy fireside quality that you might expect from a Country music veteran spending some time alone under the stars. "Away In A Manger", "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear", for me, exemplify that feel.

Still other songs call to mind other genres, a bit of a Jazz accent here or a bit of a Pop accent there. Every time I get to the end of "We Three Kings", my mind can't resist launching immediately into "Roundabout" by Yes (just sayin').

"Silent Night" features qualities of all of those "vibes". And "Oh Holy Night" is presented in a pretty straight forward manner...just the way I like it.

Overall, David Wood's "A Christmas Gift" is about as beautiful as a solo guitar Christmas album can be. It's a superb blend of beauty, serenity, and reverence. The acoustics are perfect. And the man, himself, injects enough honest love into his craft to bring even the most irredeemable Scrooge first to his knees and then on to heaven. Works well as either background or foreground. If I had one complaint, it's that some of the tracks are shorter than I'd like. But that's mitigated by the fact that there are 21 of them. So, in the end, you feel comfortably satisfied.

A couple of the best tracks, I haven't even mentioned yet. Certainly, "Christmas Time Is Here" is easily among the album's brightest stars. And, speaking of bright stars, I am drawn to "Bright Star On a Snowy Night" in ways I can't even figure out internally, let alone put into words. I just keep going back to it. Other highlights for me include "Oh Holy Night", "Oh Come Oh Come Emmanuel" and "Auld Lang Syne".

As always, I encourage you to give "A Christmas Gift" a listen and pick your own favorites. It's well worth your time. And let me add that "Dreaming" is a pretty awesome listen, too. I could lose myself in "Improvisation on a Blues Ruff" alone for about a week.

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CLASSICAL BLAST - DARK SIDE OF THE YULE

9/21/2016

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If I've said it once, I've said it a million times. So let me say it again. I love different!

With a stated goal of awakening fans of Rock and Pop to the joys of Classical, Classical Blast do, well, what I'd call MashUps of Classical and Rock. This is really some peanut-butter-in-my-chocolate/chocolate-in-my-peanut-butter stuff. Now, look, I was on board with Mannheim Steamroller from the start (I'm pretty sure I was the first person to play them on a Top 40 station). And TSO, yeah, sure. But, one, they both have milked their cash cow into extinction (IMHO) and, two, the sound from Classical Blast is much more organic and much more original and fresh. It helps that you're dealing with a small unit and that no synths are harmed in the making of their magic. And speaking of Strange Magic, yeah, these guys do remind me some of ELO (although, if I were forced to choose, I'm ELO all the way; Jeff Lynne is a freakin' genius). I'll add that Classical Blast has opened for ELO, so there you go.

"Dark Side of The Yule" is the new Christmas album from Classical Blast. But you may have encountered them before. In 2014, they released a Christmas single featuring two of their holiday finest that they'd been doing for at least a year--their mashup of "Greensleeves" and "Nights In White Satin" and "Come Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" (which I'm not sure what it's supposed to be but, to me, it sounds like "Hit The Road Jack"). You can grab that digital single here.

For "Dark Side of the Yule", we get some fresh outside-the-box creation. The "Sugarplum Fairy" meets Metallica, Pink Floyd crashes "Coventry Carol" and, yes, you can finally play a version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" that is a Christmas song, merged as it is with "Amazing Grace". You've got to be intrigued to hear what they did with "Fairytale of New York". And, me, I'm excited to hear "Pray For Me"--a Classical Blast original that features Chicago Bluesman Wayne Baker Brooks. Oh, yeah, they've got a bunch of guests on the album. Head over to Facebook and they'll introduce you.

There's no specific release date listed for "Dark Side of The Yule" listed. Mid-October appears to be the target (so, on our List, we'll drop them in with the October 14 releases). You can pre-order through the Classical Blast web site. They'll even include a prism light-catcher ornament...because they're just those kinda guys.

By the way. As a Mets fan, I wasn't going to mention it, but Classical Blast does a kick-ass version of Steve Goodman's "Go Cubs Go".

Coventry Carol/ Great Gig in the Sky
Imagine, featuring Phillip-Michael Scales
Fairytale, featuring Cathy Richardson & Dave Kelly
Deck the Halls/ River, featuring Graham Czach
Twinkle, featuring Stephanie Tonnemacher (original)
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Pray for Me, featuring Wayne Baker Brooks (original)
Silent Night/ Sound of Silence, featuring Chris Connelly
Dance of the Sugarplum Fairy/ Enter Sandman
Gabriel’s Message
Carol of the Bells/ Game of Thrones
Amazing Grace/ Hallelujah

Did I or did I not say I love different? Pretty sure I did. Kinda hard to put something else in the same piece with Classical Blast, but I came across this and I'm like, well, that's a whole different kind of different (and apologies to my poor neglected International Page, where this probably should have gone). Above is the teaser video for the coming Aino Venna Christmas album. 100 päivää jouluun translates as "100 days 'til Christmas".

Aino Venna is the performance name of Finnish singer/songwriter Aino Ahokas (Venna is her mother's maiden name). The first thing Aino Venna called to my mind was Edith Piaf and it turns out I wasn't wrong. Her music is heavily influenced by artists like Piaf and Marlene Dietrich, as well as Elvis and Billy Holiday and the Finnish singer Juice Leskinen--all set in a more modern Indie Folk and Pop framework. There's also an ambient quality to the music of Aino Venna. She recalls that, when she heard Piaf singing for the first time, she didn't understand the words, but felt as though "she was singing as though it was the last moment in life." When the whole sound comes together, she admits the final product is distinctly Finnish--simple, minimalistic, and melancholy.

In 2012, Aino Venna scored a huge hit in Europe with "Suzette", a simple song about a bad girl who tells the boy she's with that he should leave her. In spite of the simple and, OK, melancholy story line, "Suzette" has a certain irresistible Pop-ness to it and it was Radio Helsinki's "Song of the Summer" (though I'm not sure how long a Finnish summer lasts). Ever since, Aino Venna has been one of those artists whose fame expands exponentially by word of mouth.

Aino Venna's Christmas album, "Aino Vennan Joulu", is set for release on November 18. It will be available in both CD and Vinyl formats and about a third of the tracks were written by Venna. How long until it shows up on Amazon MP3, who knows? But it is most definitely different and something I'll be interested in hearing more of. If you can read Finnish or are patient with on-line translations, you'll find Aino Venna's official web site here and their Facebook page here.

Come to think of it, why wait? Don't know that it'll be on the album, but this Christmas single--"Joulumaa"--reached our shores last December. Proceeds went to Amnesty International.

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GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

9/20/2016

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Got a tiny bit of news for y'all, though a lot of you are probably ahead of me.

The GOOD news? The Killers are, indeed, preparing a new Christmas song for this year. It should be their 11th, I think (though I ran out of fingers counting). (the crowd goes wild !!!)

The BAD news? It would appear this will be their last. (hushed silence descends)

This comes to us from Mark Stoermer, the bass player for the band. In a conversation with ABC Radio, Stoermer said this:
"It's supposed to be the last one, I think. We're gonna release it as a packaged album, all the songs together, I think is the plan. And just like all the others, it will go 100 per cent to (RED) campaign."

Stoermer added that he thought they could have ended at 10, but they didn't (maybe Stoermer never saw "Spinal Tap"). He also said that the logistics have been difficult. "[The annual Christmas single] takes weeks to months of our time," he said.

So that's the name of that tune.

I notice you've been looking at the fetching picture of Jennifer Nettles on the right. Yeah, I saw you looking. Jennifer's Christmas album "To Celebrate Christmas" is the latest addition to our PREviews page. Why doncha go have a look.

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A BAZAN BONANZA (PLUS GAELYNN LEA)

9/17/2016

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You either know David Bazan or you don't, but the Indie Rock artist from Seattle has been the very personification of "Indie" and "Alt" since the 90s. In 2002, back when David was recording as Pedro The Lion, his record label Suicide Squeeze approached him about doing a 7" vinyl Christmas single. In those days, had Stubbys been around, you wouldn't have seen so much blue on our List...might just have been David and a couple of other off-the-beaten-path artists.

David agreed to the idea because he found it challenging. As we've so often said, here, Christmas is complicated. Sure, you've got that surface level of holiday frivolity, but then there's the commercialism gone mad, the religious aspects (about which many have mixed emotions), and then there's the unhappy underbelly so many try so hard not to see (even when they, themselves, are part of it). Finding a way to bring all of that together to present an honest musical representation intrigued Mr. Bazan. Personally, I don't find his holiday recordings as bleak as some others do, but he's definitely on the other end of the spectrum from Phil Spector. So, anyway, from time to time over the years, David Bazan has done just that--release a limited edition vinyl Christmas single. And they always sold through in a hurry. Sleep on it for a day or two and you'd miss out.

A few years back, Suicide Squeeze posted an announcement that David's singles were being gathered together to produce an entire David Bazan Christmas album. Great news! And, of course, I wrote it up at Stubby's. Just a blurb in the middle of a longer piece. It wasn't long before David started getting questions about the album. But his responses were a bit of a surprise to me and, I'm guessing, his record label, too. Basically, it was like (not an actual quote), "What, are you kidding? With my schedule? We'd never get that done--certainly not this year." And that was pretty much that.

Well, the time has finally come. David and Suicide Squeeze have put together a full album featuring 10 of the 14 Christmas tunes he's recorded over the years. This time, it's for real. We've got a title, "Dark Scared Night", cover art, track list, release date (November 11) and everything. It's a virtual Bazan Bonanza!

There will be a vinyl LP. Strictly limited first pressing of 2000 blue with white snow vinyl copies. The record company is a little vague on whether there will be additional later pressings on regular black vinyl, which is why I added "first pressing". But its big news that there will also be a CD and digital downloads. Most of these songs have never been (legally) available other than on the limited vinyl singles. And, btw, the vinyl LP of "Dark Sacred Night" does come with a download code.

1. All I Want for Christmas
  2. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
  3. Away in a Manger
  4. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
  5. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day
  6. Jingle Bells
  7. Silent Night
  8. Long Way Around the Sea
  9. O Little Town of Bethlehem
  10. Wish My Kids Were Here

DAVID BAZAN WEB SITE
SUICIDE SQUEEZE WEB SITE
PRE-ORDER VINYL FROM AMAZON
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But wait, there's more! If you were paying attention, you noticed that we said that David has recorded 14 Christmas tracks and the album will include 10. Well, that hardly seems fair, does it? What about those other 4 songs? They never hurt nobody or nothin'. Say hello to your "Christmas Bonus". The "Christmas Bonus", which also releases November 11, is a one-sided 12" white vinyl record featuring the other four Bazan Christmas songs (he's recorded "I Heard The Bells" twice. Well, 3 times, actually, the third being for a "Maybe This Christmas" comp, so I guess that means he's recorded 15 Christmas tracks). The B-side of "Christmas Bonus" features an etching of a wreath (don't try to play it, for goodness sake). And this one is limited to just 1000, with no corresponding CD--although this record, too, comes with a download code. One regret? I wish they'd included "Just Like Christmas" (a Low cover), which David has sung often but never released in physical form.

1. The First Noel
  2. Say It Isn't Greensleeves (A Change At Christmas)
  3. Oh Come, Oh Come, Emmanuel
  4. I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day

PRE-ORDER FROM AMAZON

Gaelynn Lea is a singer and fiddle player most known for her work with Murder of Crows, but she's also played and recorded with Low, The Getarounds, and Gossamer Road, to name but a few. It's only been very recently that she's released any solo recordings.

Gaelynn suffers from a rare disability, known in layman's terms as Brittle Bone Disease. She's done a number of speaking engagements on the topics of living with disabilities and the restorative power of music. And, more recently, she's become an advocate for the disabled. Because of her disability, Gaelynn developed her own style of playing the fiddle. She also incorporates a Memory Man looping pedal, which adds multiple layers to her music. In brief, she's one of a kind.

Gaelynn Lea expects to release a Christmas album on November 11. Pre-orders (through her web site) of signed copies of "Deepest Darkness, Brightest Dawn" are helping to fund its completion. The tracks above are just rough mixes, but should give you an idea of the general direction she's taking. I think its a sound that should appeal to fans of both Alt Folk and Alt Rock, as well as Classical, New Age, Ambient, and Celtic. Sounds like good stuff to me. This December, she'll be opening for Low for a number of shows in Ireland and the UK. Stay on top of the release and her show schedule via Facebook and Gaelynn's web site.

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ELIZABETH CHAN - WE ARE THE STARS (Exclusive Premiere!)

9/15/2016

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I don't know how it is we've come to be so blessed, but we've had the joy over the past few years of some artists and labels offering us the opportunity to debut some Christmas tunes here in this tiny corner of the internets. I hope that says we're doing something right.

I don't think we've had any bigger Christmas artist make such an offer than Elizabeth Chan (although I remain open to a call from Johnny Mathis...or Bing from the beyond). If you're a regular here--or at any of the Christmas music sites--you know the backstory. Successful business woman chucks it all to pursue a dream...a dream to write and sing Christmas music. Those are just the bare bones and make the whole thing sound almost easy. But you know it wasn't easy. If your Mom was anything like mine, I'm sure she told you more than once not to let go of one branch until you've got a firm hold on the next. It's scary as hell to just take the leap and have faith you'll land on your feet.

So, anyway, Liz is one of our readers and, a while back, asked if I'd be interested in sharing a sneak peak of her latest Christmas record, "Five Golden Rings". That's sort of like asking someone if they'd like free ice cream for life. She asked me which title interested me and I said "anything but 'Jolly Old St. Nicholas'" (though she assures me that her version of that old chestnut will win me over). And we had a little email exchange in which I said that the best Christmas songs, I think, are the ones born of honest emotions. It's one thing to sing about decking the halls and Santa Claus. Drawing from your personal faith to sing about the birth of Jesus gets you closer. But, I think, you really only get "there" (wherever "there" is) when you reach deep into yourself and bring out something real and personal, getting past the human insecurities that practically scream at you, warning that you're making yourself too vulnerable. Because, to me, its that kind of emotional honesty that results in the true bittersweet flavor of Christmas--that results in the timeless classics like "White Christmas" and "I'll Be Home For Christmas." Of course, if its all kazoos and Chipmunk voices, I'll take that, too.

Liz says, by the way, that many of her originals on "Five Golden Rings" are, in fact, deeply personal and real. And, to me, that suggests that this album will be her best yet. It's worth considering that Elizabeth Chan was a woman who was strong enough and courageous enough to take a leap of faith to pursue a dream. And, personally, I can hardly think of anything requiring more courage than making the transition via Morgan Spurlock's web series, which bore the title of "Failure Club" (that's a longer story within the longer story). And yet even more courage is required to get to the heart of the thing. I'm not sure what the critics thought about last year's "Red & Green", but I thought it was her best effort yet. I felt she was flying so close to the heights she was reaching for. And I'm being entirely honest when I tell you that I believe that this is the one. Haven't heard it all yet, but the signs are good. I think it's tremendous that Liz included some traditional Christmas songs this time (that takes a kind of courage, too). And the titles of her newest originals--"Home", "Ghost Of Christmas Past", "The Prayer"--are evocative of more than tinsel and twinkle lights. The international flavor is a nice touch, too (how many Chinese song titles do you see on domestic Christmas albums). Even her 9/11 inspired "Concrete Tears" seems illustrative of a kind of graduation.

And, certainly, we're off to a nice start with the song Liz chose to share exclusively with us here at Stubby's. "We Are The Stars". In our email exchange, I talked about losing my parents and this song comes from a similar place. Yeah, I cried. I'm too old to be proud. You can listen to the song here for the next two weeks. After that, on September 30, the preview vanishes, but "Five Golden Rings" will be live for purchase with previews of all of the songs then available here. And let's not be greedy. Please feel free to share the link(s) with friends and family.

ELIZABETH CHAN'S WEB SITE
FACEBOOK PAGE
FIVE GOLDEN RINGS ON iTUNES
FIVE GOLDEN RINGS ON AMAZON

1. Sleigh
2. Ghost Of Christmas Past
3. Home
4. Deck The Halls
5. Jingle Bells
6. Jolly Old St. Nicholas
7. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
8. Joy To The World
9. Angels We Have Heard On High
10. We Are The Stars
11. Adeste Fideles
12. The Prayer
13. Fa La La (En Espanol)
14. 城市聖誕節 (Christmas City)
15. Cancion De Navidad
16. Best Gift Ever (Remix)
17. Concrete Tears

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IT AIN'T NECESSARILY NEW

9/14/2016

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I've spoken, I think, about my radio training. The format that I fell in love with--that taught me to open my mind to every kinda music there is--was a forward looking format. They "required" a heavy dose of new releases. It's been a few years and I tend to tell people the requirement was 75%, but I think it was actually higher than that--80% at least. Now me, I was well known for breaking format just about everywhere I went. My logic, which didn't always save me from getting fired, but did on occasion, was that stations heavily format because what they're after is a particular "sound". And you could rarely trust a DJ to deliver that "sound" unless he was heavily formatted. But I understood the "sound". I'd look at the format and understand what they were really going for. And I felt I could better deliver the actual "sound" they wanted by being a little loose with the format. And, yeah, yeah, I won't rule out that I'm a delusional ego maniac, but I really believe that that's what I was doing and that I was very good at it.

What does all that have to do with this blog? Not much.

Oh, yeah, the cult of the NEW. So I wasn't painting too far outside the lines. If they wanted 80% new, I probably gave them 75% (60% on a good night), but I definitely gave them the "sound" they wanted. But, like Pavlov trained his dog, they trained me well enough that I wanted to play the new stuff. And, forever thereafter, I wanted to play the new stuff. But I've always wondered if that keeps me from discovering amazing old stuff I missed. More importantly, whether I'm keeping you from discovering amazing stuff I missed. Tons of times, I'm following the Google rabbit hole to a destination that is one or two years old or more. And I immediately pull up stakes. "Well, that's it, then. Not new. Gotta move on." It's a crime, I tellz ya.

JERRON "BLIND BOY" PAXTON

Case in point, a nice little New Orleans comp from 2014. That's my favorite from the comp, right there, Blind Boy Paxton singing "Catfish Ain't Biting Blues" (with it's nice little shout out to Hanukkah).

New Orleans is a town so full of music, you could spend a couple of years there and not hear half of the artists. And there are several excellent compilations of New Orleans Christmas music featuring the Crescent City's A-Team of musical stars...The Preservation Hall Jazz Band, Aaron Neville, Earl King, Dr. John, Fats Domino, Irma Thomas, Johnny Adams, Michael Doucet, etc., etc. And you won't have too much trouble finding recordings of the artists who aren't quite on that level of fame and fortune.

But "Best of Street: New Orleans X-Mas" features a cast and crew you may never have encountered on the many excellent compilations of New Orleans Christmas music. These are some of New Orleans' finest street musicians. And they are awesome! You'll get a broad sampling of sounds from Louisiana Hillbilly Country to Dixieland Jazz to Hokum Blues. There's even a Calypso cover of one of the greatest Christmas songs ever written, "Seven Skeletons Found In The Yard" (we encountered a version of it last year from Three For Silver) from Maddy & Her Calypso Friends (Maddy has Jazz Friends, too).

TODD DAY WAIT OF TODD DAY WAIT'S PIGPEN

Time was, you hear an awesome street musician or band and you dropped a dollar in the cup or bowl or guitar case. People don't do that as much anymore. So Best of Street records the musicians, gets their music out there and then turn over the lion's share of the profits (90%, I think) from records sold and release party shows to the musicians. And some of the artists they bring to light get signed by real labels. How cool is that?

Now the good thing about something a little older is that you don't have to wait to get it or hunt around looking for it (not yet, anyway). The digital version of "Best of Street: New Orleans X-Mas" is at Amazon and iTunes. And, if you want hard copy on dat dere, jus' pass by ta Louisiana Music Factory 'n'em. Say, "I'll take me a CD of dat dere." Den you gotta pay fit. Visa, Masta Cort... It don madda, Cher. (Phew, N'awlins slang is a lot harder than I thought).

Where yat? Oh, OK. So it ain't necessarily new, but "Best of Street: New Orleans X-Mas" is the kind of record I'm always looking for. And I suspect it's the kind of record that a lot of y'all are always looking for, too (that's a North Carolina y'all, not a New Orleans y'all). In that regard, this record sells itself. And I should add that Best of Street isn't stuck in New Orleans. They have or are planning records for Orlando, New York, Chicago, Boston and Austin. If you want to keep up, you should go like their Facebook page. Good people doing good stuff for good people. And isn't that what Christmas is really all about, Charlie Brown? Yeah you right!

One last video for you, below the album info. I'd be inclined to give you another from Blind Boy Paxton, but I think it's only fair I share the love and give you a taste of Jenavieve Cook & The Winding Boys and "I'm Going Back Home".

BEST OF STREET FACEBOOK
AMAZON (DIGITAL)
LOUISIANA MUSIC FACTORY (CD)

Christmas Morning Blues – Smoking Time Jazz Club
Just Because – Dixie Belle And Her Stoop Stompers
You’re Mean One Mr. Grinch – Shine Delphi with Blind Boy Paxton
Dirty Ol’ Christmas Blues – Yes Ma’am with Blind Boy Payton
I’m Going Back Home – Jenavieve Cook And The Windin’ Boys
Catfish Ain’t Biting Blues – Blind Boy Paxton
Baby It’s Cold Outside – The Kentucky Sisters
Seven Skeletons Found In The Yard – Maddy And Her Calypso Friends
I’m Trimming My Christmas Tree With Teardrops – Todd Day Wait’s Pigpen
O Holy Night – The Original Pinettes

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SITE UPDATE

9/12/2016

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Hey, there. I've got a few things going on right now. We had some storm damage from Hermine and there are all kinds of people I have to deal with on that. Other stuff, too. So I'm taking advantage of the fact that I have a "Previews" page, though I haven't used it much lately. Putting up the essential facts about coming releases--cover art, track list, purchase links, etc.--without having to write about my impressions, hopes, or whatever, is a little bit less time consuming for me. Right now, I think I have four albums up on the Previews, and there will be more added over the next day or so. There won't be any particular order, but the navigation on that page will actually make finding things easier (which was kinda the point of the page in the first place). I did spend a good deal of time, over the weekend, making sure that "The List" (our chronological listing of all the season's releases, past, present and future) is up to date.

Have no fear, if something big breaks, I'll be sure to let you know here on the front page. And I'll be back in whatever my regular mode is before you know it.

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CLIFFORD CURRY (1936 - 2016)

9/9/2016

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CLIFFORD CURRY IN THE 1960s

I was saddened to learn that Clifford Curry passed away on Tuesday (September 6, 2016). If you live north of the Mason-Dixon line or west of the Atlantic shores, you might not know who Clifford Curry was or, at most, you know not much more than the title of his "hit", "She Shot A Hole In My Soul". But, in the Carolinas, Clifford Curry was royalty. As if to put an exclamation point on a fact that--to fans of Southern Soul--is obvious, Clifford was known as "The King of Beach Music". It's often said of him that he built a career on one hit record, but there's a bit more to that story. Most of the information below comes from a fabulous 2012 Patricia Albrecht piece, "The Ballad of Clifford Curry". I recommend it highly.

There seems to be some disagreement as to where Clifford Curry was born, but there's no dispute that he was raised in Knoxville, Tennessee. Growing up, Cliff was schooled in Blues and R&B. And when I say "schooled", I mean that Clifford didn't just listen to the music--he studied it. After studying, the young Curry began writing--poems at first, then imagining the melodies to go with the words. By the time he got to high school, Clifford was already seen as a great singer who also had some smooth moves as a dancer. So, naturally, he was someone that every budding band wanted in their group. Initially, Curry threw in with The Echoes--a band that included a classmate of his, Benny Washington. Soon after, he was recruited by a band from a nearby all white high school. After Clifford joined, they called the band The Fabulous Six. It worked out for the 16 year old who, with the Echoes, sang for black audiences and, with the Fabulous Six, sang for white audiences. The Echoes quit high school to take their band on the road, but Curry didn't go with them. His father forbade it. Instead, he became part of another group, the Bingos.

CLIFFORD CURRY IN 2014

By this time, Clifford was already writing songs. When the Bingos raised enough money, they took two of Clifford's songs to a Nashville studio--"Don't Say Tomorrow" and "You For Me" (the latter co-written with bandmate Mickey Prater)--but the studio's owner changed the group's name to the Hollyhocks.

After graduating, Curry rejoined the Echoes who had returned home to East Tennessee. Again, Curry brought his original songs to the group. The band felt particularly good about "Mr. Moon" and decided to drive up to New York to audition for Atlantic Records. On a whim, they stopped in New Jersey where the Savoy label was based. Savoy signed the group on the spot, changing their name to The Five Pennies (odd, since the group had SIX members). The Five Pennies recorded six songs for the label, three of which were written by Curry.

Meanwhile, The Fabulous Six were still going strong and recorded some singles for a small Georgia label, though the label changed their name to the Contenders (anyone else reminded of the Oneders, here?). They lined up some regular gigs in Florida and were hugely popular...with everyone except the rival clubs. Eventually, one of the other clubs sent goons to the club where The Contenders were playing to incite fights and racial disruptions (remember, this is an all white group, aside from Curry). The fights caused the group to retreat north, back to Tennessee.

Clifford next joined another all white band, the Bubba Suggs Band. He was with them from 1959 - 1963, but left to focus on his songwriting. He recorded some sides for Excello, billed as Sweet Clifford, then joined another all white band, The Midnights, in 1965. Clifford and bandmate Rob Galbraith started working on Clifford's songs (Galbraith would work out the arrangements). They recorded a few on a tape recorder Clifford owned, but really needed some studio time and there were none in Knoxville. So they drove to Nashville, pitching the tunes but mostly came up empty. Or so they figured.

One of the people they met with was Buzz Cason, a writer, producer and publisher who had also sung with the Casuals, the Statues and some band called the Crickets. Yes, those Crickets. Cason wasn't all that taken with the songs, but he loved Clifford's voice. He sent Clifford a couple of songs (that Cason just happened to own the publishing rights for) and told him to get to Nashville to record them. The songs were "We're Gonna Hate Ourselves In The Morning" and "She Shot A Hole In My Soul". The year was 1967.

COLORIZATION BY STUBBY

Now, clearly, that's a helluva song. Timeless even. But it might all have been for naught if Rob Galbraith hadn't also been a DJ in Knoxville. Galbraith played the record early and often, the signal reaching various parts of the south, among them Raleigh, North Carolina. A promoter in Raleigh heard the record and booked Curry. It was Curry's first gig in the Carolinas and, there, he learned about Beach Music.

For the uninitiated, Beach Music is a southern and mostly coastal phenomenon. It's anything you can dance to, barefoot and in the sand. It's usually mid-tempo R&B, though that's a narrow and simplistic description, and horn sections are really big. "She Shot A Hole In My Soul" is quintessential Beach Music. The thing is, fans of Beach Music are passionate about the music. Extremely. Well, as a fellow Christmas music obsessive, you can probably understand that kind of passion. Beach Music territory runs from Virginia down through Georgia, but it's really really big in the Carolinas. And it is in these parts of the country that Curry's one "hit" turned into a 45 year career of sold out shows where he was virtually worshipped. Clifford continued recording, lots of singles and albums for lots of small labels. And he also wrote lots of great songs for lots of other artists.

As it happens, "She Shot A Hole In My Soul" wasn't really even a "hit", according to the usual standards. It spent three weeks on the charts in 1967 and peaked at #95 (as a radio guy, I wouldn't usually call something a hit unless it made the Top 40). I would have thought it did better with Cashbox, which included jukebox plays in their tabulations. But, no, it only lasted one week on the Cashbox charts, peaking at #95. On the R&B charts, it only reached #45. In the Carolinas, though? That song was a smash hit that went straight to #1 and stayed there. How big was it? "She Shot A Hole In My Soul" was what's known as a regional hit. And regional hits almost never chart nationally at all--not unless they get picked up by a major label. For the song to chart at all, with sales and airplay in just 7 (at most) of the 50 states? That's pretty amazing. Here in the south, Clifford Curry had a string of hits. He was a legend, a Soul Survivor, The King of Beach Music. In the rest of the country...not so much. Clifford was inducted into the Beach Music Hall of Fame in 1995, part of the Hall's original class.

I'd love to play you Clifford Curry's other Christmas song, "Santa, Bring Me Some Dancin' Shoes", but its not up on YouTube. But here's where you can buy the album it's on--"Southern Soul Christmas, Vol. 1". Also worth getting for the Poor Souls track. For a closing video, we'll just go with the flip, which is also brilliant.

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IF ALL YOUR DREAMS WERE ON FIRE....

9/7/2016

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Which one would you save?

This is just the most freakin' gorgeous thing I've ever heard.

That said, I have mixed feelings, here. I'm sad that I've missed over a decade of this woman's music (and I so hate to be the last one to arrive at the party). AND I'm excited that I will soon be binge listening to a decade of this woman's music! There was a time when I was up on all the current music, whether the artist had released a Christmas record or not. But Katie Melua is totally new to me. And I might not know of her, even now, in spite of the ocean of thoroughly justified praise she's gotten since her debut album in 2003, were it not for the forthcoming album "In Winter" (which arrives on October 14).

Katie Melua was born in that portion of the former Soviet Union known as Georgia. She moved from there to Northern Ireland and is currently based in England, I believe. In 2006, she was the best selling female artist in both the UK and the EU. She is one of those artists whose music defies easy description. You hear strains of Jazz, Blues, Folk, Indie, Pop, World Music.....it's all in there. What "Dreams On Fire" most reminded me of (and, as usual, I hope no one is put off by my aural comparisons) is Edith Piaf. Piaf was one of those amazing talents that many modern ears refuse to hear but, much like Billie Holiday, once she's got you, she's got you good. I hope, if you haven't already, you'll treat your head to some Edith Piaf sometime. But I don't sense that there will be any resistance to to the beautiful heart and soul of Katie Melua.

For this album, Katie returned to Georgia to record with the Gori Women's Choir. As you can tell from "Dreams On Fire", they sound perfect together. As the title of "In Winter" (and, for that matter, "Dreams On Fire") might suggest, this isn't truly a Christmas album, as such. Were it only for the inclusion of "O Holy Night", that would be enough for me. But the album also includes "River", "Cradle Song" and "All-Night Vigil - Nunc Dimittis" (which some might recognize as "The Song of Simeon"). The other titles aren't ringing any bells for me...could be originals ("The Little Swallow" I'm guessing is the Irish Folk tune, but I can't say that with any certainty). Regardless, I am excited beyond mere words to hear the rest of this album. Personally, I like it when an artist goes searching beyond the obvious to capture the lesser explored facets of the diamond that is the holiday season.

Katie Melua has previously released a few tracks I should not have missed, but did. And, first of all, Katie is routinely on British television and radio come the holidays and there are videos (mostly audio) all over YouTube (including "O Holy Night"--but I'll wait for the album on that one). She was on Band Aid 20's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in 2004, which I do own but the name didn't mean anything to me then. For a few years starting in 2005, Katie began taking the late Kirsty MacColl's part on "Fairytale of New York" in live Christmas performances with the Pogues. I don't think there were any releases, but the videos are on YouTube. In 2007, Katie and Eva Cassidy released a duet version of "What A Wonderful World" (yes, the Satchmo song) which went to #1 in the UK. You can find it on "The Katie Melua Collection" (video here). In 2012, she released the single "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", which is included on the 2012 album "B-Sides: The Tracks That Got Away" (it was also, apparently, the B-side of the Eva Cassidy duet). And, in 2014, she recorded Black's "Wonderful Life" for a BBC collection--releasing it as a single last year. As Black passed away earlier this year, and as "Wonderful Life" happens to be (probably) my second favorite Christmas song of all time (even though it isn't a Christmas song at all), that's the video I'm closing with.

Katie Melua's "In Winter" arrives October 14, on CD and on 12" snow white vinyl (with gatefold cover). Give it a spin.

1. The Little Sparrow
2. River
3. Perfect World
4. Cradle Somg
5. A Time To Buy
6. Plane Song
7. If You Are So Beautiful
8. Dreams On Fire
9. All-Night Vigil - Nunc Dimittis
10. O Holy Night

ARTIST WEBSITE

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YESTERDAY ONCE MORE

DAVID WOOD - A CHRISTMAS GIFT (REVIEW)

CLASSICAL BLAST - DARK SIDE OF THE YULE

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS

A BAZAN BONANZA (PLUS GAELYNN LEA)

ELIZABETH CHAN - WE ARE THE STARS (Exclusive Premiere!)

IT AIN'T NECESSARILY NEW

SITE UPDATE

CLIFFORD CURRY (1936 - 2016)

IF ALL YOUR DREAMS WERE ON FIRE....

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