No, this isn't some overlooked classic by the seminal British pub-rock band that brought us Nick Lowe and Graham Parker's Rumour, it's a 2021 original by that band's lead guitarist and namesake. A sweet mid-tempo classic rock ballad, Brinsley wrote it, performed most of the instruments on it, and co-produced with organist James Hallawell. Nice work.
January 2022 Archives
From 2021, this co-write between the artist and Wyatt Funderburk is the kind of 70s-redux ode to beach-bound Christmases you might expect to hear on Little Steven's Underground Garage. Cool marching beat set off with cheap organ underlines the sunny vibe. Check it out.
We've had this bunch of Chico, CA goofballs on the site before. They bill themselves as the only full-time Christmas band in existence, and they've put out a few albums before, but I hadn't heard much recently. Well, I just found this new album that dropped in November 2021. Previous entries were dominated by parody songs, but this new album is mostly original tunes except for the classic "Do You Hear What I Hear," "December in Love," which they got from a New York group called Street the Beat, "Mr. Weatherman" from a 60s Texas group called The Novas, and "Hold Tight," which is a cover of Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. (Yes, that band actually exists, and was fleetingly referenced by George Harrison in the studio outtakes of "I Me Mine" from the Get Back/Let It Be project.) If you happened on this blindly and put it on in the background, you'd assume this was some great lost power pop project, and if the first tune you heard was "Little Drummer Girl," you'd be even more certain of that. The tune has no relationship to the more famous drummer carol and is all the better for it. Other tunes include "Tahoo Town," a call-out to the start of winter in Lake Tahoe; "Hanukkah Snuck Up On Me," which is only fair since 2021's celebration tracked closer to Thanksgiving than Christmas; "Seasonal Affective Disorder," one to sing along to all winter long; "Out in the Cold," about holiday loneliness; "Next Year," another song you can use instead of "Auld Lang Syne"; and the ballad "No Christmas Lights in Greektown," which devotes a verse to mentioning that they're not an 80s cover band unless you like Wham!, and confirming that yes, they play that Wham! song. Another great holiday album from a great holiday party band. Although I prefer you click on the cover and get it from Amazon, I would be remiss if I didn't note that they offer a discount on their full Christmas catalog via Bandcamp.
First new song of 2022 comes from this female synth-pop duo channelling the 80s on this fine new tune from an upcoming LP, Two Ribbons. One more excuse to not use "Auld Lang Syne" in your Christmas playlists.
Nowadays, major record labels are known for two things: endlessly reissuing top artists' legacy recordings and taking the lion's share of contemporary artists' streaming royalties. Once upon a time, some of the top labels actually attempted to appeal directly to record buyers in hopes of creating loyalty to the brand. (Remember the back of an early Who album in which the record company highlighted its other releases, noting, "If you liked The Who you are sure to love Len Barry"?) Warner Brothers took this to legendary heights starting in the late Sixties with its fourth-wall-breaking magazine ads for such things as Van Dyke Parks' debut album Song Cycle, which did so poorly at retail the company not only mentioned the poor sales in the ads, it told listeners to send their worn-out copies back to the company and they would receive two mint copies by return post, one to be given to a friend. Over time Warners would offer limited release label compilations, two vinyl LPs at a time, for a dime via mail. Around 1988 Warners dropped the compilation named above, serial numbered as a promotional release, though Discogs notes that it was offered in colored vinyl (one red disc, one green), cassette, and CD versions. Half the 37 individual cuts were radio station bumpers recorded by artists signed to Warners, some of whom also contributed full Christmas songs to the collection. This was probably the first known release of Los Lobos' "Rudolph the Manic Reindeer," a Tex-Mex instrumental version of the popular carol that has since been compiled frequently on other collections. Other tunes include Jeff Lorber's jazz fusion "God Rest the House," Good Question's hip-hop flavored "Winter Wonderland," more of the same on "Cold Chillin' Christmas" by Cold Chillin' Juice Crew, the 80s synth-rock-pop "Maybe This Could Be the Christmas" by Gardner Cole, the jazzy vocal "Once in a Blue Moon Rising" by PM, more 80s pop by Secret Weapon on "I'm Coming Home," folky pop number "Fais Do Do" by Daniel Lanois, and Mark O'Connor's semi-pop-classical instrumental of "What Child Is This." Jim Horn's sax takes the lead on "Silver Bells," Thomas Page offers the ballad "Christmas Without You," Hugo Largo goes ambient on "Angels We Have Heard On High/Gloria," Danielle Dax does a nicely uptempo shuffle on "Blue Christmas," and Jessie Ed Davis' funky "Santa Claus Is Getting Down" is a collection highlight that I haven't encountered anywhere else but here. The band 54-40 offers "2000 Years of Love," Honeymoon Suite does a faithful rendering of "I Believe in Father Christmas," and items heard elsewhere include R.E.M.'s "Deck the Halls" and Throwing Muses' "Santa." Rounding out the musical offerings are Peter Cetera's "Silent Night" and Randy Travis' country lament "How Do I Wrap My Heart Up For Christmas." Pee Wee Herman fans will be happy to encounter three bumpers by him, including one in which he claims to be one of the Traveling Wilburys, complimenting the Wilburys bumper done by George Harrison. A fine legacy collection, and if you're willing to pay collector money you can get a copy from places like Discogs and eBay. (Warners did another one called Yulesville in 1987, but I've yet to track down a copy of that.)
Never heard these folks, but Pitchfork likes them well enough, so here's a synth-pop-rock version of the Wham! classic very much in the vein of the original.
