Variety of Popular Music Acts Expected to Drop New Holiday Releases in 2013

This is an exciting time of year for holiday music enthusiasts like me. For starters, we can let down our guard a little. There's nothing odd about listening to Christmas songs in late November, but try the same thing in May and you get some funny looks. This is also the season in which most new holiday music is released, and there’s lots more than you might expect. Much of the new material tends to arrive with minimal fanfare and is often available only on the internet. But there are usually a dozen or more selections each year that attract wider notice, and over the next two days I’ll be taking a quick look at some of this year’s most anticipated holiday releases. I’ve already noted two of this year’s standout new albums in previous posts: Quality Street, by Nick Lowe; and Make Sure the Snow Falls, by The Bowmans. Here are some of the other new releases for 2013:

A Mary Christmas, Mary J. Blige
When Mary J. Blige was recording her first album in 1992, producer, Sean “Puffy” Combs, made plans to market her as the “Queen of Ghetto Love.” He wanted to distinguish Blige from the other leading female R&B artists of the day by emphasizing her urban roots and her sharper, grittier sound. Combs was ultimately persuaded to change the moniker to the “Queen of Hip Hop Soul,” but he had the right idea. Blige’s debut release, What’s the 411?, ultimately went triple platinum and ushered in a new wave of edgier hip hop artists who changed the face of popular music. Her first holiday album, A Mary Christmas, was released October 15, and while it features a smoother, softer sound than her previous releases, it’s earned strong reviews, topped Billboard’s holiday album chart during its first week of release, and has been selling well since then. Produced by the legendary David Foster, A Mary Christmas features 12 holiday classics and includes guest performances by Barbra Streisand (“When You Wish Upon a Star”), Marc Anthony (“Noche de Paz”), and Jessie J (“Do You Hear What I Hear?”).

Wrapped in Red, Kelly Clarkson
It’s been over ten years since Kelly Clarkson won Fox TV’s first American Idol competition, and she’s continued to enjoy terrific success since then with a string of hit records and sold-out appearances. Her first holiday album, Wrapped in Red was released on October 29 and debuted in the number one position on Billboard’s top holiday albums chart. The album was produced by Greg Kurstin, and it consists of five original songs (“Wrapped in Red,” “Underneath the Tree,” “Every Christmas,” “Winter Dreams (Brandon’s Song)” and “4 Carats”) and nine standards. Country stars Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood appear as guest performers on “Silent Night,” and Ronnie Dunn joins Clarkson for a duet on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” 

Sending You a Little Christmas, Johnny Mathis
After 57 years of making records, 78-year-old Johnny Mathis knows a thing or two about pop music, and with five previous holiday records under his belt (this is his sixth), he’s got a pretty good handle on Christmas music, too. Bette Midler calls Mathis the “King of Christmas,” and his latest holiday outing more than satisfies the royal standard. Sending You a Little Christmas features three original songs and nine well-worn classics, including duets with Billy Joel ("The Christmas Song"), Susan Boyle ("Do You Hear What I Hear"), Gloria Estefan ("Mary’s Boy Child"), Natalie Cole ("Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"), and Vince Gill and Amy Grant ("I’ll Be Home for Christmas"/"White Christmas"). But make no mistake about it, it’s Mathis himself who makes this collection work. His comfy, familiar voice still sounds awfully good with a fire in the hearth and a twinkling tree nearby.

Home for Christmas, Susan Boyle
By now, everybody knows the rags-to-riches story of Susan Boyle, the dowdy Scottish singer who stunned viewers and judges alike with her powerful performance on Britain’s Got Talent in April 2009 and quickly went on to become an international singing sensation. Her first holiday record, The Gift, was released in 2010, topped the charts in the U.K. and U.S., and was certified triple platinum in this country. Her second, Home for Christmas, was released on October 29, and has been lodged in the number three spot on Billboard magazine’s holiday album chart since its debut. Her latest release is rather similar to the first, although it features a notable appearance by Elvis Presley on the posthumous duet “Oh Come All Yet Faithful” and Johnny Mathis joins Boyle for “When a Child Is Born.”

Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas
Louisiana’s Robertson family has been on quite a roll this year. Owners of a successful duck hunting equipment business in West Monroe, Louisiana, they also star in the A&E reality show Duck Dynasty, which, since its debut in March 2012 has become one of the most popular shows on cable TV. Their first holiday album, Duck the Halls: A Robertson Family Christmas, was released on October 29, and it’s currently the top-selling holiday album in the nation. I’ve never seen their TV show, but the album’s just about exactly what I expected – a mix of touching, down-home sentiments (“Camouflage and Christmas Lights,” “Why I Love Christmas”) and unrepentant Southern pride ("Ragin’ Cajun Redneck Christmas”). I doubt this one will have much staying power, but it’s certainly fun for a listen or two.

Let It Snow: A Holiday Collection, Jewel
Jewel’s second holiday album, Let It Snow, was released last week, and it follows in the footsteps of her first, Joy, which was released in 1999. Both benefit from her sweet, simple style, and neither strays very far from the tried and true – but like Joy, which has enjoyed steady sales during the 14 years since its release, Jewel’s latest effort is the kind of collection that’s likely to become a comfortable standard. Let It Snow includes two original songs ("It's Christmastime" and "Blue Christmas Glow") and ten classics, of which “What Child Is This?” is among the standouts. Vince Gill is a featured guest, adding some welcome country guitar to a rousing version of “Let It Snow.”

The Complete Christmas Recordings, Andy Williams
Few performers are more closely identified with Christmas than Andy Williams, and the wave of nostalgia that followed his death last year seems to have only strengthened that association. This two-disc set contains 42 of Williams’ best-loved holiday songs, and it’s just the thing for someone who’s looking to start a holiday collection of their own. In his day, Williams was an especially prolific recording artist, and this collection includes material from the five holiday albums he released, including The Andy Williams Christmas Album (1963), Merry Christmas (1965), Christmas Present (1974), I Still Believe in Santa Claus (1990) and We Need a Little Christmas (1995). He was always a big favorite in our house, and I'm guessing in many others, too.

The Classic Christmas Album, Barbra Streisand
Released on September 27, Barbra Streisand's The Classic Christmas Album contains 16 songs from her two previous holiday records, A Christmas Album (1967) and Christmas Memories (2001). Streisand’s first Christmas album is among the most popular holiday collections of all time, and this latest release is already selling well this season. While many different styles are represented, it should be noted that beacuse both of Streisand's earlier holiday releases were remastered years ago, most listeners will notice little improvement in sound quality on this new release.


Tomorrow:  Part 2 of the 2013 New Release list

Lou Reed, 1942-2013

The news of Lou Reed's passing, though not surprising, was a terrible blow nonetheless. Reed was a survivor. In fact, he was my favorite kind of survivor – the type of guy who not only kept on doing his thing, but was also continuously evolving and breaking new ground. He was fearless and he remained vital and involved in the world around him. He owned what he was and what he'd done, but he refused to be limited or confined by the past, including his own previous experiences. His style was refreshingly direct, and he used clear, unambiguous language to communicate. He had little time for nonsense, but one sensed an abounding capacity for compassion as well – the genuine and heartfelt compassion that is seemingly available only from those who have suffered themselves. As a songwriter, he left his mark early by pushing the boundaries of rock music until there was room for virtually any subject within the human experience … including, believe it or not, Christmas! Yes, for while it's true that Reed was never known for his holly, jolly outlook, there's a certain amount of holiday fare in the in the Lou Reed oeuvre, as the following examples clearly establish:

1. "Perfect Day" (1972), originally from Transformer
This beautiful song has a long and colorful history, and while it's not a Christmas song per se, it's come to be seen as one over time. It first appeared on Lou Reed's second post-Velvet Underground album, Transformer, which was released in 1972. In 1996, the song was featured in the controversial film Trainspotting. In 1997, it was used as the centerpiece of a major promotional and fundraising campaign by the BBC, and later that same year, it was released as a charity single in Great Britain to raise money for Children in Need. A video was released that featured contributions from an impressive array of performers including Bono, Elton John, Emmylou Harris, David Bowie, and Robert Cray, along with Laurie Anderson, who later became Reed's wife.  The song topped the British music charts for weeks, and raised over

£2 million for charity. As Reed himself noted, "I have never been more impressed with a performance of one of my songs." Here it is:

"Perfect Day" has also been covered by a variety of performers, including Duran Duran, who took the song up the British charts again in 1995, and Susan Boyle, who included it on her bestselling holiday album The Gift in 2010 and sang it for Prince Charles and his second wife during one of those command performances they always seem to be demanding. Ms. Boyle also performed the song for a crowd of plain old regular Americans at a show in Rockefeller Center in 2010:



Boyle was scheduled to perform the song on live TV for the America's Got Talent show that same year, but she was forced to drop out of the program at the last minute due to licensing problems. When he learned what had happened, Reed took pains to emphasize that he had nothing to do with the decision, and after arranging to get Boyle permission to perform the song, he volunteered to produce her music video version of it. I'm not that keen on any of Boyle's renditions of the song myself, but I like the atmosphere of the video, which was shot on the banks of Loch Lomond in Boyle's native Scotland:

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2. "White Christmas," performed live with Rufus Wainwright
I can't tell you for certain where or when, but Reed performed "White Christmas" with Rufus Wainwright on some stage somewhere, at one time or another, and here's the proof:




3. "The Cry of a Tiny Babe," performed live with Bruce Cockburn and Roseanne Cash
Canadian singer/songwriters Kate and Anna McGarrigle used to host a semiannual show called The McGarrigle Christmas Hour that brought together a wide range of performers to share stories and songs of the holidays. Much to the surprise of many in the audience, Reed showed up for one of the shows in 2008 where he joined Bruce Cockburn and Roseanne Cash for a wonderful version of Cockburn's beautiful song "The Cry of a Tiny Babe." Unlike most Christmas songs, this one looks at Jesus's birth through the eyes of his earthly parents:



4. "Xmas in February" (1989), from New York
New York is one of my favorite Lou Reed albums. Released in 1989, it paints a gritty and lifelike picture of our nation's biggest city just before the economic boom of the 1990s and Manhattan's subsequent Disneyfication. Reed's not shy about naming names in this one. The album effectively fingers a sizable group of co-conspirators whom Reed considers responsible for some of his city's ills. The song "Xmas in February" is a little different, however. It simply tells the bleak and bitter story of Sam, a short-order cook who returns home after being seriously injured in Vietnam only to lose nearly everything else in quick succession. It's an unrelentingly grim story that really doesn't have a whole lot to do with Christmas as such, but then again Reed never was much for touching reality up to make it look prettier. You can hear the song HERE, but Reed himself advised listeners to experience the entire record from start to finish, like a movie or a play, and that really does give you a richer picture. Try this link for that, or, better yet, buy the CD.

5.  "All Through the Night" (1979), from The Bells
Finally, one of Reed's most overlooked albums – The Bells, from 1979 – contains this odd number, which sounds like it was recorded on a hidden tape recorder at someone's cocktail party. The foreground conversation offers little of interest and effectively overpowers Reed's slow-moving narrative and, at times, even the music itself.  In this instance, nothing much is lost. The lyrics aren't particularly artful and the music sounds uninspired, too, but there are these lyrics: 

If Christmas comes only once a year
why can't anybody shed just one tear
for things that don't happen all through the night
Ooohhh mama, all through the night.

Not too much holiday spirit there, but the song itself is another piece of Lou Reed's reality. We've lost a great deal with him no longer sharing ours. He'll truly be missed.