There is an abundance of Christmas music to choose from, most of it bad, but when it's good, it's irresistible. My preference is for the old standards, sung by the old standards - Frank, Bing, Johnny, Nat, etc. I suppose one reason is because it's the Christmas music I grew up on; these songs are the soundtrack to my Christmas childhood. Another reason is because the music is really good - if it weren't I would have left it behind long ago, now matter the nostalgia value. But nostalgia adds to any great song, and when the memories invoked recall a childhood Christmas and all that it encompasses - family, warmth, safety, gifts, glee - well, is there anything better?
This album brings back a very specific memory, the only Christmas morning I remember with my father around. I was probably four or five years old. My brother and I woke up and hurried into the parlor (that's what we called it in New England in the 1960s; I guess you'd call it a living room now) and my dad was still putting things under the tree. He gave us a kiss and then walked over to the record player and put Mathis' Christmas record on. Christmas day had begun. I don't remember much beyond that, but I remember that part pretty clearly. To this day, the record begins my Christmas mornings. The opening chords to "Winter Wonderland" sound like a beginning, an invitation to settle in and enjoy what's to come.
I have one other clear memory of Christmas from this period; arriving at my grandfather's house one Christmas Eve. The house was jammed full of people, mostly family, and I remember someone immediately asked my dad if he wanted a highball. That's what those men drank back then - highballs. Is the term still used? I still remember the glasses they drank them from; those at my grandfather's house were slimmer than these. Canadian Club has an ad campaign going right now that plays to people of my age who remember those times. You want nostalgia? Well, these ads drip with it. My dad actually drank Canadian Club, with water. "CC and water" was one of his staples. I spent a lot of time emulating my father when I was in my late teens and early twenties and tried hard to convince myself that I liked whiskey. But, alas, it was not to be - I finally admitted one day that I couldn't stand the stuff. I felt like I was betraying my dad but it was part of growing up, I guess. The one drink I did learn to love from dad was a dry martini - Beefeater Gin, on the rocks, with olives. I rarely drink these days but when we go to dinner, I do like to start it off with a martini - the greatest drink of them all, though apparently it, along with the rest of civilization, is in decline.
Wasn't this post about Christmas Songs? Oh, right. I was arriving at my grandfather's house. Anyhow, I can't be sure it was playing at the time, but this is the song that always brings back that memory, and this is the guy who sings it best.
I like other types of Christmas music besides the old standards. When I was a young man I was convinced this was the greatest Christmas album of all time. I'm not sure I'd put it on top anymore but I still love it - sort of. As a conservative, I learned long ago to separate the artist from the art; otherwise there would be very little art to choose from. Still, Phil Spector makes it rather hard. I've known since I was a teenager that he is a complete nutjob, but his recent problems cast a pall over the music. It's a shame too - he was one of the true innovators of early rock and roll. He created a sound that had never been heard before and it was fresh and exhilarating - he was The Beatles before The Beatles arrived, and The Beatles' sound would have been impossible if Spector had not preceded them. "Be My Baby", by the Ronettes, is my favorite, the epitome of the Wall of Sound, not to mention the song my wife and I dubbed 'our song' many moons ago. Maybe the contempt that I now hold for him will fade over time and the music won't seem tarnished anymore, but right now, it does.
Oh boy, I keep losing the thread. Attention span has never been one of my strong points ('you can say that again!' she says). Christmas music, right. If you also love the hymns, which I do, the Robert Shaw Chamber Singers' Songs of Angels - Christmas Hymns and Carols is outstanding - in fact, it's playing now as I write this. I also love the simple plain chants at Christmas - they seem to fit best at this time of year.
I should mention that I became aware of the Robert Shaw recording via Terry Teachout at About Last Night. Thanks Terry, for that, among many other things. If you're interested in the arts at all, Terry's site is a daily must read. He is, in my view, the best critic going.
Anyhow, to all of you out there, Merry Christmas. Enjoy!
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