Category: Exclusives

WHEN BLACK FRIDAY COMES (RECORD STORE DAY 2018)

10/10/2018

The Black Friday edition of Record Store Day is still over a month away (November 23), but there's at least one item we want to give you a heads up on, even though it's an RSD "First", rather than an RSD exclusive. Record Store Day is designed as a way of supporting local record stores and so items are provided to those stores which will either be completely unavailable from online or big box store retailers or won't be available from online or big box store retailers until later. They're usually limited, making them desirable to collectors and, these days, vinyl is all the rage. Sadly, my local record stores do not participate in the November RSD because, to quote the store owner, "nobody buys music before Christmas." Yes, I asked. "What about Christmas music?" "Nobody buys Christmas music." I guess I'm nobody.

Everybody's pretty excited for the release this Friday of Eric Clapton's first ever Christmas album, "Happy Xmas". On RSD, your local record store, depending upon how these things get allocated, may have a special die-cut 12" vinyl single from Clapton featuring two songs NOT on the album. The "A" side is "A Little Bit of Christmas Love", written by the late Blues/R&B singer and songwriter Rosco Gordon. The "B" side is "You Always Hurt The One You Love". The single is limited to 5000 copies.

1992 ALBUM

OK, Jazz fans. Back in 1992, Prestige released a collection of Jazz Christmas tunes entitled "The Christmas Collection". Craft Recordings (the "legacy" imprint for Concord) is contributing a collection called "The Christmas Collection" on translucent red vinyl as a Record Store Day exclusive. But it's not the same record. Not exactly. I believe 7 of the tracks from the original are here; 3 have been replaced. Gone is Gene Ammons with the third version of "The Christmas Song" on the original, replaced by Red Garland's "Winter Wonderland". But Bobby Timmons' version of "Winter Wonderland" was on the original so, instead, we get Bobby doing "You're All I Want For Christmas". Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis had two tracks on the original, but both of his songs were also done by other artists on the collection. So they kept Eddie's version of "The Christmas Song" and cut his version of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town". Taking it's place is another cut from Don Patterson, "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?"

If you've been collecting as long as I have, you likely have all of these selections somewhere in your library. But I'll tell you what, if you just wanted to sit back in the comfy chair and enjoy a Jazz album for Christmas, it was always annoying that there were three versions of "The Christmas Song" and two versions of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" on "The Christmas Collection". I mean really annoying. Maddening. Looks like this will be a much nicer ride.

All of the music on this new "The Christmas Collection" has been remastered from the original tapes (and, if there's one thing Craft is really good at, it's remastering). This Record Store Day Exclusive is limited to 2000 units.

1. Dexter Gordon - The Christmas Song
2. Bill Smith Quartet - Greensleeves
3. Paul Bley Trio - Santa Claus is Coming to Town
4. Don Patterson - Merry Christmas Baby
5. Bobby Timmons - You're All I Want For Christmas
6. Red Garland - Winter Wonderland
7. Bobby Timmons - White Christmas
8. Don Patterson - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
9. Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - The Christmas Song
10. Don Patterson - What Are You Doing New Years Eve?

"Unwritten Christmas" by the Pop Punk bands Unwritten Law and Sum 41 was a bonus promo CD single in Australia and a track on Kevin & Bean's annual collection in 2001. The next year, it appeared in the film "Santa Clause 2". But a 7" vinyl single has never existed...until now. This single is a RSD First release and is limited to 2500 copies. The flip side, presumably, is Unwritten Law's other holiday contribution to the Kevin & Bean series, "Please Come Home For Christmas".

Interestingly, we told you about the Sub Pop Christmas single a few days ago, featuring Green River and the U-Men. I say interestingly because it's listed on and we linked to Amazon (though as yet "unavailable"), but the RSD site has it down as a Record Store Day Exclusive, limited to 1700 units. Somebody will figure that out...eventually. Cool picture sleeve, though.

What else we got here? Let's see. There's a Lindsey Sterling 7" picture disc featuring "Warmer In The Winter" backed with "Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies". That RSD exclusive is limited to 2350 units. There's also an RSD exclusive vinyl version of the "Kidz Bop Christmas" album, which does nothing for my head, but I know a lot of people who love that album. "Kidz Bop Christmas" is 25 songs on 2 LP's (one red, one green) and is limited to 2000 copies. There's a "first time on vinyl" RSD First edition of the 2006 Big Star tribute album, "Big Star Small World" which features Teenage Fanclub doing "Jesus Christ" (that one limited to 1800 copies). And Adam Sandler's "What The Hell Happened To Me?" comes to vinyl in an RSD First release limited to 3000 units. That, of course, contains "The Chanukah Song".

Among the non-holiday releases that caught my eye, there are a couple of Blues 10" I'd love to get my hands on. And then there's the single that calls to me with a heavenly glow and choirs of angels singing--a new 7" from Garbage featuring "Destroying Angels" on the "A" side and Bowie's "Starman" (recorded for the Howard Stern Show) on the flip. That one's an RSD exclusive limited to 3000.

Here's a Record Store Day Exclusive. Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones chose a Christmas song as his solo debut record. Keith's version of "Run Rudolph Run" was released in 1978 with "The Harder They Come" on the flip. The single was released again in 2007, this time featuring "Pressure Drop" on the "B" side. To celebrate the track's 40th anniversary, "Run Rudolph Run" gets the 12" single treatment on red vinyl, with "The Harder They Come" and "Pressure Drop" both appearing on the flip. It's an RSD exclusive limited to just 3500 copies.

Did you know it's been 10 years since Rosie Thomas released her indispensable "A Very Rosie Christmas"? I did not know that. Did you know that "A Very Rosie Christmas" has never been on vinyl? Well, yeah, that I knew. For it's 10th anniversary, this fabulous record finally comes to vinyl as an RSD First release, limited to 1000 units (perhaps it should have been said earlier but I believe these limits on RSD First releases apply only to the number of copies available for RSD unless otherwise stated; I could be wrong--and I usually am--but seems to me Rosie could sell a LOT more than 1000 of these). The description says the album is "expanded", but the track list shows that, although Rosie's 2011 single "Remember When It Snowed" is included, "Sheila's Christmas Miracle" is not. So is that expanded or just a substitution? Regardless, always love listening to Rosie Thomas, so we'll let her close us out, today.

As noted, it's still early October, so it's possible some more RSD exclusives and firsts will be added to the list. You can check out all of the titles, holiday and non-holiday alike, at the Record Store Day web site.

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SHAT & THAT

9/22/2018

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First, a quick note, in case you saw The Monkees piece on the Previews page before it was updated. There is going to be a Target Exclusive version of "Christmas Party" (street date 10/19) which will include two bonus tracks--"Riu Chiu" and "Christmas Is My Time of Year". The former of those, of course, is from The Monkees TV show and is the only full Christmas song recorded by The Monkees during their chart-topping days. Hardcore fans of the group had long said that no Christmas album by The Monkees could be considered complete without it. The latter is the single that the group (minus Mike Nesmith) released in 1976 (a remixed version released in 1986). Not sure which version of "Christmas Is My Time of Year" will be released (or if, perhaps, they've remixed it again). But I fully anticipate that the a capella "Riu Chiu" will be the original. Anyway...link included in the updated post. Now...

If you haven't already heard it, here's our first taste of William Shatner's "Shatner Claus". Here's "Jingle Bells" (featuring Henry Rollins).

This, of course, is the regular "Jingle Bells", not the Punk Rock single version. Didn't know what to expect from this album and....still don't, really. But that was fun. And kinda the approach I was hoping for. I didn't at all care for the recent Country album. That was more like a Jeff Cook album with a drunk heckler miked up in the audience. Sorry, just honestly saying what I thought about it. Hey, what does he care; he could already buy and sell me a million times over and he's gonna sell a ton. But, if the rest of "Shatner Claus" is like this, yeah, I could like that.

I feel for the Old 97's...coming in after both The Monkees and William Shatner in this post. But, hey, the Shat had available audio. What was I supposed to do?

1. Love The Holidays
2. I Believe in Santa Claus
3. Gotta Love Being A Kid (Merry Christmas)
4. Snow Angels
5. Christmas Is Coming
6. Wintertime In The City
7. Rudolph Was Blue
8. Here It Is Christmastime
9. Hobo Christmas Song
10. Auld Lang Syne
Bonus tracks:
11. Angels We Have Heard On High
12. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
13. Up On The Housetop
14. Blue Christmas

PRE-ORDER FROM ATO RECORDS

Formed in 1993, the Texas Alt Country Old 97's have never done a Christmas album before, though they've released a track, here and there, now and again. And, according to frontman Rhett Miller, the rest of the band was reluctant to do so now. But Miller felt the band needed a "palate cleanser" before they embarked on their next non-holiday album, and he eventually sold the band on the idea by writing "I Believe In Santa Claus" on the fly in the dressing room.

"Love The Holidays" includes 9 original songs and "Auld Lang Syne". The title track was co-written with Kevin Russell (The Gourds, Shinyribs), “Gotta Love Being A Kid (Merry Christmas)” and “Snow Angels" were both co-written with Ben Greenman, and the guy with the nose that glows gets another tale in “Rudolph Was Blue," co-written by Old 97’s and Dan Bern. Though the album is considered complete at 10 tracks, the band also recorded some holiday favorites--4 of them--which appear on the CD and digital formats. Though the "bonus tracks" do not appear on the vinyl LPs, purchase of the LPs through ATO Records (and possibly everywhere, though I don't have confirmation of that, yet) includes a download of the full album and the bonus tracks.

There are a few different options, here. There's the CD of course. But the vinyl comes in two varieties. The standard vinyl is Red & Green Holiday Splatter. There is also a Candy Cane pinwheel color version, limited to 1500 units and, for the moment anyway, exclusively available through ATO Records. And then there's the Blue Christmas bundle, which includes your choice of CD or LP plus a 7" blue vinyl 45rpm single featuring "Blue Christmas" on the A-side and "Up On The Housetop" on the flip. The Blue Christmas bundle is limited to just 400 units. "Love The Holidays" officially drops November 16.

This isn't my personal wheelhouse but, from what I can gather, Central Live is sort of the Worship & Praise version of Mannheim Steamroller (though with vocals). Everything they do is very big, very dramatic, very orchestral, lots of special effects, lights, smoke, the whole shootin' match. You go see a Central Live show, you're likely going to get your money's worth.

Central Live represents from Central Church in Las Vegas and their stated mission is crating a "Wow" experience to introduce people to Jesus Christ. They do have a bunch of albums under their belts, but "Thrill of Hope" is their first Christmas album. They have certainly done Christmas live shows before and "Thrill of Hope" is a very popular number at those shows. And, even though it's a bit over the top (OK, it's a lot over the top), I do like that one. I was a little less impressed with their other "O Holy Night" take off, "This Moment". Most of the album, though is pretty straight forward and very well done. Given a choice between Central Live and Clapton, I'm taking Clapton (or The Monkees, for that matter), but then again I lost my taste for Mannheim Steamroller after their first record (which was brilliant) and certainly after their second. And who says you have to choose? There's absolutely a place for "Thrill of Hope" in your holiday library, especially if you like your holiday music big (like the old orchestral Christmas albums) yet contemporary.

And the good news is that "Thrill of Hope" by Central Live is out now (release date September 21). No waiting on a pre-order necessary. Well, that's my idea of "the good news"; I'm sure Central Live would have a different definition. But be aware that quantities are limited.

1. Joy to the World
2. Go Tell It on the Mountain
3. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
4. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
5. O Come All Ye Faithful
6. This Moment (O Holy Night)
7. Thrill of Hope
8. Do You Hear What I Hear
9. Angels We Have Heard on High
10. The First Noel
11. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
12. Hope for All (O Come Let Us Adore Him)
13. I Lift My Eyes (Noel)
14. Silent Night

CENTRAL LIVE WEB SITE
PURCHASE FROM CENTRAL LIVE
DIGITAL AT AMAZON

1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing – Carrie Underwood
2. There’s A New Kid In Town – Chris Young (feat. Alan Jackson)
3. Do Not Be Afraid – John Berry
4. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas – Kelsea Ballerini
5. Little Drummer Boy – Hank Williams Jr.
6. What Child Is This – Phil Vassar
7. Mary, Did You Know? – Dylan Scott
8. Do You Hear What I Hear? – Liddy Clark
9. Let’s Make A Baby King – Wynonna
10. A Soldier’s King – Kenny Rogers
11. Christmas Eve In Bethlehem – Hannah Kerr
12. I’ll Be Home For Christmas – Rodney Atkins
13. What God Wants For Christmas – Darius Rucker
14. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree – Brenda Lee
15. Merry Christmas And A Happy New Year – The Bellamy Brothers
16. The Christmas Story From The Book Of Luke (Luke 2:1-11) – Charlie Daniels

I always enjoy finding out what the season's "exclusives" are gonna be. Cuz, you know, they're exclusive. And this year's exclusive from Cracker Barrel is "Country Faith Christmas, Vol. 2". The album collects up 16 songs of the season, most focused on the religious aspects of the holiday. Not exactly sure what Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree" is doing on there, but alright. That is the album's oldest track. The Rodney Atkins video above represents one of the newest. But THE newest is actually Liddy Clark's "Do You Hear What I Hear?" It's new this year and it's exclusive to this exclusive release. Barely 20 years old, Liddy's a rising star in the modern Country landscape. And yet she's a veteran, having written songs and opened for artists like Scotty McCreery and Joe Nichols since her mid-teens. She built a considerable fanbase over the last 3 years or so via Radio Disney and iHeart Radio. And you know I love Radio Disney. Liddy's new EP, "Testing The Waters," was released this past July.

"Country Faith Christmas, Vol. 2" releases September 28. Not sure if it will be offered through their online store, but you look like you could use a good meal anyway (go on, eat, eat, have a cookie). So pick one up at your local Cracker Barrel the next time you're there.

You know, back when I heard Bill Shatner was making a Christmas album, I knew better but I kinda hoped this would be on it. Hmm. Maybe Bill could do a Target exclusive version and this could be the bonus track. It's still Shat at his Christmas best.

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WHEN BLACK FRIDAY COMES

11/11/2016

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Traditions! We had that whole talk earlier while discussing this year's crop of Snowflakes Singles (by the way, did you order yours yet?).

Well, Black Friday--that day after Thanksgiving when people think nothing of trampling their fellow man (or woman) to save a few bucks on a widescreen TV only to find the same model on sale for less a couple weeks later--has almost come and gone as a tradition. Stores, desperate for holiday traffic, keep moving their Black Friday sales up to the point where....I think we already missed it. But Black Friday Record Store Day...that's vinyl of a different color.

I love the idea of Black Friday Record Store Day. The local independent record stores should be supported all year long, but a lot of folks aren't even aware they exist. So, with its tempting buffet of limited edition collectors items only available at the local record store, people seek out the participating shops in their vicinity. It gets them through the door and now they know, right? Go watch the opening scene of "Jingle Bell Rocks" and tell me that isn't more fun than punching keys for an online purchase.

Sadly, in my area, we have no participating record shops. The one I used to go to closed down while the other only participates in the Record Store Day earlier in the year--never the Black Friday one. You can check to find the participating shop nearest to you here. Either way, we do like looking in the virtual store window, here, to see what goodies the Christmas Vinyl Santa has brought down the chimney.

Let's see. We already told you about the RUN DMC 12" picture disc of "Christmas In Hollis" and the Brown Vinyl "scented" release of South Park's "Mr. Hankey's Christmas Classics" from SONY. Both are limited to just 3000 copies. What else we got?

The one that I'd be most interested in is the Fantasy collection, "Jazz Dispensary: Holiday Treats". Look at that beautiful Candy Red vinyl. Yum! Ain't She Sweet? Nothing new on here, though a few of these tracks may be elusive to newcomers. Side One brings the Funk and Soul with Booker T., Rufus Thomas, and the Jive Turkeys. Side Two rolls out the Jazz from Don Patterson, Kenny Burrell and others. Actually, the Jive Turkeys track is kind of recent and we'll have more to say about them in a bit. "Jazz Dispensary: Holiday Treats" is limited to just 1500 copies and is a Record Store Day Exclusive.

Recognize the picture sleeve for this one? No you don't. It was a trick question. Jethro Tull released a 4-somg Christmas 7" back around 1976. "A Christmas Song" had first appeared as a 1969 B-side in the UK, then on "Living In The Past" in 1972. And the obvious "must have" tune from the '76 EP was "Ring Out ,Solstice Bells" (which would show up on the '77 LP "Songs From The Wood"). The original EP also included "March The Mad Scientist" and "Pan Dance".

This limited edition (to 2000) Jethro Tull Record Store Day exclusive contains "A Christmas Song" and "Another Christmas Song" (originally released in 1989). But the other two tracks are new. Well, new-ish, as they are both remixed versions of "Ring Out, Solstice Bells". The second of those, "Magic Bells", was produced by Mike Batt and intended for a Christmas single but was never released. If you can't make Record Store Day, the two remixes will also appear on a re-mixed "Songs From The Wood" in 2017.

Another Record Store Day exclusive is the RED Vinyl 7" of Bob & Doug McKenzie's "12 Days Of Christmas". Bob & Doug, of course, were characters developed by Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas for SCTV. A couple of hosers, eh? Same B-side as the original--"Take Off" featuring Geddy Lee. This one is limited to 3000.

The Chairman of The Board, Frank Sinatra puts in an appearance with a colored vinyl 7" of "White Christmas" and "The Christmas Waltz". The write-up says "7" white colored 'Italian' vinyl single in picture sleeve." I'm just not understanding the "Italian" reference. Frank's record is also limited to 3000.

The last of the Record Store Day exclusives is a vinyl re-pressing of Rudy Ray Moore's classic album "This Ain't No White Christmas". If you're not familiar, let's say up front--PARENTAL GUIDANCE strongly SUGGESTED. Rudy Ray Moore was one of many who made what were called "Party Records"--a term that was given to albums that were too racy (in content and cover art) to be displayed with the rest of the store's inventory. They were "under the counter" records. They were largely sold on "word of mouth". The tradition of "Party Records" dated back to, oh, I'd say the 30s and featured acts built in Night Clubs and Vaudeville (and usually recorded live), but the trend really took off with the introduction of the LP record. There were plenty of Jewish and Italian comics specializing in "Party Records" and the African-American community had artists like Redd Foxx, Richard Pryor and Rudy Ray Moore. The records could be comedy or cute double-entendre songs or a combination of both. In the case of "This Ain't No White Christmas", Rudy Ray Moore had songs, stories, poetry...usually liberally loaded with expletives. This pressing of "This Ain't No White Christmas" is limited to 1200.

The next Record Store Day category is "Limited Run / Regional Focus". This category focuses on independent artists and labels and may or may not be at your local record store if the artist in question isn't from your region. We've got one Christmas release in this category, but it's top notch. The Connection are mostly known in the New England region, but Stubby's regulars should recall that we covered their 2014 holiday release, "A Christmas Gift For...". For Record Store Day, The Connection has pressed 300 copies of "A Christmas Gift For...", randomly on opaque RED or GREEN vinyl.

And, finally, there are those Record Store Day releases which will turn up at online retailers at some point, but they get rolled out at the record shops on Black Friday first. We have two holiday releases in this group (though there's also a Big Star release containing a demo of "Jesus Christ"). The first is the Christmas Tree shaped color vinyl 12" single from Wynton Marsalis, featuring two previously unreleased songs from the Jazz At Lincoln Center Orchestra--"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Little Drummer Boy". This collector's item single is limited to 1000 copies. We did show that one on our list with a November 18 release, but the listing has since been pulled by Amazon. Amazon could possibly still get some version of the single, but Black Friday Record Store Day gets it first.

I believe we've saved the best for last. But first, I said up top we'd get back to the Jive Turkeys. Their single (which I believe was originally issued in 2010) is being released on Black Friday, though it may not have anything to do with Record Store Day. This release features "Get Down Santa" and the "Funky Jesus" flip pressed to GREEN vinyl and is limited to 300 copies. Order here while they last.

And, finally, there's a new Christmas single coming from the fantastic California Alt Rock/Punk group The Regrettes. I love this group. It's raw Rock, for sure, but The Regrettes also know how to write a good hook. Check out a few of the group's songs on Soundcloud (my fave there is "Seashore"; what a wonderful track). I'd drop in a track for you, here, but they can at times be prone to profanity. For Black Friday Record Store Day, the group has recorded their cover of "Marshmallow World" pressed to white vinyl and tucked into a marshmallow scented picture sleeve. How cool is that? And I'm betting their take on "Marshmallow World" is going to be amazing. A nice healthy run of 3000 on this one.

That's the list, as well as we know it, of Christmas releases getting the Black Friday Record Store Day roll out. That's November 25, if you were wondering. On your mark, get set........

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JANE LYNCH NOW HAS MY FULL ATTENTION

10/13/2016

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Gotta be honest. I was not looking forward to this one. But now I am.

Jane Lynch is someone pretty much everyone knows by now. She was one of the stars of "Glee", hosts "Hollywood Game Night" and has a slew of movie and television credits to her name. But she's also an actress who has tread the boards in many a musical and has been touring with a cabaret show in recent times. "Swingin' Little Christmas" will likely be a bit like a Christmas version of her cabaret show. So we get the whole cast--Kate Flannery ("The Office"), Tim Davis (a vocal arranger who also worked on "Glee") and the Tony Guerrero Quintet.

"Swingin' Little Christmas" will feature new arrangements of 10 songs you know (all Public Domain, so no "Santa Baby", "Blue Christmas" or "Baby Its Cold Outside", thank goodness) and 5 you don't--new songs written by Tony Guerrero that we're told sound like they were written in the 50s. And, if the video of "A Swingin' Little Christmas Time" is any indication, that boast is fact. It's obviously going to be kitschy...or, as one of my favorite lines from "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" goes, "a whole lot of hoot and just a little bit of nanny".

Still waiting on cover art and a track list, but we know the record is due to bow on November 16. So far, the early press only speaks of a digital release so, until we hear otherwise, we've posted it as a "digital only" on The List. When it's out, Jane's holiday album will be available through iTunes for sure, probably Amazon, and, naturally, from Jane Lynch's web site.

While I was writing the bit below on BlackHawk, I remembered that I forgot to check on this year's exclusive from Kohl's. This is (I believe) the 17th annual Christmas CD from Kohl's. They're usually released in the first week of October. I don't think they've had any exclusive tracks in a while, but that's not even the point. The Kohl's CDs are just 5 bucks and every penny of profit goes directly to Kohl's Cares--a charity focused on children's health, wellness, and education. So stop buy your local Kohl's or order a copy through their web site. You get a cheap CD and the kids get the profit. Everybody wins. This year's set is "Home For The Holidays".

"It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" by Andy Williams
"Blue Christmas" by Elvis Presley
"A Marshmallow World" by Dean Martin
"Sleigh Ride" by Johnny Mathis
"Santa Baby" by Eartha Kitt
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" by Gene Autry
"(There's No Place Like) Home for the Holidays" by Perry Como
"Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" by Frank Sinatra
"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" by Darlene Love
"Feliz Navidad" by Jose Feliciano

The Country Rock band, BlackHawk, who had their biggest run of hits in the 90s, are working on a Christmas album. They were hopeful of getting it out this year, but they've been so busy touring, the window for this year closed for them. They're well along, though, so it should pop up next year. They describe the record as "hip and groovy and far out". Cool.

BlackHawk do have one Christmas song in circulation. "We Three Kings" was included on the "Star Of Wonder" compilation in 1996 and, later, on a 1998 Kohl's Cares For Kids collection. And here 'tis (with a bonus Christmas light show).

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JOSH GROBAN AND JACKIE MITTOO (OH MY)

10/5/2016

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Isn't that great? I love that.

As soon as we cry out "Where are all the Christmas singles?" this one comes to our attention. The songs aren't new and the artists passed away long ago. But still... gonna be nice, this one.

A 12" vinyl split single featuring two original members of the Skatalites should be welcome on any Christmas list. The Skatalites were among the earliest to the genre of Ska, the secret ingredient of which is Jazz. Jamaican Producer Coxsone Dodd hunted up some of the best Jazz musicians on the island to get in on this new sound. He finished with 10 and those 10 became the Skatalites.

Don Drummond was the trombone player. After the band split up, he scored several singles in Great Britain. In 1965, Don was convicted of killing her girlfriend but was also found criminally insane. He spent the rest of his live in Kingston's Bellevue Asylum. Don died young--just 37--and, while the cause of death is still a bit of a mystery, the most popular theory is that he suffered a heart attack as the result of an overdose of prescription medications. His side of the single is "Heavenless" and not a seasonal tune.

Ah, but Jackie Mittoo, the Skatalites keyboard man, gives us the brilliant "After Christmas" heard in the video above. Mittoo was barely a teen when he started playing with the Skatalites. When they broke up, Jackie found success in Canada and later toured Africa with Musical Youth. He died of cancer in 1990 at the age of 42. To the best of my knowledge, "After Christmas" was originally released in 1978, but the original 12" is quite rare.

The split vinyl 12" (cuz the tunes run over 6 minutes each) will be available from Amazon and other domestic vendors on November 11. Across the pond, "After Christmas"/"Heavenless" drops a week earlier, November 4.

And we're getting a new vinyl Christmas single from Josh Groban this year! Not my thing, really, but the ladies love him. Josh, of course, had the best selling album of the year in 2007 with "Noel". Yeah, I know. A Christmas album was the best selling album of the year. It sold nearly 4 million copies in just 10 weeks (and continues to sell, btw)--and that's with record sales already in steady decline. Amazing.

Well, Josh's newly recorded holiday single is "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" (no B-side has been specified) and it's a Barnes & Nobel Exclusive. Release is set for November 1.

Barnes & Noble is going Exclusive Vinyl crazy this year. Another I don't think we've mentioned yet is an LP of merry old soul. "Gee Whiz It's Christmas" doesn't look to include anything new. Rather it was an opportunity to get all your Soul and R&B favorites together on vinyl (vinyl makes everything better). So the collection includes Carla Thomas with the title track, Donny Hathaway's classic, the Orioles, the Drifters, Otis Redding, King Curtis, Brook Benton, etc., etc. Look for that one October 28.

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CHRISTMAS IN JULY - NO HALL, JUST OATES

7/25/2016

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Before we get started, I need to mention that Elizabeth Chan, God bless her, has been hard at work on her FIFTH Christmas album. It sounds like she put every bit of herself into this one. And I hope she's proud of herself, because she certainly should be. Hopefully, y'all know who Elizabeth Chan is by now. If not, stop by her web site and read up a bit.

If you ever wondered about the whole "Christmas In July" thing, it's actually a day, not the whole month. Officially, Christmas In July is July 25th. And that is today! Well, Elizabeth is working on her Christmas craft all year long. For her, Christmas In July has a particular importance. It's a bit of a target date for having the songs for her Christmas albums written, recorded and ready to go. And she's got to have some kind of a target date because having the songs ready to go, well, that's only like half of the work she has to do if she's going to get her music out there for Christmas.

Here is the point. Elizabeth Chan will be making some big announcements this evening. It's a live Facebook event. Be there or be square (God, could I sound any more old and decrepit?).

Alright. Things are starting to pick up a bit. The List is beginning to fill out. Before you know it, we'll be shouting "AVALANCHE" (which is really stupid, because a shout like that could start one) and we won't have time to take a breath, let alone chat. So, while there's still time....how ya doin'?

Word has come our way of a new vinyl single due out October 28. It's from one-half of the great 70s duo Hall & Oates. I used to play their albums over and over and over. Ask my college roommate; I don't think he's forgiven me for that yet. John Oates never got the attention Darryl Hall did, but I always liked him (actually preferred his "Jingle Bell Rock" to Darryl's).

Alright, now, I don't have all of the pieces of this puzzle, so I'm trying to fill in the blanks, and, as we know, that doesn't always work out so well. But stick with me for a sec.

Last year, there was an album that got by me from singer/songwriter Steven Davis. "This Is Christmas" featured only one standard, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas". The other 11 songs were newly written. And one of those songs was written with John Oates. That song was "Santa Be Good To Me". While the lyrics were thoroughly modern, the music was clearly the stuff of Swing bands. John also plays on the track.

It appears that John decided to take his own--pardon me--swing at the thing. Or, at least, he's told interviewers that he's recording a song called "Santa Be Good" and that single is available for pre-order from Elusive Disc. To back him on the single, John got ahold of the Time Jumpers, a band that specializes in Country Swing and includes several people you might be familiar with, like Vince Gill and Kenny Sears. So now we've got a Blue-Eyed Soul/Pop/Rock artist playing and singing a Swing Jazz number with a Country Swing backing group. Yeah, you can count me in for that.

While we don't have sound for John's single, I don't see any reason not to play the Swing version from Steven Davis, do you? Incidentally, Steven did cut a few holiday standards that are not included on "This Is Christmas". You can download "Let It Snow" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town" FREE from Soundcloud (while it lasts). First, though, Steven Davis featuring John Oates and "Santa Be Good To Me".

Now, truthfully, when I'm doing these sorts of things, I feel compelled to lead off with a name artist. I want to introduce people to some artists they might not be familiar with, so you've got to offer a way to draw folks in a bit by starting with someone who is familiar to just about anybody. Someone who will make people say, "Hey, I know that guy. My damn college roommate used to play those records non-stop, the bastid."

But I really wanted to start with this one. For two reasons. One, it just came out (July 24) and, Two, it made me smile.

"A Joyful Nativity" is some, pardon my French, kick-ass Gospel. It's an original Christmas Cantata written by Jay DeVaughn and sung by Jabez, a Gospel choir featuring some truly gifted soloists. The project is/was funded through GoFundMe. The plan was to press 1000 CDs and accompanying song books. And I suspect, with God's help, there will be CDs available at some point. But even if there end up being no hard copy CDs, I'm happy to hear this joyous sound in any format, and we know the digital version is available from Amazon. "A Joyful Nativity" alternates between the music and a narrative that ties it all together. And, OK, not every holiday mix is narrative friendly, but every holiday mix should have room for a bit of kick-ass Gospel.

Please check out the samples on Amazon, but we do have what I believe is a rehearsal of "Born In Bethlehem" and, man, if this doesn't reach down into your soul and pull you up to heaven, you might want to check your pulse to make sure you're still with us. This is awesomey awesomeness and I love it. As noted above, the digital download of "A Joyful Nativity" is already available.

1. JOY (ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH)
2. Narrative: The Annunciation
3. THERE IS NOTHING IMPOSSIBLE WITH GOD
4. Narrative: Mary's Acceptance
5. BEHOLD THE HANDMAID OF THE LORD
6. Narrative: Salutations Between Mary and Elizabeth
7. MY SOUL DOTH MAGNIFY THE LORD
8. Narrative: The Journey & The Birth of Our Saviour
9. BORN IN BETHLEHEM
10. Narrative: The Angels and The Shepherds
11. GLORY TO GOD IN THE HIGHEST
12. Narrative: The Search of The Magi
13. WE SEEK THE CHRIST
14. Narrative: For Unto Us/Rejoice
15. REJOICE AMAZON MP3
16. OH WHAT A MYSTERY GOFUNDME PAGE

While we don't have a lot of the details, yet, we don't need too many to be looking forward to the September 9 release of "Christmastime In New Orleans" by the NOLA Players. The NOLA Players are 18 of the finest Jazz and Classical musicians from the Crescent City and "Christmastime In New Orleans" is their Christmas Card to that legendary homestead. To date, the names of the individual musicians have not been officially unveiled. But there's certainly a huge pool of talent to draw from. We know the record is on the new AimHigher imprint, which is a Verve label, and Verve has always been a quality label. We don't know what songs will be included, but we know there will be 14 tracks featuring new arrangements generously seasoned with Zatarains. And we expect we'll learn plenty more as the days dwindle down to a precious few. Keep your eyes on Facebook and the NOLA Players web site. Pre-order is available through Amazon.

This year is going to feature a virtual feast of Country Christmas releases. And, this week, we learned of one more. Reba McEntire has recorded the third Christmas album of her long and storied career which she'll be releasing exclusively through Cracker Barrel on September 2. "My Kind of Christmas" follows 1987's "Merry Christmas To You" and 1999's "The Secret of Giving". The album is also part of the launch of a much larger association between Reba and Cracker Barrel, as the country store will soon be selling a line of clothes, jewelry, toys, home decor and more bearing Reba's imprint. Reba says the western flavored line is very personal to her and is based upon her taste and lifestyle. "My Kinda Christmas" features 11 newly recorded tracks--mostly standards of the season with the most recently composed being "Hard Candy Christmas". Never been a big Country fan, myself, but I always liked Reba. Just sayin'.

1. Winter Wonderland
2. The Christmas Song
3. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
4. O Holy Night
5. Hard Candy Christmas
6. O Come All Ye Faithful
7. Jingle Bell Rock
8. Silent Night
9. White Christmas
10. Jingle Bells
11. I’ll Be Home for Christmas

NOT THE FINAL ARTWORK

Sometimes I'm amazed at all that I don't know. Seriously. As we move into the season of crowd funding for Christmas albums, Jj Heller shows up in my in box. She's been recording since 2003, at least, and I've never heard of her. It's not a genre thing; I'm fairly open, as you know. But the world of current music that exists beyond the holidays is largely foreign to me.

For those who, like me, are unfamiliar with Jj Heller, she's a CCM artist whose early work was largely Folk, but whose more recent albums have tended towards Pop and even Alt Rock. For my head, I prefer the more recent Jj. But that's just me.

Watching Jj Heller's Kickstarter video for her upcoming "Unto Us" Christmas album reminded me of the "Mary Tyler Moore" pilot where Lou Grant says, "You know what? You've got spunk." Mary blushes a little bit and says, "Well..." and Lou comes back with "I hate spunk!" Me, I don't hate spunk at all; I just like to smile. Jj seems very perky and bright and that makes me smile on yet another 100 degree day here in the south. For "Unto Us", Jj says she sought inspiration from her favorite seasonal albums (such as "A Charlie Brown Christmas", the soundtrack from "White Christmas", and more recent albums from Amy Grant and Sara McLachlan). She's recorded with a youth choir and an 18 piece string orchestra so, all together, it sounds like her album will have a familiar, traditional, chestnuts roasting on an open fire kinda feeling.

As with all Kickstarter campaigns, if Jj falls short of her goal, she'll get nothing. And there are all kinds of incentives for those who want to do more than (essentially) pre-ordering the album. With just over 3 weeks to go, it looked to me like she was well on her way to reaching her goal. Then again, if she raises more, she can do more. And if you need just one more gentle nudge, Jj has promised to donate a copy of her album of lullabies, "I Dream Of You", to a hospital for every $15 raised (targeting children's hospitals, it sounds like).

Head to Kickstarter, watch the video, read the write-up and pledge, if you're so inclined.

As a Christian artist, it should be no surprise that Jj Heller has previously recorded a seasonal song or two (or three). "The Perfect Gift" was released in 2014 and it's available from Amazon and iTunes (and, I'm sure, at other digital outlets).

DANIEL RADCLIFFE (aka HARRY POTTER)

Two minute warning time. The Australian Swing band In Full Swing has set November 26 as the release date for their first Christmas full-length, "Let It Swing! Let It Swing! Let It Swing!" There's also an Ohio based band called In Full Swing, so keep that in mind when you google. Not sure if the record will reach America's shores this Christmas (though I see no reason why the digital wouldn't). On The List, we're just linking to the group's web store. To get a taste of In Full Swing, check the Amazon samples of their last release, "Well Swung".

Friday Music has released word of their first holiday release of 2016. Friday Music has re-issued some interesting Christmas music over the past several years--some on vinyl and some on CD. This one is a CD two-fer of B.J. Thomas recordings from the 80s. There's the Christmas album, "All Is Calm, All Is Bright", and they've paired that with "Love Shines". The latter was a Gospel set--not Christmassy at all, BUT..."Love Shines" has never been issued on CD before, so its of interest in that regard. They've both been remastered and the release is touted as "Limited Edition". Release is scheduled for September 16 and you can pre-order through Amazon.

There's also an overseas listing for "A Broadway Christmas" by Daniel Radcliffe. You might know him better as Harry Potter, but he's been doing an awful lot of Broadway since those movies ended. No details are given (not even a release date) and not only could I not find anything else about it, I couldn't even find another listing. So I'm not including it on The List as yet. Really need to see more than one listing at the very least (and this one was Japanese, so I can't even swear to the translation). Anyway, just be alert, if you're interested in Harry Potter singing Christmas show tunes. I will say, you have to give the man credit for covering Tom Lehrer's "Christmas Carol" a few years back. Although it pales in comparison to the original, you can find/purchase the Radcliffe version here.

It's getting late again (or early...I'm never sure which it is), so let's wrap this puppy (even though I know that, an hour from now, some major artist will release their Christmas album press release). A cappella music has been very popular in recent years and this comedy group from Canada has been at it longer than that. And, I don't know, maybe the missing ingredient in a stew of comedy/parody and a cappella is beer. Lots and lots of beer. That said, Apocalypse Kow is popular north of the border and folks are especially fond of their annual Christmas shows. Their annual Apocalypse Kow Kristmas Kabaret has raised lots of money for worthy charities. So keep that in mind.

Anyway, they're finally getting around to recording a Christmas album. They've turned their weary eyes to crowd funding to finance the CD (as yet untitled). I hope they raise enough to put together a professional video, too. I know the kinds of places their live videos are recorded in and the acoustics of such places do them no favors. Just sayin'. Getting back on track, Apocalypse Kow is raising money through Indiegogo. Unlike Kickstarter, with Indiegogo, the band gets whatever is pledged regardless of whether or not they reach their goal. But they do promise that all money raised through this campaign will go towards the Christmas album, even if they fall short and have to delay the record for a month or two (the plan is for a December release). As with Kickstarter, there are different levels of support and different incentives for those different levels.

Since Apocalypse Kow has been performing Christmas shows for years, there's no shortage of material for them to pick from. On the Indiegogo page is a song called "Gifts" (a parody of George Michael's "Faith"). But, even though this one is only Christmas in the middle, it's the one I liked so "Jessie's Girl" is the one you get. Later, peeps.

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THE FEELIN' COMING BACK 'ROUND

7/17/2016

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It's still kinda quiet on the Christmas music front. But just when I was about to say there's nothing new I've learned of recently that has me counting down the days, I stumbled upon Circa Blue. Ostensibly a Bluegrass band (though you could call it Folk, or you could call it Country, or you could call it Americana....but you doesn't has to call it Johnson. OK, obscure Bill Saluga reference that nobody under the age of 60 will get. Sorry.), I did what I always do and went in search of earlier music from the band. My guess would be that we don't have much of a Bluegrass following at Stubbys. But just start that video overhead while I talk on it a bit. BTW, "Rain & Snow" is from Circa Blue's most recent release, "Once Upon A Time".

The thing is Bluegrass was one of the most difficult genres for me to acclimate to. I was lucky, though. I had a friend at a radio station I worked at who not only had encyclopedic knowledge of the subject, he was also in a Bluegrass group, Late Nite Garage. Just one album that I know of, locally released in New Jersey, but one I have always thoroughly enjoyed. There's one track on YouTube, but its instrumental, so you don't get to hear the beautiful harmonies which are what I loved about the record, and you can usually find a copy or two on eBay. Anyway, Tom helped open my mind and my ears, gave me a teeny tiny bit of his knowledge but, sadly, none of his taste. So I've pretty much been reduced to, "I don't know Bluegrass, but I know what I like." And I like Circa Blue. In fact Circa Blue is very much in the sweet spot of the Bluegrass sound I like. Can't explain it, but I know it when I hear it. And I also like groups that will lay the very traditional Bluegrass standards right next to a cover of a Pop hit or Rock song, which Circa Blue go do, too.

Their as yet untitled Christmas album is part of an ongoing project/promotional exercise from National Media Services, a full-service studio in northern Virginia. Every year, NMS picks a band that has previously used their studio or other services and gives them the studio time to record a Christmas album. If you've even danced around the fringes of the music world, you know how precious and wonderful free studio time can be. The group still has to pay to have the CDs made up (which NMS does in-house), but pricing is competitive and the band can order relatively small quantities to sell at their shows or whatever (some CD manufacturers make bands buy more than they could possibly sell, but not NMS).

Circa Blue chose some traditional favorites, wrote some new tunes, and picked a handful of tunes from contemporary songwriters. Dawn Kenney is one of those folks in the latter category and she'll be a guest vocalist on the record and is set to accompany the band on a brief holiday tour later this year. The CD should be coming out October 1, but might not be immediately available online. We'll let you know when and where it is.

Did we mention Country artist Chris Young? He's been pretty much on fire since 2009's "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)" and I thought he did a nice job on "Rainy Night In Georgia", but there is an awful lot of Country Christmas music coming this year, so I can't say I'm overly up for still more country. Well, he's pretty excited about putting out a Christmas album this year, and that's a good sign.

Among the bucket listers, the band Exile has a new Christmas album. I've always gotta check these notices because things are never clearly laid out. But, anyway, although the band has been promoting "Wrapped Up In Your Arms For Christmas" in recent interviews as though they just finished recording it, it looks as though it was actually released through their web site last December. So lets just say it'll be getting the wide release treatment this year. If you're as old as I am, you remember Exile as a Rock band who had the huge hit "Kiss You All Over" in the 70s. After the lead vocalist left, they transitioned into Country and Southern Rock. I'd swear I have a holiday 45 from them somewhere, but I could be imagining that. Nope, I was right ("Happy Birthday, Jesus" from 1991). Anyway..."Wrapped Up In Your Arms This Christmas" by Exile. It's out there.

Canadian Country singer Jimmy Rankin is in the planning stages of a Christmas album with his sisters, Cookie and Heather. That one won't be dropping until 2017.

And, just to break out of this Country scene a tiny bit, Metalcore band August Burns Red confirms that they'll be continuing their annual Christmas single tradition, with this year's already written and ready for the studio. At the same time, another full-length Christmas album seems unlikely for the foreseeable future.

Now THIS excites me!

At the risk of ticking some of y'all off, I deliberately did not put a couple of long-awaited long out-of-print loved-by-those-who-own-them-and-sought-by-those-who-don't re-issues on our List last year. But I had my reasons. Last year, they were available as digital downloads only. But I knew (and I think I even mentioned in one of our Coming Attractions pieces) that there were going to be hard copy vinyl re-issues of these masterpieces. And, quite frankly, it irks me sometimes to drop a tenner on a digital and then have to come back and buy again what I already bought because now it's in hard copy. So I kept my big mouth shut. No double billing on my account. But the time has come. Feel free to grab the digital from the usual suspects if that's your pref, but the rest of us are gonna settle in for the full vinyl experience.

Oh, man, what treasures!

Now, that's from an old vinyl rip. I'm told the sound on the digital was exceptional.

Ordinarily, Christmas releases are recorded well in advance (for obvious reasons), but that was not the case with the two "Holiday Soul" albums, one from Don Patterson and the other by Bobby Timmons. Both were recorded at the end of November 1964 and released that December on the Prestige label. That gives the records a fresh crispness that you might not get if they'd spent months working up the charts. The basic melodies remain intact, but they left themselves plenty of room to move, to stretch, to improvise, to have fun. A few tracks from the two sets have made their way onto a compilation or two, but the full albums have not been reissued in any format since the original 1964 release (not counting last year's digital release).

Both Timmons and Patterson were pioneers of the Soul Jazz sound that they helped create but which would be popularized by others. They were both under 30 at the time, though Timmons had been working for more than a decade by then, For Patterson, it was one of his first album releases. The records took a while to catch on. Patterson's "Holiday Soul", for example, peaked at #85 on the album charts...in 1967. It was the most successful album of his career. Both Bobby Timmons and Don Patterson struggled with drug and alcohol addiction. Timmons was just 38 when he died of cirrhosis in 1974. Patterson, I believe, did get clean, but that kind of damage just doesn't go away and he died in 1988 at the age of 51. Both men were brilliant and under appreciated and the "Holiday Soul" records are wonderful works recorded before the alcohol and drugs took hold.

The "Holiday Soul" albums are perfect seasonal discs for almost any occasion. They have enough warmth to serve as background and the musicianship to stand up to (and amaze in) any more critical, more attentive, foreground listen.

Originally announced last year by Universal (who will handle distribution), the vinyl re-issues stand ready to arrive on September 2. You can pre-order Don Patterson's through Amazon or Elusive Disc or wherever you go for your vinyl. Bobby Timmons' set can be pre-ordered here or here. We fully expect the albums to be released with their original cover art, labels, etc. There are no announced plans for a CD release, but you never know.

Diana Krall released "Christmas Songs" in 2005 and it topped both the Jazz and Holiday charts that year, peaking at #17 on the Top 200 album charts. It was her first album recorded with a full orchestra and it was every bit as stunningly beautiful as you would expect. If I recall correctly (and who knows; these days my brain looks like something from "Hoarders"), even the CDs were hard to find that year. But the vinyl was limited and almost impossible to find. At some point, there was an audiophile version (released in red vinyl and white vinyl) which was, likewise, very limited and impossible to find. Back in 2013, another reissue of the vinyl (standard black, as I recall, but 200gm weight). And the thing is it's STILL tough to score the record on any sort of vinyl unless you're willing to pony up some big bucks (and my pockets just ain't all that deep these days).

Since "Christmas Songs" remains a perennial favorite of the season, I can't imagine this will be the last re-issue but, then again, it's hard to say how long this "back to vinyl" movement will last. The vinyl re-issue of Diana Krall's gem shows a release date of October 14. It looks to be your basic LP re-issue from Verve--standard weight black vinyl--but there have been folks looking for just that for over a decade. Here's your shot. Make it count. Pre-order through Amazon, Elusive Disc, or wherever fine records are sold.

Also on the sorta kinda "re-issue" front is a new collection from Essential Media. Essential Media, based in Florida, is an interesting company. Their business model, it always seemed to me, was like just buy up the rights of anything that's cheap. Yeah, there's probably a lot more to it than that, and they make a lot of their money leasing music to movies and TV, but that's just how it always seemed to me. The thing is there is a ton of music out there, the rights of which can be had for cheap, that is really really good--especially in the off-genres like Jazz and Blues and Reggae, etc. They likely wouldn't sell well enough for a major label to bother with, but there is a solid core of collectors who would seek out and buy such obscurities from unknown artists and tiny labels. Heck, that's some of the best Christmas music out there...stuff your family and friends have never heard. So E.M. buys the stuff outright for cheap, does a lot of mixing and matching, and some of the resulting collections might not draw fans of the current hits. But folks like us? Yeah, it can be the coolest thing ever. When they offer up digital collections, there's not a whole lot of overhead (obviously) and those that sell comparatively well they'll make available on CD or CD-R (with today's technology, those are better quality and cheaper to make than even 10 years ago).

The new collection from Essential Media making its digital debut September 2 is "A Strange But Merry Christmas". As I've been collecting since the late 60s and early 70s, I've got a lot of these songs already (mostly on vinyl 45s), but there are a few that are even new to me. And it's a pretty interesting group of festive tuneage. You've got the awesome Blues of King Coleman's "Blue Grey Christmas" and Johnny Winter's "Please Come Home For Christmas", a country tear-jerker from Slim Pickens ("Christmas In November"), teen Pop and Soul from Jimmy Charles and Milt Patrick, a disco "White Christmas" from Back to Back, and a novelty (and not the one everybody knows) from 2 Live Jews. Is there any Christmas collector who hasn't been delighted by their first listen to "Hawaiian Santa" by the Surfers? And, while everyone knows "Be Bop Santa" by Babs Gonzalez, you could spend a lifetime tracking down all of his variations on that theme, like this collection's "Teenage Santa Claus". Ordinarily, I'd check Essential Media to see if there's a CD available, but their site is undergoing a makeover or something. And Essential has offered a lot of these cuts as digital singles before. But the digital release of "A Strange But Merry Christmas" will run you $8.99 for 20 deliciously obscure holiday tracks. Not too shabby.

And, finally, James Taylor. No, that's it. I just always wanted to say "And, finally, James Taylor."

Oh, alright. I'd like to be able to say that I've never seen an artist get so much mileage out of a Christmas album, but I can't because no one could hope to get the mileage Phil Spector and "A Charlie Brown Christmas" have gotten. I do think its had more lives than Mrs. Katz (not her real name) and, considering how many times I've called for last rites, that's saying something. "James Taylor At Christmas" started life as a 2004 Hallmark CD titled "A Christmas Album". In 2006, Columbia released "James Taylor At Christmas", which included most of the songs from the Hallmark CD, though not "Deck The Halls", and a couple of extra tracks. Barnes & Noble released the album with "Deck The Halls" as an exclusive bonus track. In 2012, "James Taylor At Christmas" was released again, this time with 2 more tracks (but still no "Deck The Halls"). But in all this time, the album has never been released on vinyl. Well that changes this year as a vinyl "James Taylor At Christmas" will be exclusively available from Barnes & Noble. We don't have the details yet, but the price point and all the earlier versions leave me curious as to the eventual track list and whether the vinyl will be collector's grade. I mean, it would be really cool if they got all of the Christmas tracks in one place at last (doncha think). Truthfully, I expect it will mirror the 2006 Columbia release, but I'm still curious. In any case, the JT vinyl arrives September 23.

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A STUBBY'S HOUSE CHRISTMAS 2015

12/23/2015

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Twas two days before Christmas
And all through Stubby's House
Not a creature was stirring
Except for that stupid mouse
(Hey, you, get off my tail!)

My food dish is filled
With a recipe special
Nature's Variety lamb and rice
But this ain't no commercial
($1.59 for a three ounce can? Boy, did they see him coming.)

I won't eat it anyway
I must remain finicky
If you're a cat, that's what you do
It's in the job description
(I know it don't rhyme; I'm a cat, I'm not stupid)

And then there's the music
That godawful racket
It's that Christmas crap he plays
Show me a tone-arm and I'll whack it.

Right now, Stubby sleeps
I'll make mischief and fun
And--oh-oh, he's up
C'mon mouse, we gotta run!

Hey, get away from that keyboard!

Yes, it's that time of year, again. Time for my little gifty to you--"A Stubby's House Christmas 2015"--our collection of some of my favorite freebies from the 2015 holiday season (I refuse to use the word "best" for this). You know how this works. I've tagged, bundled and zipped up the collection--complete with enough artwork for you to make your own Stubby's House Christmas CD (or, in this case, two). We only use music that we wrote about in 2015 (even if some of the tracks, themselves, were from earlier) and we only use tunes that were available free, except when I've bamboozled--I mean begged--I mean convinced an artist or label to let us use a song that, otherwise, wasn't available free. Those we call Stubby's House Exclusives (Yaaaayyyyy!). And we've got a few this year. We also have some semi-exclusives, which I'll tell you about in a bit. In the track list below, exclusives are in blue while semi-exclusives are in purple. The collection goes up for download today and comes down (links removed) after Little Christmas (January 6) and will never, ever, ever be re-posted. These are mp3s, not CD audio, so, if you dig the music, please support the artists and, when applicable, purchase the tracks. "A Stubby's House Christmas 2015" is part sampler, part mix for your Christmas head, part souvenir and time-capsule of the season, and part gift (I do invest more than a little time and effort).

From Fetal Records' "A Colorful Christmas" (full review here), the label has kindly granted us the use of Scott Taylor's "Homeless Christmas". This was one of my favorite records of the year and, had they tossed me a ball of lint, I'd have included it. But, no, they gave us one of the very special songs from Scott Taylor who, along with Charlie Sayles, made "A Colorful Christmas" the indispensable Christmas album I feel it to be. "Homeless Christmas" I described in our review as "street corner Soul". Behind Scott's wonderful vocals is the music of Subsidiarity (featuring some of the musicians from Fetal Records original run in the 80s). The label tells me they're thinking about recording a full album with Scott in the coming year and, if they do, we'll certainly let you know.

Our other fully exclusive track is "Auld Lang Syne" from The High 48s (our write-up of "Holidays With The High 48s" is here). This is another record I think every Christmas music collector should have. The High 48s are, essentially, a Bluegrass band, but their new Christmas album ought to appeal to plenty of people who ordinarily don't like Bluegrass--almost anyone, in fact. And those are the kinds of holiday albums you want in your collection. As it happens, "Auld Lang Syne" is one of the more Bluegrass-y tunes on "Holidays With The High 48s", but I love their version and thought it would be a perfect closer for our Stubby's House collection this year. And, no, you could not go anywhere but here and get "Auld Lang Syne" from The High 48s as a free and legal download.

We have a handful of semi-exclusives for you, as well this year. These are tracks that you possibly might have downloaded free--but only under limited circumstances. For example, we posted about "The Best Christmas Yet" from The Burnt Bridges when it was a free download. But three days later, the tune went live on iTunes and the band wrote to tell me it wasn't going to be free any more. I asked then if I could include it in our Stubby's House collection and they said they'd be honored. Cool beans! To me, it's one of the key tracks to the whole mix.

The story on Carly Thomas' "Hold You (On Christmas Eve)" (our write up is here) is similar, if different. Carly gave a free download of the track to people on her mailing list this year (which I am). She said to "share it" and, not being a complete idiot, I presumed she didn't mean to post it on a blog. So I wrote for clarification and she thought including the song in our Christmas collection was the perfect way of sharing without the song becoming perpetually free by default. You should know there are actually two versions of "Hold You (On Christmas Eve)". The longer version features about 5 seconds more of intro (and I prefer that version) but also has some kind of noisy glitch in it that I couldn't remove (you can hear it in the video). So I used the shorter version that I got from her last year. Again, I would have been a very sad Stubby if I couldn't include this beautiful song from Carly Thomas in our collection.

Our last semi-exclusive is from the one, the only, that frickin' genius mojochronic. With there being no "Santastic" volume for 2015, mojochronic's "Holiday Bling" had nowhere to go. DJBC did feature the video on his Facebook page, and mojochronic did offer a free mp3 of the Mash-Up to anyone who wanted one, but, without the "Santastic" platform, that ended up being only a handful of folks. Fear not as mojochronic is always welcome on "A Stubby's House Christmas".

I always like to let you know who almost made the cut, but didn't, and, this year, that was Miranda Dodson. I truly, truly love the music on her free Christmas EP, "It's Merry Christmas Time", but every time I tried to place a song, it just didn't go with the tracks it was next to. I held firm until yesterday when, at last, I gave up. I won't say who got her spot, but it was a worthy tune in its own right. And, since Miranda intends to continue recording Christmas songs, I'll get another shot next year.

And one of my favorite things about the Stubby's House mix is knowing absolutely that I've included songs that no one else ever would. I can almost hear people out there saying, "No kidding. I guess he really did like that song." I think, with our two disc set for 2015, there are likely four or five such tracks. Hopefully, proper presentation will make you think again about whether those songs were worthy ones or not.

OK, so, again, "A Stubby's House Christmas 2015" is only available from now until Little Christmas (January 6). That gives you about two weeks to get your download on before the whole thing goes "poof" and is gone forevermore. Song titles link to our write-ups and artist names are linked up to the artist website or Facebook page (if I could find one). There are 40 Christmas tunes, here--over 2 and a half hours of holiday music especially selected to keep you entertained and help you survive the holidays. I've listened multiple times and, while it ain't my best work, it's not bad. Biggest problem, as always, is trying to get the volumes of the tracks to match up (as usual, I'm sure I failed at that, but I did try). Click [link removed] to download the Zip or on any of the Stubby's artwork. Mrs. Katz and I wish you a meowy Christmas....and to all.....a good night (hey, I haven't been to bed yet, so that works for me). Now go get it.

1. BUILDING BEAUTIFUL BUILDINGS - LORNA
2. I'LL BE THERE SOON - US THE DUO
3. THE BEST CHRISTMAS YET - THE BURNT BRIDGES (EXCLUSIVE!!)
4. CHRISTMAS BOOGIE (ONE LITTLE KISS) - JOE BONAMASSA
5. CAN'T WAIT FOR CHRISTMAS - LOOSE TAPESTRIES
6. WHATEVER YOU WANT - SPORTS
7. EVERY DAY IS CHRISTMAS - CHARLES BRADLEY
8. CHRISTMAS - THE CHURCHILL GARDEN
9. UNWRAPPING YOU - STEREOSPARKS
10. CHRISTMAS TIME - BEN MADER
11. BABY DON'T YOU CRY TOO MUCH - ICE CUTTERS
12. HO HO HO MERRY CHRISTMAS TO YOU - MONKEYS IN LOVE
13. HOLIDAY BLING - MOJOCHRONIC (EXCLUSIVE!!)
14. NO MEAN CHRISTMAS - PAPERBACK THRONE
15. HIPSTER HOLIDAZE - KIRABELLE FRABOTTA & BRIAN THIBAULT
16. CHRISTMASING IN PARADISE - REINDEER TRIBE
17. I SAW MOMMY KISSING SANTA CLAUS - CITRUS
18. CHRISTMAS TIME - LAUREN BIRD
19. MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY - ALEJANDRA O'LEARY

1. ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU - CHARLOTTE CARPENTER
2. HOLD YOU (ON CHRISTMAS EVE) - CARLY THOMAS (EXCLUSIVE!!)
3. LINUS & LUCY - AWJITA
4. SNAIL'S CHRISTMAS (I WANT A NEW SHELL) - THE SNAILS
5. THE GHOST OF CHRISTMAS PAST - DEIDRE & THE DARK
6. NORTHERN EXPOSURE - X-RAY PICNIC
7. HOMELESS CHRISTMAS - SCOTT TAYLOR (EXCLUSIVE!!!!)
8. IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK A LOT LIKE CHRISTMAS - KAT EATON
9. RIVER - TUMULTO
10. THAT FEELING.... - PURPLE GHERKINS
11. BOM BOM BOM - COURT YARD HOUNDS
12. ALONE ON CHRISTMAS EVE - KING CARDINAL
13. CHRISTMAS & HANUKKAH - US COMMONERS
14. WHEN THE SNOW WAS WHITER - FEATHERFIN
15. THIS IS CHRISTMAS - THE WINTER FAILURE
16. AND IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME AGAIN - DENMARK + WINTER
17. LET'S CALL A CHRISTMAS TRUCE - JOHN HARDY
18. CHRISTMAS TIME IS HERE - B3GROOVER
19. HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING - CLAUDIA HOYSER (Flag Girls)
20. WHO WOULD IMAGINE A KING - JEREMY KING
21. AULD LANG SYNE - THE HIGH 48s (EXCLUSIVE!!!!)

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ON THE THIRD NIGHT OF HANUKKAH......

12/8/2015

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THE GIF OF THIS IS HILARIOUS

Well, we were early last night, so it's only fitting we be really late tonight (expect us to be late Thursday night, too, as Mrs. Katz--not her real name--has a doctor's appointment). Between the hours (literally hours) it takes me to go through my email and my browser issues, it'll be a Christmas and Hanukkah miracle if we're still here through Christmas. Oy vey! Onward.

There might not be two artists who can more claim credit for a resurgence of popular Hanukkah music than Matisyahu and the LeeVees. Oy. Was that sentence in Yiddish or something? No, just your basic gibberish. Anyway, you get the point. The LeeVees scored huge with their mostly hilarious Rock Hanukkah CD, "Hanukkah Rocks", in 2005. Matisyahu, whose music has carried strong Reggae influence, is one of the most popular and influential Hebrew artists in recent times and his brilliant Hanukkah singles through the years have made everyone feel good about serious contemporary tunes for the event.

So Amazon pulled something of a very cool coup in featuring the two together on a song for their recent Amazon Prime playlist, "Indie For The Holidays". Yes, buried in their extra-long playlist of modern Indie Christmas music is "Outside of December" from Matisyahu and The LeeVees. And it was Matisyahu who sought out the collaboration. The theme of the song (not strictly a Hanukkah song) is that the good will we show our fellow men and women through the holiday month of December is proof that we can be better people the year round, if we'll just make the effort and carry that holiday spirit with us throughout the year. (Man, I can't write for crap tonight.)

"Outside of December" is available through Amazon (natch).

Here on Night Three, I can't help but feel we're all in the mood for a bit of goof. So we'll hit you twice.

Hanukkah being less of a Holy Day and more of a Holiday on the Jewish calendar, someone thought maybe the music of Matisyahu could be a bit too serious for the occasion. Or maybe the name just had the right number of syllables for a parody tune. Though there's no single available anywhere and no real identifying information on this parody video, it's from Shmuel Braun (and friends), the leader of Simchaband. "Tell Matisyahu That We Won" is the tune. It's got a nice 50s vibe I appreciate. Though I do wish there were a single or download available.

Well aware that "Tell Matisyahu That We Won" might not be goof enough to scratch that itch, we've got a tune from 2011. You might be aware that Adam Sandler has updated "The Chanukah Song" for the fourth time. Once was brilliant, twice was great, three times was a bit too much. Now you're just milking it, pal.

So, no. No Adam Sandler here tonight. Instead, in a bit of cosmic synchronicity, we bring Adam's tune together with the mega-monolith that is coming December 18. Yes, that's right.......the new Star Wars movie. Being from 2011, this track relates to the last set of Star Wars movies, but the point is made. Doctor Demento favorite Luke Ski with "The Star Wars Chanukah Song", available for 99 cents on Bandcamp.

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A CRAPLOAD OF CHRISTMAS

10/19/2015

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Well, maybe not a full crapload (although I believe "crapload" is the scientific term), but we've got some interesting news and almost any of these items could lead the piece.

I guess the thing I was most excited to hear about was the Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings vinyl single. Yes, yes, we all know about the forthcoming Christmas album and you figured there'd be a vinyl 45. But what excites me about the single is that the B-side is NOT on the album. And, even more exciting, the single is the album's Hanukkah track and the B-side is another Hanukkah track NOT on the album. Its rare enough to get a wonderful new off-genre Hanukkah track, even rarer to get one from an artist of the talent and stature of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, but TWO Hanukkah tracks from an artist of the talent and stature of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, with one being a non-album track--well, that would be just too much to hope for. And yet here it comes and I've gone into an uncontrollable loop of doing the Snoopy dance all over Stubby's House (the real one, not the web site).

Now to temper some of that enthusiasm, the record label does say "Special Sing Along Version" on that B-side, so it could just be an instrumental version of the A-side. Won't know until its out. Don't care. Want it. Need it. Gotta have it. And the single is VINYL ONLY. No stinkin' downloads of that flip side (no legal ones anyway).

As of yet, no audio or purchase link. But look for "8 Days of Hanukkah" backed with "What Does Hanukkah Mean To You?" on November 13. I'll put it on the list and add a purchase link when we get one.

WARNING: portions of the following video may make you dizzy. If rapid shaky camera work is a problem for you, just listen and don't watch. Seriously.

This is pretty interesting, too. The Galleons are a UK based Indie Folk group. And, in their case, Indie Folk means one part Indie one part Folk (somewhat different than what I usually think of as Indie Folk). The Galleons have embarked on a Pledge Music campaign to produce their next album, currently expected in March 2016. That's not a Christmas album. BUT....a newly recorded Galleons Christmas album is one of the incentives you can pledge for and it will be distributed EXCLUSIVELY to people who take part in this Pledge Music campaign. You will not be able to get it any other way.

Alright, hang on folks. I apparently got the pricing all wrong. My fault entirely. Though it does seem that only one person has fallen into the trap I inadvertently set. Thank God. Possibly. I don't know. The way its written isn't very clear, frankly and I am going to contact the band and find out for sure. But it certainly can be read that for $27, you only get the Christmas CD and a download of the other album (see Kevin's comment in the comment section). But that seems insane to me. And why would you have to mention that you get a download when you already mentioned that you get a download. So...NOBODY MOVE!

The Galleons say of the Christmas set that it will be a "homemade CD" and will include Christmas songs ranging from the classy to the "somewhat cheesy" and will also include a Galleons original. The pledge amount for the regular CD (with download) is *** (shipping included), while the new CD PLUS the "Merry Bloomin' Christmas" CD (and download) is *** (shipping included). For some, that's going to sound steep, but I do know that I'd rather pay *** for two CDs than *** for one. If it helps you at all, think of it as pre-ordering the Christmas CD and getting the other CD as the bonus. They aren't real clear on the timing, but, since there's also a Christmas card involved, I'm thinking the Christmas disc should be yours this Christmas (at the very least, the download version?). I dunno. Maybe we should ask them. But you know me. I never do. Since the Christmas album (which, by the way, you can send to someone else directly without it ever passing through your own hands) is strictly available to those who pledge in the current campaign (and since they are at around half of their goal with only 35 pledgers), you've got to figure it will be an extremely limited item (what, 100? 200 tops?).

The Galleons have a sweet sound and, hoping to attract some folks to their Pledge campaign, they've uploaded several cover songs on their YouTube channel, including Etta James' "At Last" and Lana Del Rey's "Shades of Cool". Definitely worth checking out. But I know you want to hear the Christmas songs and we're here to oblige. Here's an early demo of "Gabriel's Message" that The Galleons posted to SoundCloud recently. And I'm pretty sure you haven't heard it yet since the counter stands at 9 and I think I was at least 2 of those.

A while back, we speculated that the Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets live set would likely be available on vinyl before this season was over. And we were right. Or we're pretty sure we were right. Word is that "The Quality Holiday Revue"--on vinyl--will be a Black Friday Record Store Day exclusive, meaning that the vinyl won't be turning up on-line (except as a resale from someone who bought it and hopes to flip it for profit). There are all kinds of Record Store Day categories, with "exclusive" meaning just that--you can only get it from a real record store. The official Black Friday Record Store list isn't out yet but, when it is, you'll find it here.

Hey, the Osmonds are back. Seriously. The famous family group introduced to an unsuspecting world by Andy Williams, the behemoth that begat Donny & Marie...and Donny...and Marie. They're back with a brand new holiday album, "Merry Christmas" scheduled for release November 13. They'll be touring England this holiday as part of the Andy Williams Christmas Spectacular in loving memory of that staple of Christmas past, present and future. Because of that, the Import version of the CD includes 5 songs not on the domestic release. As of yet, no listing for the domestic CD, but the Import will reach the on-line giants November 20. Also worth mentioning that the 5 bonus tracks are included in the digital version (for which we do have a listing). The family still knows how to harmonize perfectly (though its not quite the same without some precocious pre-teen in the mix). If the Osmonds singing "Last Christmas" and "Merry Christmas Everybody" is what's been missing from your life, your long national nightmare is finally over. Track list below is for the Import and digital versions. The bonus tracks are tracks 12-17.

1. It Came Upon a Midnight Clear/It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year/ Jingle Bell Rock
2. Happy Holiday
3. You Meet the Nicest People
4. Last Christmas
5. Christmas Medley: White Christmas/Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree/Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas/Feliz Navidad/We Need a Little Christmas
6. Lonely This Christmas
7. Hallelujah
8. Little Drummer Boy
9. Kay Thompson's Jingle Bells
10. Merry Xmas Everybody
11. O Holy Night/Silent Night/Sing Out the Glories of Christmas
12. Caroling Medley: Caroling, Caroling/Here We Come a Caroling/Christmas is Coming/We Wish You A Merry Christmas
13. Winter Wonderland
14. The Gift
15. Santa Claus is Coming to Town
16. Silver Bells
17. Mary Did You Know

Because I love Jazz, let's get some Jazz in this here post. The latest from Scott DuBois is due November 6. A guitarist, Scott is noted for his deliberative improvisations and his last album was voted one of the ten best of 2012. Might be an acquired taste for some. Most of the Jazz we feature in these pages is mainstream, melodic and basically Christmas songs that explore to the outer edges but rarely beyond (Christmas songs have a structure that's hard to deconstruct without completely losing the thread). Scott, OTOH, is coloring way outside the lines. But fans of Post-Bop, Jazz Fusion and Ambient will fall into this easily...like resting your head on a soft pillow. And here I go again, talking about a 3 a.m. snowfall over a hushed countryside and the kind of soundtrack I'd want for such occasions. As you can tell from the title, "Winter Light" is a winter album, not a Christmas album. But most of us are happy to mashup the holiday and the season. As mentioned, it will be out November 6 in vinyl (a 2-LP set), CD, and digital formats (no listing for the CD just yet).

First Light Tundra
Early Morning Forest
Late Morning Snow
Noon White Mountain
Afternoon Ice Fog
Evening Blizzard
Night Tundra

And, finally, I stopped by the local Target over the weekend because this was around the time their holiday exclusives used to get released. Not a Christmas CD anywhere in sight. Nuttin'. And I'm sure they think it is, but their web site is far from the easiest for finding what you're looking for in music. Now Target has been releasing their exclusives later and later but they still tend to end up with a bunch. Digging around the web site, I was only able to find one new exclusive (so Far). And that is a Target exclusive version of LeAnn Rimes' "Today Is Christmas" featuring three bonus tracks. October 30 is the release date for the Target version.

...

1. Today Is Christmas
2. We Need A Little Christmas
3. That Spirit Of Christmas (Duet with Aloe Blacc)
4. I Still Believe in Santa Claus
5. Holly Jolly Christmas/Frosty The Snowman
6. Celebrate Me Home (Duet with Gavin DeGraw)
7. Must Be Santa
8. Christmas Time Is Here
9. The Heartache Can Wait
10. Little Drummer Boy
11. Joy (God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman/Angels We Have Heard On High/Hark The Herald Angels Sing)
12. Auld Lang Syne
13. Ring Them Bells (Target Exclusive)
14. Pretty Paper (Target Exclusive)
15. Happy Xmas (War Is Over) (Target Exclusive)

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WHEN BLACK FRIDAY COMES (RECORD STORE DAY 2018)

SHAT & THAT

WHEN BLACK FRIDAY COMES

JANE LYNCH NOW HAS MY FULL ATTENTION

JOSH GROBAN AND JACKIE MITTOO (OH MY)

CHRISTMAS IN JULY - NO HALL, JUST OATES

THE FEELIN' COMING BACK 'ROUND

A STUBBY'S HOUSE CHRISTMAS 2015

ON THE THIRD NIGHT OF HANUKKAH......

A CRAPLOAD OF CHRISTMAS

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