Yes indeed, I was hooked on Real Gone Music long before I begin any professional relationship with the reissue label, and their catalogue features a truly vast array of music genres. I love the Step By Step collection that they issued on the great soul singer Joe Simon a few years ago. The Chokin' Kind is one of my all time favorite songs.
Got that one! I don't buy from Real Gone as often as I would like to because of import taxes in Italy but some CDs I just had to have, and that Joe Simon collection was one of them. His voice is such a wonderful instrument!
Thanks for posting! It would be nice to hear a new-to-me- Christmas album from that era. I agree it was pretty much the golden era of Christmas recordings.
"Giddiness" - a perfect explanation of the season for me as a child as well. Throughout the holiday period (3 weeks for me! AFTER Thanksgiving!!), I'll listen to Christmas music- mostly from the 50s to 70s, watch some holiday movies, and remember those wonderful moments as a kid. With my family; the feeling of anticipation; Christmas break from school; people being generally nicer to each other; the TV specials (I was primarily a 70s kid!); the generally cooler weather....all of it. It makes me happier, despite the relative loneliness I endure. It's not too bad. I never let it depress me. I know how great the season can be. And hopefully there's another kid feeling the same sense of well-being I had as a kid. Priceless.
I would challenge that, on the basis that there was so much more traditionalist-oriented music out there at the time, mostly targeted to what was basically your Granpa's music format, "Beautiful Music". Nostalgia being what it is, it's a hard habit to break, I know. I suggest that the 1990's was closer to the "golden era", where many different artists began adding their own voices to not only traditional Christmas music, but original compositions and original ideas as well, targeted to more niche tastes. Yes, the late-'50s/early-'60s is where most of you find your "comfort zone" in Christmas music, but...look where you are now, simply re-purchasing those same old titles in newer CD and LP re-re-re-re-releases. Personally, my favorite era has become the past fifteen years, because there are not only so many promises of the variety of the 1990's delivered, but the independent spirit of recording and releasing and marketing your own work, has led many to simply release single recordings one can easily find on YouTube and other venues without the baggage of having to pack an entire holiday album with tired old chestnuts, just to give their better releases a place to exist. My CD and LP collection of holiday music really began to grow just before the Turn Of The New Century, as there were finally artists doing fresh takes on classics, as well as originals worthy of taking their place among the classics, and being made available right alongside the warhorses in the shelves of your favorite record outlet. Every year now I look for the next new voice and new song that's going to make my holiday special and singular. And thus far, I have not been left out in the cold, clinging to tired old hard candy.
You have no idea of what I'm even saying. Your self-righteous insinuations are off-putting to me. Which is nothing new, really. Did I write I was "stuck" in what I termed the 'Golden' era of Christmas music? That I'm only receptive to "nostalgia" and my "grandpa's music format"? That I'm married to nostalgia? No I did NOT. That's so totally wrong and I resent you insinuating that. I understand you have a burning need to be reactionary and point out that a lot of people on this forum have "classic" tastes. That they must be stuck in that era. That you do not approve. That you are "different". That you are "progressive", and anyone who has an affection for old-style is not capable of appreciating current trends and applications. OK fine. But don't stick ME in that box! What the hell do you mean, "Look at where you are now?" You have no idea what I like, what I listen to, and my preferred platform for music. I embrace what's gone on before, and embrace the new- when both are to my taste. Which you have no insight to. I was pointing out that Christmas music of 50s-60s does indeed hit an emotional spot for me. That throughout the holiday season, it's a touchstone that helps me remember great times with my family as a child. I've also enjoyed new things and experiences each Christmas season that happen and that I help make happen; I love it when I hear a young artist re-imagine a Christmas song that I probably won't hear on platforms that play holiday music- so I download it or click it on. I think it was a long time coming that artists don't need to be on draconian record labels and are able to market and sell their own wares today. I've been doing that for years. Sorry Dillydipper, contrary to the boxes you put so many SH members in on a regular basis, I ain't living in any of them.
I would not trade my Nat King Cole, Johnny Mathis, Carpenters, Ray Coniff, Doris Day, Andy Williams, Barbra Streisand, Mariah Carey, Amy Grant et al Christmas vinyls/CDs for anything, and am glad others find their enjoyment in other artists' Christmas albums. It is a diverse, cool world and variety is the spice.....
All his stuff is fantastic. What should especially appeal to folks on this forum is his recent album of instrumental Beatles covers.
I hated Christmas for years. I worked in retail from ages 16 to 24 (it’s what there was where I grew up, especially if you needed weekday evenings free for band practices and weekend nights for gigs). I’ll just say that the general public treats people who work in retail stores like complete and utter garbage from Thanksgiving until early January when they just stop coming in. It was probably 10 years before I stopped protesting when my wife wanted to put up decorations. That was a long time ago and now I just avoid the stores starting in late November. That will be particularly easy for this year for obvious reasons. I’ve spent the last several years adding to my Christmas music collection. This year, I’ve already picked up William Shatner’s Shatner Claus. Last year was the Old 97’s album and A Very Special Christmas. Favorites around here are Nick Lowe’s Quality Street and The Quality Holiday Revue Live, A Christmas Gift for You from Philles Records, and Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings’ It’s a Holiday Soul Party. A new favorite is John Zorn’s A Dreamers Christmas. Plus, of course, Richard Cheese’s Christmas albums. I also look forward to pulling out my copy of Merry Xmas (War is Over) for the B-side, Yoko Ono’s lovely Listen, the Snow is Falling. Thank you for reminding me that I never found a copy of A Christmas Record last year while I still have enough time to track one down online.
Um...no, I never said either of those things, never saw you use the word "stuck", never said, "look where you are now", so...I can't respond properly to your fever dream here. Also, the only thing I did confirm which you did agree with was, where the "comfort zone" is. And I would know, being a veteran of at least 36 Christmases, playing tested and re-tested titles on the radio in a number of formats. This is a universal "sweet spot" of comfort zones in Christmas music, and there are more reasons to that than just "because the music's better" but, because of the way we have been exposed to it. I don't even have to look at the myriad of "Christmas Music" threads here that seem to start and end with that era in mind; I invite you do check for yourself with your own searchie-engine, and no I don't mind if it squares with your own emotional spot. You and I are apparently agreeing with one another at the top of our lungs, essentially. Pointless. You and I and just about everybody else on this board are within the same age range to some extent, when it comes to music: the stuff you grew up with, is the stuff you return to consistently. This is not a sin, nor is it a guarantee. And I never even intimated, it is a "failing". But, it just is not the only way to go. What you characterize as my "self-righteous", "burning need to be reactionary", may just be an alternative opinion, from somebody whose worldview may not be the same one you grew up with. That's not "reactionary", dude - it's just somebody else who looks in his mirror, and doesn't recognize you. That's not a "sin", nor is that a guarantee. And I've never even intimated, it is a "failing". But again...it just is not the only way to go. And yes, I must have repeated myself for a reason.
I dislike nearly all traditional Christmas songs as well, save for a very select few. The endless new renditions of the same old, tired songs is heavily wearisome to me. I find there are plenty of non-Christmas songs that serve to brighten the long dark December nights in the Northern Hemisphere and capture the heartwarming spirit of the season in a more natural, relaxed, and unforced approach. I'm compiling a playlist at the moment (I just started doing) and I'll post it here later on when completed. It consists of a variety of Broadway (and off) and film soundtrack music and the like, from the '4Os,'5Os, '6Os, and '7Os ! I do love the season, in spite of my disdain for extreme cold temperatures, snow and ice.
That's the ideal way to listen to Christmas music; a carefully curated collection. Relying on "background" music or the radio for it is a losing proposition anymore.
I love my Elvis, Beach Boys, Perry Como, Bing, and all of the other classic Christmas albums. I always try to add a couple new titles every year. The Bruce Cockburn Christmas cd from the early 90s is one that I love recommending. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_l1LNEjIACUhspN-6NdtQpZEQL5FxkFd30
We put all that behind us in the BTS thread, but if you just want to mess up another one out of spite, have at it, so nobody blames me for it.
I'm feeling that i'm going to need something strong this Christmas, not just the usual. The Roches will do.