I guess it is a CD bonus track on McCartney II? Because if I am remembering correctly, Wonderful Christmastime was released in 1978 and McCartney II was released in 1980.
...it's not on the deluxe re-issue of "II" from a few years back. I'd think it'd be a bonus track on Back To the Egg...but I never bought that album on CD so I can't say for sure.
One day after work in December 1979 I went to Virgin Records in Oxford Street to buy the new Wonderful Christmastime single (which I hadn’t yet heard), only to find that a few tickets were also available for the Wings show that evening. I couldn’t pass up on that, which meant that the first time I heard the song was a live performance by the Man himself. The single, which I brought with me to the show (as I had no time to go home) seemed to have a good time as well.
Yes, it is. "Wonderful Christmas" is definitely on the Archive set of McCartney II. I'm looking at it right now. But "Rudolph The Red Nosed Reggae" (the B-side of "Wonderful Christmas") is NOT.
...obviously I haven't gone back to that deluxe set in quite a while. It's the only one of McCartney's deluxe packages I have which I've gone back to no more than maybe once or twice since first buying it. Thanks for the correction. Now I'm in the mood to hear the song.
Well it certainly gets more affection than 'Christmastime is here again'. I actually like 'Christmastime' but it's never gained much respect as a festive favourite.
Unfair comparison, no?? Christmastime Is Here Again was never intended as a proper, complete "Christmas song" for the masses. As most people know of it at very best, it's a snippetted piece used in the 1967 Christmas message. The unedited track of the song is only of value to Beatle loyalists and would understandably not have much commercial value/appeal. Wonderful Christmastime on the other hand (regardless of what one thinks of it), is a thought out, complete composition /recording meant for commercial "consumption", as they say.
Ringo tried to turn Christmastime is Here Again into a 'real' song, recording his own version of it on his Santa Claus album. But much as I enjoy (most of) Ringo's Christmas album (especially The Christmas Dance which is an under-appreciated gem), even Mark Hudson's valiant effort to turn Christmastime into something with a bit more of a festive punch couldn't rescue it from obscurity. It's sad because the Beatles could, I'm sure, have produced a really good Christmas song if they had wanted to. But Christmas songs, as such, weren't a big thing in England in the 60's. Most Christmas singing at that time was of carols, not songs.
It is, actually. The edited version is on disc 2 and the unedited version is on disc 3. It was on the McCartney collection [1993] version of BTTE [and I believe, also the initial CD pressings] for reasons I never really understood. [Because Wings appeared in the video? C'mon... really?]
Curiously, Rudolf also did not show up on Venus And Mars Archive set, as [if I recall correctly] was the timeframe when it was recorded... So unless Paul is trying to orphan that track [a la Bowie's Too Dizzy?] it will hopefully appear on BTTE [or maybe LT??].
I certainly hope not! As goofy and stoopid as it is, I always felt it had a quaint, funky charm to it. Rudolf as a reggae tune?
I verified the 1979 date last night in my Goldmine catalog for "Wonderful Christmastime (which I incorrectly remembered yesterday). The reason why I got the year wrong is --- I took a break from pop radio between about April 1979 to July 198o, because I was sick of disco. And I knew this song didn't come out in 1980, because I correctly remembered that it was not out at the same time as Lennon's death. So I incorrectly guessed 1978. But the song must have been ubitquitous enough that I heard it anyway. The B-side was shown as "Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reggae" which I thought was an odd title, but must be correct as posts here have mentioned that title also.
Most notably, Wonderful Christmastime is on the version of McCartney II that is on Spotify, which is a 2 disc version called 'Special Edition'. If you type 'Wonderful Christmastime' into a search in Spotify the versions that comes up as 'Top Result' is from that album.
Is McCartney playing the Jazz bass in Everybody's Got Something to Hide... ? Was listening to the remix just now and it kind of sounds l Wow, I don't even know 15 people...
With all due respect to Ringo, it was horrible. Christmastime Is Here Again is really nothing special as a song, Christmas or otherwise. What *makes* it very cool and fun is The Beatles' vocals. Their voices, on top of that very simple melody and repeated lyric, happen to make for a very cool recording of a nothing song/tune. Foe anyone else to do it, the appeal is gone.
Well, my tablet kept my previous post that I decided not to post, as I realized it was the Ric he was playing after listening to Monkey a few times. The end bit convinced me. But I still don't know 15 people, at least 15 people that I could convince to sit and listen to a Beatles album!
In the same kind of way that I like "Hello, Goodbye" as an instrumental (thanks to "the Rock Band Files"), "Christmas Time (Is Here Again)" would probably be more enjoyable as a pure instrumental version. If they can demix the vocals cleanly away from the backing track, that would be appreciated!
Late Addendum to Cry Baby Cry: I was amongst those few that keeps thinking that the "local bird and bee" could be some kind of newspaper. Today it occured to me that John sings "at" not "in" the local bird and bee. That sure more sounds like a place not something you read "in" something, so I now changed my mind. I just misrememberd the lyrics all the time.
The first dozen times I heard it, even though I knew it couldn’t have been correct, I heard “at the local Burger King”
