Quintessential Carols – My Favorite Versions of Classic Christmas Songs

If you enjoy Christmas (or Christmas-themed) music as much as I do, you know how easy it is to amass a large collection. New compilations come out every year. As a result it’s not uncommon to have several versions of some of the classics.

Here are the versions of some time-honored classics that I like best.

In no particular order:

“O’ Tannenbaum” – Vince Gerauldi Trio

What would the holidays be without the A Charlie Brown Christmas album?

There are plenty of classics covered here, but it’s Gerauldi’s jazzy take on the classic German ode to evergreens that leads off the disc and establishes the mood.

“Carol of the Bells” - David Benoit

I can still vividly recall the first time I heard this jazzy version: December 1988, and I was standing in line at the Wall To Wall Sound record store in the Neshaminy Mall, when it came on over the PA system. Such a big sound - and they made a Christmas carol swing! “Wow – Dad would love this,” I thought. “Hell, I love this.” I got out of line and asked a clerk who it was. He showed me The GRP Christmas Collection, Vol. I. I bought it immediately.

It was my introduction to the jazz label, and their amazing Christmas Collections. Volumes II and III would follow and also become valued parts of my holiday music collection. But Volume I, and specifically this song, will always stand out. Dad and I still love it.

“Silent Night” – John Ondrasik of Five for Fighting

Ondrasik pulls off something really tricky here – he puts a Burt Bachrach-esque spin on this classic without losing any of the solemnity that the song requires. Nicely done.

“Jingle Bells” – Duke Ellington (Robbie Hardkiss Remix)

Tradition, shmadition - this hip-hop-infused take on Sir Duke’s be-bop version of Jingle Bells will move you with its beat alone.

“O Holy Night” – Weezer

There’s something about River Cuomo’s earnest yelp that seriously works for this hymn. I can almost picture the band as teenagers playing this in a school auditorium at the annual Holiday program, proud camcorder-wielding parents on folding chairs in the audience smiling at how pious this ostensibly rocking version turned out.

“Last Christmas” – Sarge

Jimmy Eat World’s version almost took this one, but Elizabeth Elmore’s voice will always do it for me. Not the best-produced version, but I suppose that’s part of the charm.

“Little Drummer Boy (Peace on Earth)” – Bing Crosby and David Bowie

I can actually remember seeing this on Bing Crosby's Merrie Olde Christmas special on ABC in 1977. I can’t imagine how weird a mash-up that must have been at the time – Ziggy Stardust appearing before the Lawrence Welk Nation.

I love the fact that this version, with the “Peace on Earth” counterpoint, has become a standard in its own right.

“Happy Xmas (War is Over)” – John Lennon & the Plastic Ono Band

Because sometimes, you gotta go with the original.

I have at least a half-dozen versions of this song. All have their charms, but none are an improvement on the source.

(YES this does count as a Christmas Carol. It’s 2010 for chrissakes.)

“Silver Bells” – The Ventures

When my friend Jack started putting out his famous Conshohocken Christmas collections in 1999 (on the short-lived Persico Productions label), he included many selections from The Ventures' Christmas album. And rightly so – surf rock proving to be quite the breath of salty sea air among pious orchestral and other traditional carol arrangements.

This one isn’t as rollicking as the others, but is nonetheless a lovely take on a holiday favorite.

“White Christmas” – Lee Ritenour

Another selection from The GRP Christmas Collection, Vol. I. Just the perfect chord-melody arrangement for this song.

“The First Noel/Mary Mary” – Sarah McLachlan

Yeah, it’s kind of a mash-up, but I had to include something from McLachlan’s Wintersong album here, as it’s become a permanent fixture in my holiday listening.

My fave from the disc is really her version of Joni Mitchell’s “River,” but this is ostensibly a list for classics, and this is the standout of McLachlan’s re-workings. I especially love her deep, bluesy intonations on the “Mary Mary” portions – it’s a side of Sarah’s voice rarely heard on her singles.

“Sleigh Ride” – The Ronettes

“Ring-a-ling a-ling a-ling a-ding-dong-ding!” A sentimental choice, yes, but certainly not deservedly so. There’s a reason Ronnie Spector’s NYC Christmas concerts were always so popular, and this song captures why.

“Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring” – The California Guitar Trio

If I were awarding 2^nd place on any of the above songs, many would be taken by The California Guitar Trio. 3 acoustic guitars make for a quintessential Christmas sound, at least for me.

“Deck The Halls” – Mannheim Steamroller

For some reason, this cheese-tastic Moog-driven version has always resonated with me since the first time I’d heard it – oddly enough, as the background music for a radio station’s Christmas contest promo from the mid-1980s. It’s only been in the last couple of years that I’ve heard it again. I finally learned the artist and downloaded it last year.

Perhaps because it reminds me of the Early 80s when despite the Cold War, there was still that capital F Future* out there – where Santa in his hover-sled would deliver toys to your geodesic-dome house, and all Christmas music would be performed on synthesizers.

(*tip o’ the hat to William Gibson for that phrase)

Gary Numan @ The Trocadero in Philly 10/21/10

Geez, it's been well over a year since my last post here. Despite some occasional contributions to my Flickr page, I really haven't had much to say. But I definitely wanted to chime in about the Gary Numan show I was fortunate enough to attend last Thursday.

I'd been a fan of the song "Cars" forever, but my interest in anything else Numan had to offer is relatively recent. My friend Jack's inclusion of "Cars" on a massive 80s compilation CD set a few years back re-ignited my interest in the song. Over the following years, Numan began to enter my conciousness in other ways: both Nine Inch Nails and the Foo Fighters covered his songs ("Metal" & "Down in the Park," respectively), then Numan himself guested on Fear Factory's cover of "Cars." Finally, my friend Chris played "Airlane" on his vynil (!) copy of Numan's debut albumThe Pleasure Principle. I was hooked.

I downloaded the album myself and loved it. (Tangentially, got to like the Basement Jaxx's "Where's Your Head At," after being able to recognize their sample of Numan's "M.E." in it.)

I took a mild interest when the Trocadero announced a date for Numan earlier this year. But when I found out recently that he would be performing The Pleasure Principle in it's entirety, it became a must-see show for me.

There were a few things about this show I found surprising:

1) Numan's fans ("Numanoids") were among the most dedicated I've ever seen, with a very conspicuous Fan Club presence and activity. They only became annoying when Gary tried to address the crowd at one point, and the diehards in the audience took it as a cue to try to have a conversation with him, their shouting nearly drowning him out as he was explaining his recent throat problems (more on that later).

2) I was expecting Gary to do more of the "heavy lifting" keyboard-wise. But he left most of the recognizeable lead-lines to his back-up band, and stuck to the bass-end of the keys. I suppose it allowed him to concentrate more on his vocal performance...?

Backed by a 5-member band (bass, drums, 2 dedicated keyboardists and one guitar/keys/percussion multi-instrumentalist), Numan began by plowing right through The Pleasure Principle non-stop.

A couple of songs in, he explained that recent throat problems were still giving him trouble, and that there were some songs on the album that were in a register that was just too high for him to sing. During these songs, he just turned the microphone to the audience and lead them through the vocals.

Of course when he played "Cars," it was a high point in the show. His multi-instrumentalist even hit the percussive accents on the his keyboard, just like in the video.

But it was when The Pleasure Principle was done that the show really took a turn. The SST Virus synths were put away, the guitars came out, and the music got heavy and industrial. It was here that Numan morphed into the proto-Trent-Reznor-Robert-Smith-goth-punk-demigod that his fans love.

And yes, even Mr. New-Wave-Synth-Rock himself picked up a six-string.

It was a powerful sound, easily on par with NIN or Stabbing Westward. The band rocked it hard. And Numan turned out to be a charismatic performer who could pull it all off.

All in all, it was a cool show. It certainly made me appreciate the breadth of Numan's career much better. I'll likely be checking out his later offerings soon. I don't know if I'd ever go to see him again, but I definitely won't rule it out.

I'll also likely be checking out opening act Rasputina soon (supplemental blog post to hopefully follow).

Alice in Chains, Filmore @ Irving Plaza, 9/8/09

It's been a while since I've posted here, but I have much to share after seeing Alice in Chains in New York on Tuesday:

a) my review of the band, featuring new singer William DuVall

b) show my first attempts at concert photography. I realize I'm no Todd Owyoung or Carrie Musgrave, but all things considered, I'm fairly happy with the results.

Since my trusty H1 is a point-and-shoot, I was free to snap away all show (DSLRs and other "professional" cameras would've required a photo pass). And thankfully, the lighting was usually bright enough to get relatively stable shots without long exposures. Granted, the H1 is very noisy at ISO 400 (its max), so I've also had to experiment with Noise Reduction.

The H1's zoom was invaluable in getting shots as the sold-out crowd would not have been easy to traverse.

So, how is the "new guy"?

Truth be told, it was initially hard to tell - the crowd singing along with openers "Rain When I Die" and "Again" all but drowned the band out! But as the set progressed, it became clear that DuVall had both the chops and charisma to carry this band.

Duvall and guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Jerry Cantrell make a good team. It's Cantrell's harmonies and guitar riffs that maintain the Alice in Chains sound on new tunes like "Check My Brain" and "A Looking in View."

Duvall's guitar contributions helped fill-out the band's layered sound.

The crowd was very loud and enthusiastic, eating up old faves like "Down in a Hole" and the multipart new offering "Acid Bubbles."

Even an old, beat-to-death-on-rock-radio standard like the set-ending " Man in the Box" whipped the audience into a crowd-surfing frenzy.

This show demonstrated that Alice in Chains are not destined to be a 90's grunge nostalgia act. Energized by their new singer and the public's warm reception, they are a band with a future.

A sample setlist can be found here. It's not exactly the show I saw, but it's pretty close.

More photos to come on My Flickr Page: UmlautSteve's Photos

Thanks again to friends Brian & Colleen for the extra ticket and overnight accommodations! Good to see you guys - and Jeff - again!

Ghost Leaves

 I've been wanting to capture an image of the phantom images left by rain-soaked leaves on our sidewalks and paving-stones for a while now. Thankfully I remembered before tomorrow's impending rain washes them away.

Speaking of things I've been meaning to do: it's National Blog Posting Month again. Obviously, I'm not taking part this year. Though it was a good clearing-house last year for all shots that have been piling up. So even though it's too late to go with NaBloPoMo in earnest, I do hope to get into a regular posting habit again.

Another Mantis

Found IN MY DINING ROOM, this past Friday morning before work. After some tense moments, I was able to let her out the window safely!

Roman Numerals

For this week's Photo Hunt topic of "Old School communication," I decided to go with this shot from our Coliseum tour.
There are 80 arches around the exterior of the Coliseum (actually, the "Flavian Amphitheater" is its proper name), and each one is numbered. Ancient Romans were issued tickets directing them to a specific # arch for entry to the stadium.
The original numbers are still visible on the exterior, such as #53 above.

More shots from our Italia trip on my Flickr page.

Truth in Signage, Part II

There was a lot of expensive shopping in Italy. Especially in Roma, where we found this store that didn't mince words!

I'm using this as my entry into the JorjDotOrg Photo Hunt subject "Sign Language."

For "Truth in Signage (Part I)," click here.

24-Hour party people

Something we saw often in Italia were old 24-hour public clocks. With just one hand to indicate the hour, they were simple yet fascinating.
TOP - the clock in Piazza San Marco in Venezia (Venice). The round face is the 24-hour version, above that a more modern digital readout with hours (in Roman numerals, though!) and minutes. The winged-lion statue up top represents San Marco (St. Mark), who is the patron Saint of Venezia (he's buried in the cathedral there).
2nd - Detail of the 24-hour face, showing the Sun on the "hand" circling the central Earth - obviously a very old clock!
3rd - Clock on the exterior of a church near Ponte Rialto. At least they've got the sun in the correct position here...
BOTTOM - Inside the Duomo di Firenze (Florence Cathedral) was this clock - as plain as the rest of the interior (it's the exterior that's amazing - coming soon!). It's only ornamentation is the faces of Matthew, Mark, Luke & John at the corners.

Interesting how the Venetian clocks have the numbers positioned in the same place (with midnight at about the 3:00 position), while the Florentine clock is differnt.

Big Dish

Another interruption of the Italia pics for a Photo Hunt entry:

This large dish was part of the Fort Monmouth/Evans Area military base in New Bedford, Monmouth County, New Jersey. Appropriately located along Marconi Road, it's right next to a suburban neighborhood. It was quite a surprise in my travels for work.

This Old-Camera pic (which is a re-post from this old 'blog entry) was a no-brainer for the Photo Hunt subject "Communication Device."

All the young dudes

The boys confer prior to heading out to the nightclub in Sorrento.

I'm using this as my entry into the Tobi- er, JorjDotOrg Photo Hunt subject "Chatting." I've been away from the Hunt for a while, hoping to get back in the swing for this round!

More shots from our Italia trip on my Flickr page.

The Mazz-der

We interrupt the Italy travel photos momentarily for a little gloating:
I recently became the proud new owner of the 2004 Mazda 6i pictured above. I'm loving the performance, not to mention the feeling of satisfaction the comes with driving a car built within the last decade.

Zoom zoom, indeed!

Quiet moments in Italia

We didn't have many quiet moments during our Italy trip, but I did get to observe a few:
TOP - a young couple shares ice cream in a doorway in a small plaza in Venezia. My attempts to shoot this kept getting thwarted by passersby, hence the slight focus problem from rushing. Still like the shot, though.
MIDDLE - also in Venezia, a man finds a quiet spot to read his newspaper.
BOTTOM - Another couple has a tryst while watching the sunset over the Bay of Naples from the cliff-sides of Sorrento. Unfortunately, the spot they chose also happened to be discharge area for tour busses. Just a few minutes after I shot this, three busses arrived and disgorged about a hundred tourists. The tryst was over and the couple drove off...

More shots from our Italia trip on my Flickr page.

Motoring in Italia

Hey! Back from the "the Boot" with many hundreds of pics to share!

Just one of the obvious differences you notice between the US & Italy are the cars. With it's ancient Roman towns being tangled webs of narrow streets, smaller is definitely better.
TOP - In Firenze ("Florence" to us - don't get me started on "Anglecized" place names), I spotted this Pasquali, a three-wheeled single-seater perfect for Tuscan-town cruising.
2nd - Along with SmartCars and Minis, Fiats were among the more numerous nameplates we encountered. So popular are they in Italy, even this beastie was a big seller: behold the Fiat Multipla, voted by Top Gear to be the world's "Ugliest Car" in 1999 (and well-deserving of the title, IMHO). This one was spotted in Roma.
3rd - Of course, vehicles of the two-wheeled variety are even more popular in Italia, and their riders will find ways to park as many of them in an available space as possible (like this one in Milano).
BOTTOM - Again from Firenze, a oh-so perfectly aligned row of scooters that just begged to be photographed.

More shots from our Italia trip on my Flickr page.

Peter F**kin' Frampton!

A stencil seen on a traffic-control box at the entrance to the Village @ Center Square shopping center, off Rt. 202 in Center Square/Blue Bell, PA. The colors are reflections of nearby flowers.

According to a discussion I heard on "The Preston & Steve Show," the "PFF" apparently DOES indeed stand for "Peter F**kin' Frampton," which is allegedly a line from "High Fidelity" (which I haven't tried to verify yet).

Word is that these can still be found throughout the Philly burbs...

More shots on my Flickr page.

Zig Zag Iron

Detail of the Mill Rd. bridge over the Neshaminy Creek in Dark Hollow Park in Jamison, PA. Another shot from my work travels, taken today.

More shots on my Flickr page.

Old Sycamore

This grand old tree is in Bloomsbury, New Jersey. I came across it during my work travels. I love the "S" shape.
The trunk looks to be about 4' wide (comparing it to the width of the sidewalk) and it's limbs extend all the way across the street!

And yeah, I know - I've been neglecting the ol' blog here for a while (exactly 2 months, to be precise).

Life's been busy. I'm sure you understand.

Juxtaposition

Funny - I recently left a comment on one of Albert Yee's Flickr posts about "accidental" shots that turn out cool. And today in work, while sorting through some survey photos from Friday, I found this one.

I was trying to zoom in on the transformer; particularly on the switch that changes its operating voltage from 2.4 kilovolts to 7.2 kilovolts (you can make out the "2.4" label). I didn't realize the auto-focus had gone with the branches instead of the transformer (it looked good on the LCD), so I accepted it and moved on.

The white light from the overcast sky highlights the branches really well, I think.

Chrome

One of my stops this past Friday was a custom chopper shop. This work-progress is almost done.

This is my entry for the Jorj.Org Photo Hunt challenge: Smooth.

More shots on my Flickr page.

Nevermore

I can't be sure this is actually a raven - all the research I did seemed to indicate that it's easier to tell a raven from a crow while they're flying. But the ruffed neck works in my favor...

This cemetery is next to a Friends Meeting house in Dover, NJ.

I might try to process this a bit more and re-post...

Layers of Warning

How many times can you nail the same sign in the same spot on the same utility pole?

We don't know yet, but someone in Kingswood Township, New Jersey is working on the answer...