The best Christmas albums: Five new and five classic
We are now officially under the two-week mark before the arrival of Christmas. That means one of two things as far as holiday music is concerned.
One, you are so thoroughly saturated with seasonal songs having had them blasted at you from stores and televisions since, well, Nov. 1, that you are in full humbug mode. If that’s the case, you would probably rather listen to an all-polka satellite station than submit yourself to another Christmas record.
Then there’s the other possibility, the one where you simply want some decent holiday music – something more substantial and original than the latest autotuned platter of sentimental excess by today’s more bankable pop and country artists.
To that end, we offer these 10 selections – five new holiday records along with five proven classics – that detour from the familiar for a seasonal mood that is less obvious, less pandering and, in some cases, less purposely cheerful than what you receive from the usual humdrum holiday music.
So bring on the egg nog and tune up this playlist. These are the sounds that are going to get you through the home stretch of holiday madness.
Best new Christmas albums
Los Lobos: ‘Llego Navidad’
Listening to David Hidalgo whipping Los Lobos into a Tex Mex frenzy on “It’s Christmas Time in Texas” or hearing Cesar Rosas leading the brassy, percussive cheer of “Donde Esta Santa Claus?” will have you reaching for the hot sauce. But much of “Llego Navidad” travels South of the border for Mexican folk reveries that return Los Lobos to its roots. Then again “Christmas and You” sends the band into some Buddy Holly time tripping. The year’s most exquisitely diverse holiday record.
Josh Rouse: ‘The Holiday Sounds of Josh Rouse’
The same blend of leisurely but mildly exotic pop thrills and global lounge cool that Josh Rouse has employed on his records over the past few decades effortlessly come into play here, whether it’s through the gentle shuffle permeating “Mediterranean X-Mas” or the brightly spry atmospherics of “Heartbreak Holiday.” In other words, “The Holiday Sounds of Josh Rouse” differs little from his everyday sounds.
Various artists: ‘You Wish’
Not feeling fully warm and fuzzy this holiday season? Then “You Wish” is for you. A compilation of indie tracks from North Carolina’s Merge Records, a better title might be “Mood Swing Christmas.” The ethereal cool of Fruits Bats’ “Baby in the Hay” sounds serenely prayer-like, but the pairing of Hiss Golden Messenger and Lucinda Williams on John Prine’s “Christmas in Prison” turns the gutter anthem into a hungover waltz.
Various artists: Warren Haynes Presents The Benefit Concert, Volume 16
While not an album of holiday music, per se, Gov’t Mule guitarist Warren Haynes’ annual Christmas Jam concert, a benefit for the Asheville (North Carolina) Area Habitat for Humanity, definitely wins the prize for holiday spirit. This latest Christmas Jam compilation sports performances by Jason Isbell, Hard Working Americans, Billy and the Kids (featuring Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann) and, of course, Gov’t Mule.
Mars Williams: ‘An Ayler Xmas, Volume 3: Live in Krakow’
Saxophonist Mars Williams is nodded to the mainstream through ongoing work with the Psychedelic Furs. Here, however, he offers his third record of holiday-themed work fashioned after the volcanic playing of saxophonist Albert Ayler. Lusciously textured at times but explosively abstract at others, this 2018 concert set is not for the meek. But if you’re up for a fun musical firestorm this Christmas, then welcome aboard.
Best classic Christmas albums
John Fahey: ‘The New Possibility’
Hands down my favorite holiday album. Recorded in 1968, “The New Possibility” is just that – a collection of 12 carols and spirituals recast as folk and blues instrumentals by solo acoustic guitarist John Fahey. Though a half-century old, the record sounds like it could have been recorded last week with a stylistic timelessness that makes the music warmly intimate in some instances and eerily otherworldly at others. Extraordinary stuff.
Vince Guaraldi: ‘A Charlie Brown Christmas’
What? You never got into “A Charlie Brown Christmas” in your youth? Wow. Who hurt you? Oddly enough, the appeal of Vince Guaraldi’s score to the immortal 1965 cartoon special isn’t solely nostalgic. It comes from lean, lyrically bright piano trio tunes that capture both the innocence of the Peanuts kids that inhabit the story as well as a touch of seasonal solemnity. Nothing is forced. Nothing is overdone. What you hear is clean, rapturous jazz set to the season.
Various artists: ‘A Christmas Gift for You’
What one has to do here is set aside the gruesome depths to which Phil Spector’s life sank (he is currently serving a 19 year-to-life prison sentence for murder) and remember how his former greatness as a pop producer and sound stylist was once unrivaled. “A Christmas Gift for You” is a 1963 compilation of Spector-produced artists giving glorious pop makeovers to holiday staples. This is the record that gave Darlene Love’s brilliant “Christmas (Baby Please Come)” to the world.
Various artists: ‘God Rest Ye Merry Jazzmen’
At the dawn of the 1980s, when major record labels still cared about jazz, Columbia Records found itself with a roster that included such esteemed heavyweights as Dexter Gordon, McCoy Tyner, Arthur Blythe, The Heath Brothes, Paquito D’Rivera and a very young Wynton Marsalis (with even younger brother Branford still in his band). “God Rest Ye Merry Jazzmen” is a 1981 session where all these artists cover familiar carols with fresh, highly approachable vitality.
Booker T. and the MGs: ‘In the Christmas Spirit’
For my money, this is the ultimate holiday chill album – a 1966 Stax soul session by the original quartet version of Booker T. and the MGs. The band’s trademark mix of Memphis R&B and sleek instrumental cool is like a sedative. Nearly all the record is taken at a purposely unhurried tempo (“Blue Christmas” sounds like a slow hum), but the resulting sense of soulful calm remains the reason’s top musical stress reliever.