Christmas albums! Love them or hate them? For me prior to giving this new one from Lee Aaron a spin I checked out a few of the classics and you know what I really have to say there is a time and a place for everything and whilst after a few mulled wines and mince pies I might take the plunge, October isn’t the best time to listen to a new Christmas album – October as we all know is reserved for German beer drinking songs…
So suspending disbelief for a while I sat by the open refrigerator door and cranked up the volume.
I must admit starting out with the Pop Rock of The Ells ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Col This Christmas’ was a nice surprise and following up with the sixties sounds of Darlene Love’s ‘Baby Please Come Home’ ain’t to shabby either. The rest I guess is in the classics and the oft covered (Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie penned) ‘Run Run Rudolph’ immortalized by Chuck Berry fares pretty well too. So far so good – I even think looking at the sky taht snow might be coming (inplausable as that is in Spring in Australia).
Heck even the ‘completely unpalatable in it’s original form’ Pet Shop Boys ditty ‘It Doesn’t Often Snow At Christmas’ is given a wonderful Christmassy intro and Rock makeover that screams “It’s Christmas!” (Please do not try the original you’ll hate it)… The rendition of the Louis Armstrong foray into Yule ‘Zat You Santa Claus’ is even cooler and nice and jazzy and certainly a ot sexier than the Armstrong version!
No carols? Absolutely not! The Rocking continues with The Sonics ‘I Don’t Believe in Christmas’ taht gives Peral Jam’s rendition a run for it’s money.
To an Englishman of a certain age the thought of someone covering ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ the sacrosanct 1973 Slade classic is almost unthinkable (but then again so was Quiet Riot launching a career on the back of ‘C’Mon Feel the Noize’) but like the QR guys did Lee Aaron and co do a nice job of it. It’s still of course hands down the best Christmas song ever of course…
The only song here I’d never heard was ‘All I Ever Get For Christmas is Blue’ (by the American act ‘Over the Rhine’ from ther SECOND Christmas album) it’s great and will have me checking them out for sure! That’s followed by one of the highlights for me a remake of Aarons own ‘Peace on Earth’ as well as an acapella rendition of Joni Mitchell’s immortal ‘The Fiddle And The Drum.’
‘Almost Christmas’ and ‘More Fun on the Naughty List’ two real fun originals, the latter a raunchy Transvison Vamp meets Georgia Satellites bar room stomper.
” You’ve never heard Christmas done quite like this. ” so the press release reads and you know what – I haven’t. This is all rather making me want to put on a silly hat, wear green and red and tell bad jokes before diving into mountains of food and maybe adding a tipple or two. Is it Christmas yet?
Last year, the album could only be ordered via Lee Aaron’s own shop and will now be available in stores for the first time with the addition of two new songs.
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