Disappointing Christmas album by an artist you like

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by czeskleba, Dec 5, 2018.

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  1. carlwm

    carlwm Forum Resident

    Location:
    wales
    Yeah, me too!

    Crimbo aside, I've really enjoyed the last couple of studio albums.

    They managed to keep the bar at a very decent level!

    Nice to converse with a fellow fan, by the way!
     
  2. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    I thought Gordon turned in a good, original perspective: "Soul Cake" was the best of them, and liked "You Only Cross My Mind" for the "left out in the cold" category.
     
  3. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    Maybe he should have invited Adele Dazeem to the soiree...
     
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  4. jconsolmagno

    jconsolmagno Forum Resident

    I've heard 4-5 songs on SiriusXM. Enough for me to consider never buying the album.
     
  5. Andersoncouncil

    Andersoncouncil Forum Resident

    Location:
    upstate NY
    Ringo's "I Wanna be Santa Claus" is awful. And I mean worse than "Bad Boy" and "Ringo the 4th".
     
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  6. Pierino

    Pierino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canonsburg
    Same here. I'm a big Dylan fan and a big Christmas music fan but this album just doesn't cut it. Why so many slow songs and carols? Dylan's voice isn't suited for those kind of songs. I expected more of a rollicking, fun album, with more songs in the vein of "Must Be Santa". It's hard to sit through Christmas In The Heart .
     
    mmars982 likes this.
  7. Hardy Melville

    Hardy Melville Forum Resident

    Location:
    New York
    I don't like any of it, unfortunately.
     
  8. mmars982

    mmars982 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Without wanting to get into controversial territory, Baby It's Cold Outside is probably the stand out track.

    I used to think the song from the Vacation movie was very lackluster, like little effort was put into writing it. But it has grown on me. Of course I always picture Chevy Chase crying when I hear it.
     
  9. rjp

    rjp Senior Member

    Location:
    Ohio
    shawn colvin - boring boring boring
     
  10. Jim Duckworth

    Jim Duckworth I can't lose with the stuff I use.

    Location:
    Memphis TN
    [​IMG]

    One might well think that the Louvins were the ideal team to record a Christmas record, but neither this nor the single, Santa's Big Parade, work for me at all.
     
  11. Retro Hound

    Retro Hound Forum Resident

    Location:
    Pittsburg, KS
    I got rid of it so long ago I don't even remember. Sorry.
     
  12. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    I have an ex-girlfriend who's a major Dylan fan. I'm a moderate Dylan fan, but she just worships the man.

    The year "Christmas in the Heart" hit, we visited my parents in Arizona and she wanted to listen to the album in the car while she and I drove around town.

    How the relationship survived that car ride was a Christmas miracle! :D

    She loved it - she literally loves every bleep and burp Dylan makes - but I wanted to jump out of the moving car about 20 seconds into the album, and it never got better from there.

    I refused to let her play it again - I just couldn't stomach it. She thought it was great! :shrug:
     
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  13. czeskleba

    czeskleba Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    Seattle
    I'm a big Dylan fan, but I guess it would be more accurate to say I'm a fan of 20th Century Dylan. None of his recent work does much for me... The deterioration of his voice is just too much. If he'd done a Christmas album in the 70s or even 80s I'd probably be into it.

    A lot of disappointing Christmas albums fit into this category: an aging artist far past their prime cranking out a late-career Christmas record. It's not surprising when these records are letdowns. When an artist does a disappointing album while still at their peak, that's harder to understand.
     
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  14. danasgoodstuff

    danasgoodstuff Forum Resident

    Location:
    Portland, OR
    Agreed, EXCEPT for "What Child is This" where he goes deep as if to say'I can do this anytime I feel like it, IF I feel like it'!
     
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  15. Oatsdad

    Oatsdad Oat, Biscuits, Abbie & Mitzi: Best Dogs Ever

    Location:
    Alexandria VA
    That was the main problem I had with the Dylan Christmas album - I just couldn't take that strained croak for all those songs!

    When I listen to modern-day Dylan, I find myself with an almost irresistible urge to constantly clear my throat...
     
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  16. Electric Sydney

    Electric Sydney Forum Resident

    Location:
    Scarsdale, NY
    Paul Revere & The Raiders.
     
  17. BEAThoven

    BEAThoven Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Ha! That was the first track I heard off that LP -- I went out and found a copy because of it! Little did I know that that track was going to be so superior to everything else on the LP.
     
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  18. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    That album actually features some gorgeous orchestral work from noted Nashville arranger Bergen White, who almost made a living just doing great string and horn arrangements for many Nashville based artist's holiday albums over the years like Kenny Rogers, Barbara Mandrell, The Oak Ridge Boys, Wynonna, and many others. He also was one of Elvis Presley's favorite arrangers as well having been called on by Elvis to arrange his last two studio albums as well as arranging Elvis's stupendous version of Bridge Over Troubled Water in 1970.
     
    Trace likes this.
  19. phillyal1

    phillyal1 Forum Resident

    Location:
    philadelphia, pa.
    Dylan -- it is almost like he thinks -- what will upset my longtime fans? A xmas album - sure. FIVE albums of Frank Sinatra covers -- 0k.
     
  20. Rocketdog

    Rocketdog Senior Member

    Location:
    ME, USA
    I agree with this, but that album actually came out 14 years ago, back in 2004.
     
    twicks likes this.
  21. popscene

    popscene Senior Member

    Location:
    San Marcos, CA
    I've never heard of The Presence Of Christmas album. While it doesn't look like a Nilsson "album" per se', it appears that he does sing 5 songs. That you call it the nadir of his career frankly makes me want to hear it more! I'll consider myself warned. :D

    As a Moody Blues die-hard, I'll nominate December as my biggest disappointment. I didn't love Strange Times, but had high hopes for what turned out to be their last studio album. Unfortunately, I find it terribly bland and a little trite. I still break it out every year for a re-evaluation, and always arrive at the same conclusion.

    To your other point, @Brian Mc, this happened to me with Leona Lewis's Christmas, With Love. I had/have no use for her otherwise, but thought this album was fantastic. Maybe it's just that I'm a sucker for emulating the Phil Spector sound and covering Roy Wood!
     
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  22. RSteven

    RSteven Forum Resident

    Location:
    Brookings, Oregon
    I dig that Leona Lewis Christmas album as well.
     
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  23. Pierino

    Pierino Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canonsburg
    Yeah, it is a little bland, isn't it. December had potential; if they maybe would've included one more standard Christmas song. I add "What Child Is This?" to my version. The album has grown on me over the years, however.
     
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  24. smilin ed

    smilin ed Senior Member

    Location:
    Durham
    I think it's the best album he's released since Love and Theft!
     
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  25. bobbydriver

    bobbydriver Forum Resident

    The BB King Christmas album (A Christmas Celebration of Hope) is pretty bland - ironically I had hoped for more :)

    The James Brown one (Santa's Got A Brand New Bag) gets a bad rap, but I don't mind it so much. The title is definitely the pinnacle though!
     
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