GrooveOut

by Gregg Shapiro

TINSEL TUNES

New releases ring in the holidays

’Tis the season, and the holiday CDs are rolling in like snowplows and salt trucks. At the time of this writing, midway between Halloween and Thanksgiving, I’ve received at least 20 winter holiday recordings, and I anticipate more arriving before the ink dries on the dotted i’s and crossed t’s.

A sequel to Maybe This Christmas, the winter wonderful 2002 various artists compilation, Maybe This Christmas, Too (Nettwerk America) is brilliant for many reasons, not the least of which is the Rufus Wainwright opening track in which he sings about the “poor little rich boys” and “poor little rich girls.” Yet another Texas band (were there this many Lone Star State bands before Dubya became prez?), Eisley sings the warm “Winter Song,” and Canadian songbirds Avril Lavigne and Chantal Kreviazuk have a religious experience on “O Holy Night.” Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan take some liberties with “Silent Night,” and Omaha scenesters Rilo Kiley serve up a slice of “Xmas Cake.” The nice Jewish boys of Guster ask the musical question, “Donde Esta Santa Claus?” Rising folk divas The Be Good Tanyas sing about “Rudy.” Badly Drawn Boy shares his sumptuous observations on “Donna & Blitzen,” and The Flaming Lips light a fire under “White Christmas.”

A dozen Christmas standards go from the martini shaker to the blender on Christmas Remixed (Six Degrees/Rock River). Subtitled “holiday classics re-grooved,” this compilation is the right soundtrack for the gathering that includes all of your art-school friends and nightclub acquaintances. Shrift does a wonderful job of remixing the Andy Williams rendition of “The Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” Beef Wellington presents a well-done remix of Bing Crosby’s “Happy Holidays,” and Dan The Automator jangles “Jingle Bells” by Dean Martin. Stuhr’s remix of Kay Starr’s “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” generates heat, as does the Mulato Beat remix of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” by Louis Armstrong and Velma Middleton. Not since he sang “The Little Drummer Boy” with David Bowie has the late Crosby sounded as hip as he does on the Attaboy House Party Mix of “The First Noel.” You can practically smell the chestnuts roasting on Michael Kessler’s Open Fire Mix of “The Christmas Song” by Mel Torme.

After the dull, dismal, and dreadful releases by American Idol competitors Kelly Clarkson, Justin Guarini, and Clay Aiken, could the freaky franchise be running out of steam at last? Just in case it has, the series puppet masters (for shame, David Foster and Simon Fuller) thought they might milk some holiday dough out of the Christmas cow with American Idol: The Great Holiday Classics (RCA/19). It’s amazing what Aiken can do with a traditional tune (as opposed to the pathetic new songs on his album). His rendition of “The First Noel” is full of spirit. Ruben Studdard and Tamyra Gray’s Luther Vandross-and-Mariah Carey impression on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” left me cold, but Studdard comes close to redeeming himself with his soulful cover of Donnie Hathaway’s “This Christmas.” Clarkson, who gets her own bonus disc, contributes something old (“Oh Holy Night”) and something new (“My Grown-up Christmas List”).

Clear across the holiday music spectrum is Great Joy: A Gospel Christmas (Sh-K-Boom) by Broadway Inspirational Voices. Comprised of 50 members of the New York City theater community, the group breaks “racial, ethnic, and religious boundaries,” under the direction of Michael McElroy. Performing in ensemble and solo settings, BIV is truly inspirational in that ego never gets in the way of presentation. Roof-raising renditions of “Joy to the World,” “Go Tell It on the Mountain,” and “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” make this a CD you will return to for many holiday seasons to come.

Pianist and organist Eric Reed jazzes up the joyful season with Merry Magic (MaxJazz), a CD of his interpretations of traditional carols, holiday standards, and even an original composition. Accompanied by Rodney Green on drums, Barak Mori on bass, and Steve Nelson on vibes, Reed performs “Winter Wonderland,” “The Christmas Song,” “Little Drummer Boy,” and “Christmas Blues,” and others in tasteful jazz arrangements. Vocalists Erin Bode and Paula West also provide vocals on a few tracks. Speaking of guest vocalists, Ann Hampton Callaway joins Peter Nero and the Philly Pops for a few songs on Holiday Pops! (DRG).

Having spent all of my holidays in the city, the closest I get to a country Christmas is by CD. Christmas with Johnny Cash (Columbia/Legacy) contains a dozen holiday songs from various phases in the career of the late Mr. Cash, as well as the previously unreleased track “Christmas as I Knew It.” Cash is also one of the 20 country artists on the compilation Classic Country Christmas (Time Life Music/BMG). Others include Dolly Parton (“Hard Candy Christmas”), Emmylou Harris (“Christmas Time’s A-Comin’”), Willie Nelson (“Pretty Paper”), and The Judds (“What Child Is This”). On her newest Christmas album Joy for Christmas Day (Narada), country diva Kathy Mattea continues her exploration of Celtic music with a lingering touch of country.

A number of performers from the country music category also appear on the compilation Singers and Songwriters: Christmas (Legacy). Emmylou Harris (“Silent Night”), The Judds (“Silver Bells”), Willie Nelson (“Pretty Paper” again), Crystal Gayle (“Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”), and the late John Denver (“Away in a Manger”) are all represented. Other performers of note include Rosanne Cash (“It Came Upon a Midnight Clear”), Joan Baez (“The Little Drummer Boy”), Linda Ronstadt (“The Christmas Song”), Melissa Manchester (“Christmas Time Is Here”), Art Garfunkel (“O Come All Ye Faithful”), Jose Feliciano (“Mary’s Little Boy Child”), and Carly Simon (“I’ll Be Home for Christmas”). Willie Nelson and John Denver can also be heard on Evergreen: The Time-Life Treasury of Christmas (Time Life Music/Sony Music). Other favorites on this compilation include “Do You Hear What I Hear?” by Destiny’s Child, “Baby It’s Cold Outside” by Vanessa Williams and Bobby Caldwell, “Silent Night” by Gloria Estefan, “Three Ships” by Cyndi Lauper, and “Last Christmas” by Wham!

Speaking of Gloria Estefan, Cyndi Lauper, and Wham!, some other favorites of the queer community can also be heard singing the songs of the season. Count Your Blessings (DRG) is the first Christmas record by Broadway diva Barbara Cook. Hearing Cook sing these 15 festive numbers—joined on some tracks by the aforementioned Broadway Inspirational Voices—will make you wonder why she waited so long to record an album like this. Forty-five years after it was first released, Johnny Mathis’s Merry Christmas (Columbia/ Legacy) has been reissued to include the 1961 bonus tracks “Christmas Eve” and “My Kind of Christmas.” Handsome piano man Jim Brickman teams with the Blind Boys of Alabama (on “Let It Snow”) and others for Peace (Windham Hill), his latest CD of traditional and original holiday songs. Maureen O’Flynn, the voice of dance/opera group Operatica, brings a human touch to the electronic interpretations of the tinsel tunes on Christmas Classics (E-Magine). Harry Connick Jr., whose stock in the gay community rose with his portrayal of Grace’s husband on Will & Grace, has a new holiday CD, Harry for the Holidays (Columbia), which contains a few Connick originals and a number of standards.

For those whose tastes in holiday music run toward the more traditional, the Irish Tenors (Finbar Wright, Anthony Kearns, and Ronan Tynan) are back. The aptly titled We Three Kings (Razor & Tie) is a little lighter in feel than its predecessor and includes more pop-oriented selections such as “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” and a totally unexpected cover of “Fairytale of New York,” the brilliant duet originally recorded by The Pogues and the late Kirsty MacColl.

At the 2003 OutMusic Awards in June, Gregg Shapiro received the annual honor for Outstanding Support, which recognizes involvement by non-musicians in furthering the work of GLBT performers.

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