GHOSTS OF MUSIC PAST
Best of Bing Crosby revisited, revived on ‘Bing At Christmas’
Doug Gallant listens to some sounds of the season
– “Bing At Christmas”
– in his On
Track column
I can think of no other artist who is as closely associated with the music of the holiday season than Bing Crosby.
Certainly there are plenty of artists who’ve helped us celebrate Christmas over the decades, from Judy Garland singing "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" in “Meet Me In St. Louis” and Andy Williams belting "It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year" on his TV specials to Nat King Cole’s version of Mel Torme’s "The Christmas Song".
Every decade has produced its seasonal hitmakers.
But the minute I hear Bing Crosby’s name I begin to hear "White Christmas", "Hark The Angels Sing", "Deck The Halls" and a dozen other songs I grew up with and play faithfully every December.
Crosby, who died in 1977 after playing 18 holes on a golf course in Spain, has countless Christmas recordings in his back catalogue, a catalogue that has been mined many times since his passing.
But none of those recordings compare to the just released “Bing At Christmas”.
Already top 10 in the U.K., this recording features 14 totally remastered songs by the ionic singer and film star featuring Bing’s original vocal recordings and newly recorded orchestral arrangements performed by The London Symphony Orchestra that breathe new life into these
Christmas treasures.
Bing on his own would have been enough to satisfy most fans but there are some surprises here.
Through the magic of today’s audio technology, Crosby is joined by a number of special guests, most of whom weren’t even born until after his death.
On one of two versions of "White Christmas" on this set popular American a cappella quintet Pentatonix provides the background vocals. And I must say the mix is good. The second version near the end of the record features Bing alone.
A contemporary vocal trio, The Puppini Sisters, appears on both "Jingle Bells" and "The Twelve Days of Christmas", joining The Andrews Sisters on the latter.
Crosby’s duet with David Bowie for "Peace On Earth/The Little Drummer Boy", recorded just a month before Crosby died, is also included here.
The Tenors were mixed into a recording of "The Christmas Song”.
The arrangements on this set, which also features classics like "I’ll Be Home for Christmas", "Sleigh Ride" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", are exquisite and the vocals, as you might expect, are pretty much perfect.
Decca Records has released this set on CD, vinyl and on streaming platforms.
(Rating 4 ½ out of 5 stars)
If you’re looking for an alternative to traditional Christmas fare, Bryan Adams has an EP for you.
While there only five songs on “Christmas”, this EP could be a welcome diversion for those looking to put down the eggnog and shake things up.
Three of these songs you’ve heard Adams do before, "Christmas Time", "Reggae Christmas" and "Merry Christmas" but there are two brand new tracks, "Joe and Mary", an Adams original, and "Must Be Santa", a gem from the 1960s that many artists have covered, including Bob Dylan.
The original track, "Joe and Mary", is a contemporary revisiting of the nativity in which two young lovers set out on a tear in their beat-up Buick after rumours began to circulate that Joe had gotten Mary in the family way.
A video for Joe and Mary is also in the works.
(Rating 3 out of 5 stars)
The popular country artist who picked up multiple Grammy Awards this year and just last month picked up two CMAs has released the audio soundtrack for her recent TV special, “The Kacey Musgraves Christmas Show”
Musgraves packed a number of seasonal chestnuts into that show from “Let It Snow” and “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” to “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree” and the Bing Crosby fave “Mele Kalikimaka”.
Filling out the set were several newer tracks, including “Christmas Makes Me Cry” and “Glittery”, a brand new, original song featuring Troye Sivan which, unlike the previous entry is a happy feel-good song for the holidays.
Leon Bridges, Camilla Cabello, Zooey Deschanel, Fred Armisen and Lana Del Ray also guested on the show. James Corden provided comic relief with a couple of bits.
This release includes dialogue from the intervals between songs so it plays almost like an oldfashioned radio show.
That’s both a plus and a minus because while it’s still fun to listen to, you won’t get the sight gags if didn’t see the show on TV.
(Rating 2 ½ stars out of 5)