It's hard to believe that its already Dec 21st. Granted the 60 degree temps here don't exactly go with the typical Holiday weather I'm used to. But regardless of where you are, it's still the Holiday season. And of course that means Christmas music. It's not my favorite type of music, but it does get me into the spirit for a couple weeks each December. Last year I posted on a couple of my favorite Christmas cds from Nat King Cole and posted a soul compilation of Christmas music as well. I would link those posts to tell you to go check them out if you're new, but let's face it we probably don't have any new readers. And also we switched file servers and those links are long since dead. I still recommend those artists though if you're looking for some quality Christmas music.
My post this year for Christmas music probably won't earn me a lot of music critic credit, but since I already posted on Ricky Martin this year, I say screw it. My music rec for the holiday season this year is a little Harry Connick Jr. That's right I said it.
Harry has fashioned himself in the style of some of the greatest singers of the early twentieth century, Sinatra, Crosby, Martin and all the rest. But Harry isn't anywhere near the singer that any of the original crooners were, and lucky for us he realizes that. Where the other old guys put out their Christmas albums chocked full of ballads that really just capitalized on their ridiculously smooth and full toned voices, Harry has to be a little broader, and he does that with one of my favorite musical additions; a horn section. He throws in a smoking big band horn section with some New Orleans stylings and suddenly his songs are reborn. There's a holiday fire in these big band style Christmas songs that just pumps energy. Sure, the songs are still kind of corny, but thats kind of inevitable with Christmas music.
Now of course there are some ballads, and really those are just tolerable. Harry doesn't have the tone to compete with the old boys, and he sings in a kinda goofy way a lot of the time. But I just skip past those songs, and between his two Christmas albums there's enough upbeat stuff to put together a decent holiday mix. So here's a couple of the songs from these two albums that I really like. This is holiday party music. It's Christmas music that's impossible not to tap your toe to. There's just too much swing, too many horn lines, too much damn Christmas cheer.
Harry Connick Jr - Sleigh Ride
Harry Connick Jr - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Harry Connick Jr - Frosty The Snowman
Harry Connick Jr - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
Harry Connick Jr - Santa Claus
Merry Christmas,
Alec
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