Published on Dec 21, 1999
I’m very picky about what kind of Christmas music I’ll listen to
during the holidays. While some of the newer albums have really
impressed me this season, I still find myself going back to the
“classics” to try and capture the Christmas spirit – which, might I
add, I still don’t feel I have. Don’t know why.
And while some people might wonder why I selected a disc with no
song younger than 45 years old to review, the reason is simple:
there is still something very charming about these versions of the
carols we all know and love, almost as if they bring back memories
of Christmases past. So,
Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits 1935-1954 gets a spin
today.
Now, I’ll plead some ignorance here, in that I couldn’t honestly
tell you if Bing Crosby was the first to sing “White Christmas,” or
if Gene Autry was the first to sing “Rudolph, The Red-Nosed
Reindeer” (though I’m more certain of the latter, for I’ve been
told it was originally the b-side of the original release).But what
I can tell you is that there’s something special about these
versions – something that makes them feel like they’re
the
version of the song that matters.
Some of the songs on this disc might be more familiar to younger
listeners thanks to recent renditions. If you ask anyone younger
than 25 who did “Santa Baby,” they’re probably going to say Madonna
thanks to
A Very Special Christmas. But there’s something about
hearing Eartha Kitt sing it that makes it less camp and more –
well, sultry. (Sorry, Madonna.)
Likewise, Nat “King” Cole will always be identified with “The
Christmas Song,” even though it also helped define the careers of
many a crooner. That said, the version on this disc is a bit
disappointing, as it’s not the version many of us grew up with and
love. Instead, this is a more stripped-down version without the
full orchestration, almost as if it was done by a quartet. Cole
himself does a wonderful job – the guy could sing the phone book
and make it sound convincing – but I did feel let down by this
version.
Admittedly, there are some songs on this one that have collected
quite a bit of dust – so much so that they have probably been
forgotten in the modern Christmas vernacular. When was the last
time you heard the Andrews Sisters sing “Christmas Island”? When
was the last time you heard
anybody sing “Christmas Island”? And it might have been cute
once, but “All I Want For Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth)” isn’t
the first track that comes to mind when I think about classic
holiday music. Spike Jones & His City Slickers deserve a little
better of a fate.
I recognize that every generation has their own music, Christmas
and otherwise, and time must allow for some songs to be pushed back
into the annals of history. But what a disc like
Billboard Greatest Christmas Hits 1935-1954 asks us to do is
to dig them out just one time each year and allow them to feel the
sunlight they once basked in. For nostalgia, for kitsch… for fun,
give it a spin.