I wanted to have the week before Christmas, because I thought it would be fitting to do a week dedicated to Christmas music. I can’t really pinpoint an exact time in my life when Christmas became more than just a holiday for me. Having said that, as I listen to Christmas music this time of year each song has some direct correlation with some happy memory from Christmas’s past. It is the one time of year when I feel like a child again and am consequently at my happiest.
I really had to think long and hard about the one Christmas album that is for me the best. There are so many out there that I could have chosen, like “Charlie Brown Christmas” or Bing Crosby’s Christmas album, but when it came down to it I had to go with Nat King Cole. I had planned on possibly doing a Nat King Cole week in the future, so with us doing one album rotations that still leaves that a possibility for me. The very first track “The Christmas Song” is the epitome of all Christmas songs for me. Not just the lyrics, but Nat’s sultry voice and the beautiful orchestration of the song can always put me in the Christmas mood. The album from top to bottom is terrific and that is why I chose it. Some Christmas albums I find myself skipping over one or two tracks, but not on this one. Nat’s voice is so unique and has a certain smoky, deep, feel to it that you can’t help but feel a sense of calm as you listen to him croon. A little known fact about Nat’s voice is that in order to get that deep tone that we all fell in love with Nat would smoke around 3 packs of cigarettes a day. Unfortunately this was at a time where we had no idea the detrimental effects this has on one’s health and we lost him all too soon. Other tracks on the album that are my favorites are “Oh Holy Night,” “Caroling, Caroling,” and “A Cradle in Bethlehem.”
I am not necessarily looking for a critique on this album, as these are songs all of us have heard many times in our lives. More or less I would love to hear what you thought about the album and how it compares to some of your favorite Christmas songs. While this is the kind of music I was brought up listening to, some of you may have listened to other artists or albums that hold a special place for you. Please share, and make this a week where you can reflect on some of your favorite Christmas memories.
Suggested Listening:
Nat King Cole- The Christmas Song
I had a hard time finding this album in its entirety online, but looking for individual songs got me where I needed to be. Sorry to be so late in writing this. Beth, you’d be proud – I’ve been doing up Christmas right this year. Last night we finished up our Christmas shopping and wrapped presents, listened to the Christmas music channel on DirecTV and I baked like my 10th batch of sugar cookies with icing on top in prep for this weekend. Tonight, we’ve got Christmas with my mom, dad and James.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you’ve gotta love Nat King Cole. His voice is one of those classic sounds I have just come to associate with Christmas over the years. I know what you mean when you say that there are a lot of fond memories to be evoked at Christmastime. Some of the religion-based classics like “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “O Little Town of Bethlehem” remind me of Christmas mass – the church we attend in Jerseyville plays Christmas music on tape/CD while everyone’s coming in (before the choir starts), and I’m pretty sure they’ve got some Nat King Cole on their mix. Last year, I learned to play “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” on my fiddle – I should really bust that out and see if I’ve still got it in me (and if the darn thing still works, assuming I can tune it properly). “O Holy Night” (what’s with all the songs starting with “O”?) has always been one of my favorites. I especially enjoy the NSYNC version from their holiday CD years ago. It’s a beautiful acapella rendition. “Away in a Manger” and “The First Noel” remind me of our Christmas concerts when I attended St. Ambrose. We would practice for weeks then moms and dads and grandparents would pack the church to hear us sing – those are some of my fondest memories from grade school. I think Nat’s crowning jewel on this album has to be “Silent Night,” though. He sings it exactly as it was meant to be sung – and it sounds angelic. It was my Grandpa’s favorite Christmas song before he passed while I was in college.
This year, I’ve been listening to a lot of Glee. If you have not heard the Christmas album I suggest you look it up on Grooveshark, but if you want to do one better, watch the actual Christmas special on Hulu. It aired fairly early this year and I’ve already watched it three times. To me, it’s genius - one of those that will stick out in my mind for years to come. If any of you are familiar with the show, they do a whole “A Christmas Carol”-esque thing with the Artie/Tiny Tim parallel, and an even more obvious “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” thing with Jane Lynch’s emmy-winning evil Sue Sylvester character. It all fits perfectly, with a happy ending wrapped up in a bow, and why shouldn’t it? A show that’s basically a musical anyway should shine around Christmastime and that’s exactly what happened. Especially touching was the last song performed, “Welcome Christmas.” Not only was it a great finale, but it was breathtakingly beautiful – so much so that I bought the single on iTunes instead of waiting for the free listen online. It even sounded better coming from the Glee club than from the citizens of Whoville, who originally sang it.
Over the last few years I’ve also grown to love the song “Baby it’s Cold Outside” thanks to Zooey Deschanel in “Elf.” I’ve heard other versions I’ve liked too, but this one’s my fave. And I can’t forget about two of my other favorite Christmas songs, which are – “All I Want for Christmas is You” by Mariah Carey and “Happy Xmas (War is Over)” by John Lennon. I like a lot of the classics too, don’t get me wrong, but these will always be at the top of my Christmas list.
Christmas music was not a very big part of my childhood Christmas’ and subsequently do not contribute much towards my Christmas spirit. They remind me more of the time my mom had me taking piano lessons and 5th grade chorus than they do Christmas itself. I have a pretty good feeling they will be significant in Madden and our unnamed daughter’s lives, so it is possible this will change in the future. Until then, like Madden, I tend to enjoy the upbeat and silly songs like the Chipmunk song and the Hippopotamus song.
ReplyDeleteI think my problem with Christmas music is the same problem I have with the concept of Standards in that it seems there are only 30 songs out there for anyone to sing. As a result you hear 50 people sing these same 30 songs. Occasionally you hear a new Christmas song work out. Since Mariah Carey’s album, I can only think of Josh Groban and Michael Buble to get a true hit out.
This week’s selection shows off how these Christmas favorites were meant to be sung. The arrangements are flawless and Nat does an excellent job of painting the picture these songs were meant to portray. Any current day artist who tries to put out a Christmas album tends to try to make it their own and deviate from these arrangements. The result is usually disastrous such as Harry Connick Jr’s Rudolph and Bing Crosby’s Jingle Bells. I haven’t done the proper research to back this statement up, but I have a feeling Nat’s album was one of the first and he got the first crack to setting the standard arrangement for these.
If there is one song which does remind me of my childhood Christmas’ it would be ‘Christmas Song’. It paints the perfect picture of my mother’s basement and all of the Johnson kids. Other standouts from Nat are ‘Joy to the World’, ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’, and ‘O Holy Night’. ‘I saw Three Ships’ is another favorite of mine and is one that I can’t recall anyone else taking a crack at. Nat’s voice was probably made for these songs and he really drives home the focus on family and friends over presents and shopping.
The Nat King Cole Christmas album is one of the earliest musical memories that Beth and I share. His collection of holiday tunes, along with Bing Crosby’s Christmas album were played every December on our family’s turntable. Usually on Christmas eve, while sitting in a dark living room with only the lights from the Christmas tree giving off a glow, we would sit around and listen to these records while being covered in a blanket of warmth given off by Nat and Bing’s comforting crooning. I believe the reason Beth chose Nat’s album is because it evokes the most nostalgia from our youth. We would also play these records while we opened presents on Christmas morning; considering this was the soundtrack to pretty much the happiest day of the year, every year, makes for some pretty heady memories.
ReplyDeleteMany of the songs on this album are staples of Catholic Christmas masses. During the weeks of Advent leading up to Christ’s birth, these songs are played every week during Catholic services, so they have been a part of my life ever since I can remember. I hope “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”, “O Holy Night”, and “Hark, The Herald Angels Sing” can be appreciated by all denominations of people and not just Christians; the gorgeous arrangements and orchestration that accompanies Nat’s seductive voice is enough to soften the hardest of hearts. On tracks like “Caroling, Caroling” Nat showcases his voice as an accompanying instrument, with his booming “ding, dong” to compliment the bells in the song. Along with Bing, his voice is undeniably one of kind and instantly distinguishable; he came across like a gentle, easy character and someone you could confide in, I think that is the allure of Nat. I will never tire of these songs, they embody the essence of beauty and purity.
Some of my favorite Christmas memories include: being one of the first kids in my class to get a Nintendo, our dog Spike getting a squeaky bone and chewing it nonstop for a half-hour until he got the squeaker out, the Notre Dame Christmas where almost everything I got was ND related, and of course waking up and having cinnamon rolls.
Nat King Cole has always been THE voice of Christmas, for me. His voice just has such a warm quality to it, and it works almost as well as a nice warm fire in warming me up during this cold season. "The Christmas Song" is a classic, obviously, and Nat's performance of it is the definitive version. It's the perfect Christmas Eve song, and it reminds me of my family, and being young every time I hear it. "O Holy Night" is probably my favorite "religious oriented" song of all time, and once again, Nat's version has always been my favorite....the choir in the song makes it sound enormous. I remember loving "Away in a Manger" as a child, because I thought it was interesting to think of Jesus as a small baby. It was also a song that I probably sang every Christmas at church in our yearly Christmas play, so it has that sentimental value as well (even though I hate singing). "Joy to the World" is typically a great song, I don't particularly like the version of it on this album....I don't think that Nat sings it with enough power, and I think that this is a song that requires a lot of forceful singing. "Caroling, Caroling" is an extremely upbeat song, and it will always put me in a good mood every time that I hear it. "Silent Night" is another of the Christmas Eve night staples of my childhood, and is one I'll always make sure to listen to on that night. Along with Vince Guaraldi's 'Charlie Brown Christmas', this will always be one of my favorite Christmas albums, and despite only making a real impact a few weeks out of the year, it's one that I'll always have ready to go once the Christmas season is upon us.
ReplyDeleteNo Rating for this album.