Seasonal sounds from Keys, Armstrong
The holiday season is upon us.
Store shelves are fully stocked with all things Christmas, from wrapping paper, gift bags and greeting cards to seasonal socks and holiday ties.
Shortbread cookies are in the oven, fruit cake is on the counter and the fudge is bagged for sale at the church social.
Miracle on 34th Street, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and A Christmas Story will soon vie for your attention with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Carol.
But for many of us, nothing says Christmas more than the music that fills our homes, offices and favourite stores in the weeks leading up to the big day.
And while we all have our favourites from years past, there’s always room for something new.
So, what should you add to the Christmas playlist this year?
Here are the first two contenders, one contemporary, one traditional.
Keys puts a soulful, contemporary spin on several muchloved holiday songs on this set, which also features four original songs she penned in the spirit of the season.
The 15-time Grammy winner recorded Santa Baby this past summer while in the midst of a sold-out European tour. Keys loves the music of the holiday season and says she picked each song based on her all-time favourites.
As for the new songs, she says they are based on real holiday emotions and stories.
Keys has her own unique way of looking at things. On Favorite Things, for example, she vocalizes the melody but speaks the lyrics and does so
almost in a whisper. It catches you by surprise, but it grows on you with each successive listen. The piano arrangement at times reminds me of the late Laura Nyro.
She takes The Christmas Song in directions no one else has really gone before and puts more muscle on Ave Maria than we’re used to with a snare drum and some pumped up bass lines. She stays much closer to the original versions of Please Come Home For Christmas and John Lennon’s Happy Xmas (War Is Over).
The original songs include straight up soul/r&b gems like December Back 2 June, You Don’t Have To Be Alone and an ode to Christmases past called simply Old Memories
on Christmas.
There’s much to wrap your head around here if you’re looking for something fresh and original.
Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars.
LOUIS ARMSTRONG LOUIS WISHES YOU A COOL YULE
If you’re looking for something to bring back memories of Christmas past you would do well to pick up Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule which features close to a dozen classic holiday songs from the late Louis Armstrong.
Hard as it may be to believe, this is the first-ever official Christmas album from the legendary trumpet player and vocalist who died in 1971.
Available on CD, red vinyl and limited-edition vinyl picture disc, this set features Armstrong’s recordings of holiday gems like Cool Yule, Winter Wonderland, ’Zat You Santa Claus, Christmasi New Orleans and I’ve Got My Love To Keep Me Warm, the latter of which was recorded with Ella Fitzgerald. Most recordings feature full orchestra.
Also included here is his endearing recording of What a Wonderful World and a jazzy reading of A Visit From St. Nicholas, more commonly known today as Twas The Night Before Christmas, recorded just months before Armstrong died.
Armstrong’s music has been a fixture of the holiday season for decades, but this is the first time his holiday songs have ever been brought together for a single album.
These recordings have been beautifully mixed in immersive Dolby Atmos and hi-res audio, making them sound like they were recorded yesterday.
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.
Doug Gallant is a freelance writer and well-known connoisseur of a wide variety of music. His On Track column will appear in The Guardian every second Thursday. To comment on what he has to say or to offer suggestions for future reviews, email him at dpagallant@gmail. com.