Apparently when it comes to Christmas music, 2011 ’tis not the season. The research is completed on 2011 Christmas CD’s, and on all fronts it was a pretty meager selection. Every year, this critic spends hours submersed in the bins at Barnes & Noble, online at Amazon.com, and, now, filtering through iTunes, sifting through every new release, as well as revisiting a few past efforts, in the interest of assembling the perfect pop/rock Christmas playlist, a balanced compilation of contemporary acts, the occasional novelty act, and full on legends—and granted, most were in short supply this year. But after a plethora of entries last year, this year was a dearth, short on traditional and heavy on novelty arrangements. There were honestly only five to six serious contenders this season, and none from major performers (the two biggest names being mainstream newcomer Michael Bublé, and he of the previously perfect coif, Justin Bieber).
First again: the criteria. In this analysis, points are awarded more (at the risk of sounding like an ineffective fourth American Idol judge) for taking a particular selection of music and making it not only entertaining and fresh, but showing the artist one is famed for being in the interpretation–within the boundaries of the material. In other words, we do not want to hear your bluesy, jazz-infused “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” any more than we want to hear your punk rock “O Holy Night”. Also, while new original breakout singles are encouraged, the CD should be heavy on standards and classics. While, theoretically, one might think that eight out of ten original songs would multiply one’s odds of achieving a Christmastime hit for the airwaves, in fact all it does is give this critique seven more reasons not to listen to your album. All of this plus one mandatory restriction that under no circumstance may your CD contain a cover of “Christmas Shoes”. That is grounds not only for disqualification, but for permanent banning from all future lists.
MOST DISAPPOINTING CHRISTMAS CD 2011
First off, it must be made clear that this designation is not synonymous with being a bad CD, just falling painfully shy of expectations. For example, past winners have included Wynonna’s beautiful Classic Christmas, which displayed a gorgeous new soft side of her voice with full symphony accompaniment on beautiful standards and hymns. But honestly, Wynonna, when one envisions you, one doesn’t think restraint. Don’t you think your true fans need a little of that huge voice they love you for? Perhaps just one big growling and wailing version of “Blue Christmas” to call your own? Harry Connick has taken the title twice for fair renderings that should have been fantastic, as has Sting for his 2009 entry that was just plain weird even for Sting in his now-cliched pagan way. Last year’s winner was Mariah Carey’s cheesily titled Merry Christmas II You, her lackluster, self-gratuitous follow-up to her 1994 Merry Christmas, one of the most perfect holiday albums ever.
This year’s designee is easily enough Justin Bieber’s Under the Mistletoe. Misleading in the idea that anyone over the age of 14 actually had any expectations, but this was a sadly missed opportunity to show another side of the young artist. More than any other entry this season, the one thing Bieber had going for him was the obvious—his youth. Christmas is for the young, and usually artists of that age range put that to use in albums that are upbeat, energetic, and just plain fun. *NSync turned the tables with Home for Christmas, Hanson surprised everyone with one of the best and most infections Christmas albums since the Beach Boys Christmas with Snowed In, and the underwhelming Jessica Simpson has done it twice this decade with Rejoyce and last year’s Happy Christmas. Even Nickelodeon’s fictitious boy band Big Time Rush released a few infectious cuts last year that were outright fun. But instead of capitalizing on Bieber’s youthful energy and appeal, his producers selected a dozen downbeat, faux R&B cliches that all have that strained, obligatory “Baby, you’re my girl” quality to them that permeates today’s tween music. The only time he goes for the energetic is a cheap mix of “All I Want for Christmas is You (Super Festive)” (not to be confused with either the original or last year’s “Extra Festive” arrangements, one assumes), a “duet” with Carey which appears that she allowed him to record his track over her “Extra Festive” 2010 version on her album. His “The Little Drummer Boy” starts out with potential. When the drums enter, instead of the standard cadence it’s drum line, which granted Bieber bonus points for originality, until he started rapping. And not just white boy rapping—Canadian white boy rapping. To be fair, the true Belieber will still probably enjoy this outing immensely, closing their eyes pretending he’s singing every one of these songs to them. But this critic had honestly hoped that he would have taken the chance to do something more, impress more fans, and place a surprise entry like some of his predecessors on the all time best list.
BEST OVERALL CD
After pouring through what little music was available this year, the field honestly consisted of such a limited number of offerings that they could all be previewed. While pop artists usually have the edge (as mentioned above, *NSync and the little Hanson boys have pulled out surprise victories in the past), other past hands down winners have included Josh Groban in 2007 and David Archuleta in 2009 with very reverend and spiritual renditions fueled by their amazing vocals. With not one high profile entry for 2011, this year’s competition boiled down to only two releases—Glee: The Christmas Album volume 2, and Christmas by Michael Bublé.
Glee: volume 2 is as dependably solid as fans of the show would expect, full of upbeat standards with the energy and youthful appeal absent form Under the Mistletoe. However, this year’s outing appears very rushed in production values and delivery. The original volume consisted of a variety of layered pop choral arrangements with lead solos, as featured on the show weekly. This volume is a series of solos or duets by each cast member with minimal back-up vocals. This last minute entry in the Christmas game seems to have been an afterthought around Halloween that they forgot to capitalize on last year’s success. The compilation overall seems rushed out of the studio, almost as if they had recorded individual tracks while on breaks from the set. Some even feel as if to be recorded over existing karaoke tracks. It also lacks a bit of the traditional Glee exuberance, and most of the arrangements seem to be about 90% of the necessary tempo. On the positive side, many of the cast members that would be hidden in the shadow of Lea Michele are allowed to emerge. Michele, so prominent and the star of last years album, is downplayed in a lackluster “Extraordinary Merry Christmas” duet with Cory Monteith, and Joni Mitchell’s River, both of which fall to the bottom of the pack of music offered here. Amber Riley (Mercedes) opens solidly with an admirable “All I Want for Christmas is You” with a Martha & the Vandellas feel, Naya Rivera (resident sex kitten Santana) purrs through “Santa Baby” in an arrangement that is pure Eartha Kitt with a touch of Ann-Margret, and the dependably professional Matthew Morrison (Will Shuester) teams up nicely with Jemma Mays (Emma) to, surprisingly while not, turn in one of the stronger selections in “Christmas Eve With You”. Monteith and Mark Salling (Puck) have fun putting on their best junior Springsteens to tackle the Pointer Sisters cover of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”, even if Salling doesn’t have half the testosterone of Ruth Pointer in the booming bass solos. Faring less well are Heather Morris (Brittany) with the Waitresses’ “Christmas Wrapping”, which was never any more than an 80’s kitsch song at its best, and the usually stellar Darrin Criss (Blaine) with Chris Colfer (Kurt) in “Let It Snow”. The gimmick actually worked well with their previous pairing on “Baby It’s cold Outside”, but this arrangement holds Criss back while placing Colfer in the oddest part of his already odd vocal range. But the album comes together nicely in the one final track which does what Glee does best, in a great full cast arrangement of Band-Aid’s “Do They Know It’s Christmas”. Layers of harmony, shared vocal leads, and the passion and energy embodied by the fictional band of misfits in the spirit of New Directions. Overall, a great album that suffers only by being a paler, more hurried copy of its predecessor.
Bublé’s Christmas is no surprise. If Harry Connick, Jr. became the new age Bing Crosby in the 90’s, Bublé is easily this millennium’s Andy Williams heir apparent. Full of all the dependable crooner’s ballads around which he can wrap his butterscotch voice like “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas”, “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”, and a nice duet on “White Christmas” with Shania Twain, he shows equal comfort with the more reverent “Silent Night” and “Ave Maria”. However, as proficient as Bublé in these styles, it’s not by accident that his biggest American hit was the upbeat, light-hearted “Just Haven’t Met You Yet”, and when he shifts gears into this mode, that is where he ascends from the solid and dependable to the stellar. Bublé strikes musical gold with “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”, mostly by being the first male performer to go full Phil Spector Wall of Sound with a true homage to Darlene Love, and blows “Blue Christmas” out of the water in a deliciously over-the-top, New Orleans jazz spectacle that sounds as if he were possessed by Louis Armstrong. There are a few misfires, of course. His “Jingle Bells” features the Puppini Sisters at their most overbearing, and becomes caricaturish. He goes off the chart to do an acoustic version of “All I Want for Christmas is You”, a song that profits solely from its energy, in an awkward arrangement that seems to be mysteriously inspired by “Let it Be”. And as perhaps the first male to attack “Santa Baby” outside of the grating renditions occasionally performed by the (enter your city here) Gay Men’s Chorus Christmas concert, he attempts to cut back to half-camp and masculinize the lyrics (“Come on and trim my tree with some decorations bought at Mercedes”, “I also need one little thing, ka-ching, and I don’t mean as a loan”) with no success. To be clear, this is the one number that even a woman needs to perform at full Jessica Rabbit camp. If a male attempts it, it can be nothing short of Peter Allen in a sequin shirt and gold lamé pants on top of a piano camp. However, overall, Bublé succeeds with an ultimately engaging and enjoyable CD that can serve double duty as main attraction or background music for a holiday affair, while capitalizing on all his artistic strengths. For this reason, Michael Bublé’s Christmas, by a hair edges out as the BEST OVERALL CD 2011.
The rest of this season’s offerings include the following:
Matthew West, The Heart of Christmas—a solid entry from the Nashville Christian artist, reminiscent of the best Amy Grant or Michael Smith seasonal offerings. A nice mix of traditional, contemporary Christian rock, and a swinging “Jingle Bells” and big gospel version of “O Come, All Ye Faithful” to boot. A-
Chicago XXIII, O Christmas Three—average Chicago fair with whomever is wearing the name now. Whoever it is, it certainly isn’t Peter Cetera. C
She and Him,A Very She and Him Christmas—as bland, generic, and pointless as the group’s name. D
Dave Koz,Ultimate Christmas Collection—the new Kenny G with normal hair and no Michael Bolton attached at his rib. A nice by the fire with a glass of wine instrumental if that’s what you’re looking for. B-
Jersey Boys, Season’s Greetings: a Jersey Boys Christmas— if the appeal weren’t limited to theatre folk, this would have been the most disappointing CD of the year. The idea seemed great—all the casts of the hit musical Jersey Boys around the world doing Frankie Valli-esque carols. But if Glee appeared to have been rushed out between takes on the set, these tracks seem to have been phoned in during various intermissions with a bad wireless connection. Production values are always sketchy at best on show albums, but this is just tinny and dull. Most of the Frankie’s seem thin and warbly. The Four Seasons even put out a great Christmas album back in the day. Had they even just tried to recreate that, it could at least have a nostalgia factor. The show Jersey Boys is ironically one of the most energetic and engaging musicals ever, which makes it even more obvious how short this rushed out exploitation CD falls of the mark. D
Broadway Cares, Carols for the Cure volume 13—usually purchased more to contribute to the Equity Fights Aids organization than for it’s musical quality, this series has traditionally been more of a staple for the theatre queen who collects every volume of Forbidden Broadway. But this year’s compilation has avoided a lot of the pitfalls inherent in the past. When a fan is given a track from “the cast of (insert favorite show here)”, he naturally expects the cut to be in the musical style and spirit of the show, and featuring the stars who made the show famous. Most shows have been slow to pick up on this, selecting pointless cuts that randomly feature every chorus boy in a hundred different solos (one of the biggest hits, Jersey Boys, is traditionally the biggest offender. Expecting something with the classic Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons sound, do they think we want to hear that cast sing a Mormon Tabernacle version of O Holy Night featuring the third girl on the left of the Angels? Wicked also traditionally makes illogical choices). But this year’s volume features a wonderful Marc Shaiman 60’s Christmas song reminiscent of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” from Catch Me If You Can that was cut to basically scene change music (which raises the question why this wasn’t offered to Mariah for last year’s dreadful CD than the ballads he contributed) and a phenomenal 80’s arrangement from the cast of Rock of Ages. Even the Addams Family offer a humorous “12 Days of Christmas” featuring ghoulish gifts—silly, yes, but much more appropriate than last year’s “It’s Hannukah”, because the joke of the show is that Bebe Neuwirth and Nathan Lane are both Jewish?? Usually never even considered, this year’s edition was a contender and critical contributer to the playlist. B-
With the competition over, featured below is Mark’s Christmas Playlist 2011 (in order to be played, not by merit):
ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE 2011:
1) ALL I WANT FOR CHRISTMAS IS YOU (Amber Riley)--always a fun start, especially with the right arrangement and the right vocalist, which we have here.
2) HERE COMES SANTA CLAUS/SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN (Jessica Simpson)–once again, not the most talented singer, but one of the best at understanding how to rock a good Christmas tune.
3) O COME, ALL YE FAITHFUL (Matthew West)--the Christian pop singer goes off the board with an effective gospel version of the classic.
4) CHRISTMAS (BABY PLEASE COME HOME) (Michael Bublé)--yes, I’m partial to the song, and even more so in a faithful arrangement in a male range. Bublé excells with one of the better renditions since Mariah or Darlene.
5) BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS (Big Time Rush)--again this year, shut up; they’re cute, they’re fun, it came free with last year’s engaging rendition of “All I Want for Christmas is You”. (Bieber’s people, take note on what to do on his next Christmas CD.)
6) UP ON THE HOUSETOP (the Dartmouth Aires)–again, partial to the guy group a capella sound monopolized by Rock-apella and Straight No Chaser over the years, the Aires delivered the one upbeat Christmas selection offered by The Sing Off, and they’ve consistently been weekly fun on the show
7) JINGLE BELLS (Katharine McPhee)–a surprising gospel rendition off last year’s CD. With McPhee poised to rise back from American Idol death in approximately six weeks with a pivitol role in the much anticipated Steven Speilberg “Smash”, her relevance factor shot through the roof.
8) DECK THE HALLS (Tenth Avenue North)–a fun cut that’s a little bit Temptations, a little bit Chicago.
9) ROCKIN’ AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE (Julianne Hough)–as the title of the playlist every year, the challenge is to find a new fun version of the song every year. Having left pretty brother Derek behind to be resident king of Dancing With the Stars, Julianne’s star has shot to the top in 2011. Bookending the year with a supporting role in Burlesque and the lead in Footloose that left the memory of Lori Singer in the Bomont,Texas dust, and currently shooting the lead in Rock of Ages, this is her year. From her 2008 Christmas debut.
10) DO THEY KNOW IT’S CHRISTMAS (cast of Glee)—perfect selection for what they do best
11) CHRISTMAS IS MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR (cast of Catch Me if You Can)–this lost cut from the show comes from the 2011 Carols for the Cure CD. Thankfully, because it is one of the best Christmas pop songs written since “All I Want for Christmas is You”, perhaps even “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)”
12) I WISH IT COULD BE CHRISTMAS EVERY DAY (Celtic Thunder)–the Wizzards song that appeared on half a dozen Christmas albums out of the blue. This rendition by the PBS sensations that are love children of the Three Tenors and Riverdance may not be the best, but it’s still loads of guy fun.
13) JOY TO THE WORLD (David Archuleta)–say what you want about the former juvenile American Idol runner-up, his amazingly pure and expressive voice was designed to sing lush Christmas carols. His 2009 album ranks as one of the most beautiful ever recorded. While I tend to favor upbeat or gospel renditions of this song, 2011 was so meager on traditional hymns that I selected Archuleta’s reverent version.
14) CHRISTMAS ALL OVER AGAIN (Darlene Love)—We love all things Darlene Love, the most under-credited performer in musical history. This Tom Petty track is no exception.
15) SANTA BABY (Naya Rivera)–having no intention of including this song after the quintessential embarrassment of riches version last year by Vanessa Williams, Eartha Kitt, AND Patti LaBelle, Rivera’s young Ann-Margret quality she brings earned a spot.
16) WHITE CHRISTMAS (Kara DioGuardi)–perhaps not the most memorable version, but the former American Idol judge belts out a jazzy swing version of the classic. I included it here mostly because I couldn’t resist the opportunities to discuss her “pitchiness” or if she has captured the artist she really wants to be.
17) BLUE CHRISTMAS (Michael Bublé)–Bublé earned a second spot here because he blows out his best Elvis via way of New Orleans in a rendition downright inspired by Louis Armstrong
18) O COME, O COME, EMANUEL (cast of Rock of Ages)—the most shocking offering ever on Broadway’s Carols for a Cure, they did it right—a great 80’s inspired version of a song I’ve been trying to add for years. This does not sound at all like a show tune recording, and would have be completely at home on the old Very Special Christmas CD’s. Perhaps by Bon Jovi? Surprise hit of the season.
19) SILENT NIGHT (Josh Groban)–to again add to the traditional carols missing from this year’s selection, the other obvious go-to was Groban. What a testiment to both him and Archuleta that even after picking through their respective CD’s for the best of the best, there is always something reliable left over. It may not really be Christmas without Groban’s angellic baritone anymore.
20) ANGELS WE HAVE HEARD ON HIGH (cast of Glee)—rousing gospel rendition from last year’s album brigns the list to an appropriate conclusion