A Blackheart Christmas - Various
Artists (Blackheart.com)
Little Steven’s Underground Garage -
Christmas A Go-Go (Wickedcoolrecords.com)
Six To Eight Mathematics- “Silent Night”
sixtoeightmathematics.com
The Fleshtones - Stocking Stuffer (Yep Roc
Records)
This Warm Christmas - A Brushfire Holiday
Vol. 1 (Brushfirerecords.com)
We Wish You A Metal Christmas - Various Artists
(Armoury Records)
The Boxmasters- Christmas Cheer (Vanguard
Records)
The Essential NOW That’s What I Call
Christmas - Various Artists (Universal/ EMI)
Erran Baron Cohen Presents: Songs
In The Key of Hanukkah (New Line)
HAPPY HOLIDAYS, , AND AN AWESOME NEW YEAR!
by
Phil Rainone
I must have been a really good boy this year!
When I was a kid, I use to gauge how good
I was by the amount of Christmas presents
I received. At the age of 10 or 11, I had
no concept of money really. I didn’t
know the amount of presents I received was
actually gauged on how much money my parents
had after the bills were paid, and how much
they could spend on me and my three sisters.
I always got cool stuff like a Lionel train
set, or when I was a little older, a reel
to reel tape recorder. I also use to get what
I called “a toy to hold me over until
Christmas,” which would be something
like a bag of army men, or dinosaurs…
something small. I never got coal in my stocking,
but I came close a few times! So this year,
between what The Boss sent me and few other
bands like Six To Eight Mathematics or those
rockin’ people at Blackheart Records,
I get that feeling again like when I was 10.-
I’m feelin’ the love!
“A Blackheart Christmas” is like
Christmas punk nirvana! The label’s
artist roster has increased in the last few
years, and some of the bands that have been
makin’ waves like Girl In A Coma (“Blue
Christmas” & a deadly version of
“I’ll be Home for Christmas”),
Joan Jett and the Blackhearts (“Little
Drummer Boy” - a punk rock classic),
and speaking of The Blackhearts, their ace
drummer Thommy Price and Nefertiti Jones bash
out a cover of “Winter Wonderland”
that would make Phil Spector envious. Kenny
Laguna turns in a cool pop-punk rock version
of “Home for Christmas” that just
grooves from start to finish! The Dollyrots
give Eartha Kitt’s version of “Santa
Baby” a run for the money. It’s
uptight, outta sight, and in the groove! A
new punk rock Christmas standard has been
created!
Little
Steven’s Underground Garage Christmas
A Go-Go is just chock full of all-things-garage.
From the cool and clever department, there’s
The Ramones’ “Merry Christmas”
and The Kinks’ “Father Christmas.”
There are familiar oldies like Keith Richards’
cool cover of Chuck Berry’s “Run
Rudolph Run” and a really obscure original,
“Sock It To Me Santa” by Bob Seger
(yeah, the “Night Moves” Bob Seger),
backed by The Last Heard. It’s a James
Brown/ “Doin’ it to Death”-inspired
rockin’ soul number - I had to look
twice at the song list to see who it was by!
Unbelievably cool!
Two of the most deliriously upbeat Christmas
songs are included here: A Little Steven produced
tribute to Phil Spector’s “Wall
of Sound” is called “All Alone
on Christmas” featuring Darlene Love,
who recaptures the essence of her 60’s
hits (“He’s a Rebel,” “Wait
‘Til My Bobby Gets Home,”) infused
with an unusual mix of strength, abject longing,
softness, and the love of music and for people
- it’s just all power! Wizzard’s
(Roy Wood) over-the-top Christmas rocker “I
Wish it Could be Christmas Everyday,”
starts where Love’s “All Alone
on Christmas” ends, taking it spiraling
to the heavens and beyond with sheer, exuberant
joy! Coolest (Christmas) Song in the World
goes to not one, but three songs that Little
Steven and his Wicked Cool cohorts have unearthed!
Cocktail Slippers’ “Santa’s
Coming Home” has all the moxie and giddiness
of The Archies’ Betty & Veronica
hitching a ride from The Camaros, on their
way to chop down a Christmas Tree! Soupy Sales
(who ever thought he made another song besides
“The Mouse?”) sings the traditional,
“Santa Claus is Coming to Town,”
over a surf rock beat! He hangs ten all the
way through it! The Chesterfield Kings (“Hey
Santa Claus”) tied for third with The
Electric Prunes (“Jingle Bells”).
The Kings and Prunes rock it old-school garage-rock,
with their musical mojo and heavy vibe. Both
bands helped to define garage rock, past and
present respectively.
Now here’s a cool stocking stuffer:
Six to Eight Mathematics’ (their new
CD will be out soon) cover of (not so) “Silent
Night.” It’s two minutes and twenty-eight
seconds of unrestrained punk rock - real guttural!
Like the original, they take the otherwise
sleepy, traditional holiday classic to church,
but it’s the Church of Punk Rock! Amen,
sisters & brothers!
“S-A-N-T-A
C-L-A-U -S! C’mon kids, sing along!
S-A-N-T-A C-L-A-U-S!! Yeah, over a cheerleader
chorus, The Fleshtones vibe-out on some of
coolest surf rock this side of Dick Dale on
“Hurray For Santa Claus!” “Stocking
Stuffer” is a speaker-busting garage-surf-rock
number. This is an all-things-cool album of
Christmas tunes that only The Fleshtones could
create! “Super Santa Rock” “Champagne
For Christmas,” and “Christmas
With Bazooka Joe” are just what the
doctor ordered for those “cabin blues”
that some of us seem to get around the holidays.
It’s chock-full of cool, Christmasy
feel-good music! For the rest of the year,
there’s The Fleshtones’ recent
release, “Take a Good Look.” Punk
rock - it’s not just for the holidays!
For a roasty-toasty, hangin’ out on
Christmas Eve, decorating the tree, and knocking
back a few eggnogs, there’s This Warm
December’s A Brushfire Christmas Vol.
1. Jack Johnson takes out all of the funky
R&B of Stevie Wonder’s bright and
heavenly “Someday at Christmas,”
leaving a lone, twinkling light shine on the
simply beautiful melody and lyrics. Hope and
faith will be rewarded. Mason Jenning’s
acoustic, homespun tale of “Santa Claus
is Coming to Town,” bookends nicely
with Matt Costa’s lovelorn “All
I Want For Christmas is You” and Zee
Avi’s “No Christmas For Me.”
Her bright, cheery vocals slide over a story
of longing, and hope, underpinned by a lone,
cheery acoustic guitar. “Stuck at the
AirPort” by Money Mark and G. Love’s
“Christmas Time” are upbeat, and
in the groove, respectively. Jack Johnson
appears again toward the end of this endearing
disc with his cool-as-cucumber cover of “Rudolph
The Red Nosed Reindeer.” If you’re
looking for the not-so-off-beat stocking stuffer,
this is it!
Now
comes the ying and yang of Christmas albums!
We Wish You a Metal Christmas is a headbangers
balls-to-the-wall Christmas album! A mix of
traditional and somewhat current Christmas
classics deconstructed by the likes of Alice
Cooper, (“Santa Claus is Coming to Town”),
while “Run Rudolph Run” is manically
metalized by Lemmy, Billy Gibbons, and Dave
Grohl. What makes this an interesting album
is that no particular bands are included,
just various band members going at it, creating
various super groups, with nicely distorted,
tongue-in-cheek covers like, “God Rest
Ye Merry Gentlemen” which includes Ronnie
James Dio, and Tony Iommi. Closing with John
Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War is Over)”
was a risk taker.With Tommy Shaw (Styx) on
lead vocals, and featuring Kenny Aronoff,
among others, they nail the vibe and spirit,
without relaxing the metal muscle.
The BoxMasters’ “Christmas Cheer”
is a low-key, rockabilly romp that, if you
put this album along with the other albums
in this review on “shuffle” in
your iPod would make for an awesome Christmas
mix-an-match. Even though most of the album
are classic covers like “Silver Bells,”
“We Three Kings,” and “Blue
Christmas,” The Boxmasters’ remain
steadfast in their county/rockabilly roots.
Ok, by now the Christmas tree is up almost
decorated (but still leaning to the side),
the eggnog is gone (hey, it’s time to
do shots!), and your friends are about ready
to call it a night… BUT WAIT! We’ve
got a whole ‘nother CD full of Christmas
cheer, so park you butts back on the couch
and turn on the TV. We’ll watch the
Yule Log burn while we play The Essential
Now That’s What I Call Christmas CD!
25 tunes featuring everything from John &
Yoko’s original “Happy Xmas (War
is Over)” to The Chipmunks’ “The
Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t be Late.)”
(Hey, when are they going to wise-up and put
“Snoopy’s Christmas” by
The Royal Guardsmen on one of these gosh-darn
compilations already?!) Something a little
different: They included The Jackson 5’s
and The Temptations’ renditions of “Santa
Claus Is Coming to Town, and “Silent
Night,” respectively. This is a first
for both (you can also check each of their
full-length, amazing Christmas albums), adding
more depth, and emotion to an already top-notch
compilation.
I think when we start to grow-up, we start
thinking about others, besides ourselves who
don’t have it so good. And it’s
slowly starting to dawn on me, that’s
it’s not just caring and sharing on
just the holidays (whatever holiday you may
be celebrating), it’s year-round. I
was listening to a song (I forget the title)
that Bruce Springsteen had covered by Harry
Chapin (Harry Helped found World Hunger Year
back in the 70’s). Bruce spoke before
the song about how he’d always be running
into Harry in the oddest places (New York,
Los Angles, Spain), and how Harry would talk
for a long time about world hunger, and how
he liked to play “one show for me, and
one show for the other guy.” Meaning
that he would give the proceeds from every
other show to a charity. Bruce said he felt
the dignity and heartfelt honesty Harry had
for helping others, and the also the distain
that Harry had for those that sat back and
did nothing, or those who made it even worse
for those people in need. I saw that kind
of giving the other night at The Christmas
Dogs of War Show at Buddies Tavern. Besides
the music, people were there because they
cared- because their help was needed. They
were helping someone without expecting anything
in return. But, they know that the more you
give, the more you get, and that’s a
blessing onto itself!
Have a Cool Yule, and a Merry Christmas!
And one more...
SONGS IN THE KEY OF HANUKKAH (SongsInTheKeyOfHanukkah.com)
Christmas song compilations are a dime a dozen.
But how about CD compilations of songs about
Hanukkah? Alas, said collections are a bit on
the scarce side. Fortunately, this funky little
ten song CD compilation compensates for the
sad dearth of worthwhile CDs featuring songs
about this celebrated Jewish holiday. Things
get off to a rip-roaring start with the jazzy
rap item “Hanukkah oh Hanukkah.”
Other highlights include a rousing and rocking
big band rendition of “Dreidel,”
the neatly bumping and syncopated “Spin
It Up,” a spirited cover of “Rock
of Ages,” and the highly exciting and
illuminating hip hop delight “My Hanukkah
(Keep the Fire Alive).” So, get hip to
Hanukkah and give this baby a few whirls on
your CD player. - Joe Wawrzyniak
