Came across this new release last night and it's the kind of thing we Christmas music addicts and mixtapers tend to like, probably a whole lot more than we should. Because nothing quite says Christmas mixtape like a Christmas music parody.
The 60's Invasion hails from Massachusetts and they're a "performance band"--which is to say their shows are a little more theme and theatrical than your standard concert. As the band name would indicate, they specialize in covering the music from the sixties. I don't see anything at their web site to suggest the band also performs original material and, for that matter, I don't see anything that suggests they've ever recorded and released anything before. So it was a bit of an anomaly last year when The 60's Invasion released a Christmas single (digital only, so far as I can tell). In addition to a fairly straight cover of "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree", they wrote Christmas lyrics to the music of "Green Tambourine" by the Lemon Pipers--a late 60s gem that comfortably found the sweet spot where bubblegum and psychedelia co-exist.
It must have tickled somebody because, this year, The 60's Invasion has an entire album of the stuff, "Incense And Chia Pets". On total execution, I can't really give them any better than a B-minus; they just sound like a cover band and, what with Bob Rivers and half the DJs in America pumping out professional sounding song parodies 24/7, you really have to bring your "A" game's "A" game anymore. But, for song selection, these guys merit a.....is there anything higher than an A++? OK, so "Get Off My Roof" to the tune of "Get Off My Cloud" has been done before. And maybe the title track done to the sounds of "Incense And Peppermints" sounds better in theory than in practice. But the band gets 70 bonus points each for "Come On People (Have A Merry Christmas)" to the tune of "Get Together" and "Mom Won' Let Me" to the tune of the Outsiders' "Time Won't Let Me". The clear winner of a double bonus progressive jackpot has got to be "Sleigh Full Of Toys" to the Yardbirds' classic "Heart Full Of Soul". And "I Love To Go To Grandma's" (to "Dirty Water") is a hoot and a half.
I tend not to be a big parody guy. My theory is that goofy gets old in a hurry. But that doesn't mean I don't use 'em. Think of Christmas song parodies like nutmeg--you don't want to use too much, but you do want to use just a pinch. So, when your mixtape is calling for a dash of nutmeg this year, here's a handy place to find it. "Incense And Chia Pets" is available at CD Baby and direct from the band.
The 60's Invasion hails from Massachusetts and they're a "performance band"--which is to say their shows are a little more theme and theatrical than your standard concert. As the band name would indicate, they specialize in covering the music from the sixties. I don't see anything at their web site to suggest the band also performs original material and, for that matter, I don't see anything that suggests they've ever recorded and released anything before. So it was a bit of an anomaly last year when The 60's Invasion released a Christmas single (digital only, so far as I can tell). In addition to a fairly straight cover of "Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree", they wrote Christmas lyrics to the music of "Green Tambourine" by the Lemon Pipers--a late 60s gem that comfortably found the sweet spot where bubblegum and psychedelia co-exist.
It must have tickled somebody because, this year, The 60's Invasion has an entire album of the stuff, "Incense And Chia Pets". On total execution, I can't really give them any better than a B-minus; they just sound like a cover band and, what with Bob Rivers and half the DJs in America pumping out professional sounding song parodies 24/7, you really have to bring your "A" game's "A" game anymore. But, for song selection, these guys merit a.....is there anything higher than an A++? OK, so "Get Off My Roof" to the tune of "Get Off My Cloud" has been done before. And maybe the title track done to the sounds of "Incense And Peppermints" sounds better in theory than in practice. But the band gets 70 bonus points each for "Come On People (Have A Merry Christmas)" to the tune of "Get Together" and "Mom Won' Let Me" to the tune of the Outsiders' "Time Won't Let Me". The clear winner of a double bonus progressive jackpot has got to be "Sleigh Full Of Toys" to the Yardbirds' classic "Heart Full Of Soul". And "I Love To Go To Grandma's" (to "Dirty Water") is a hoot and a half.
I tend not to be a big parody guy. My theory is that goofy gets old in a hurry. But that doesn't mean I don't use 'em. Think of Christmas song parodies like nutmeg--you don't want to use too much, but you do want to use just a pinch. So, when your mixtape is calling for a dash of nutmeg this year, here's a handy place to find it. "Incense And Chia Pets" is available at CD Baby and direct from the band.
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