Mystery Share

Tonight's share is a mystery share, offered for a very limited time.  The link goes away on Christmas Eve.  Intrigued?  Get it while you can.

mystery share *Time's Up!*  Merry Christmas!

Christmas on Strawberry Hill

I have a pretty special share for you today, at least for any Kansas City readers.  This is "Sveta Noc:  Christmas on Strawberry Hill", performed by the St. Cecilia Choir from St. John the Baptist Church in Kansas City, Kansas.

Here in the Kansas City metro area (for the uninformed, there is a Kansas City, Missouri and a Kansas City, Kansas), Strawberry Hill is renowned for its povitica, a traditional Croatian nut bread.  You can find the famous Strawberry Hill povitica all around the KC area.  Well, now we know that in addition to Croatian pastry, Strawberry Hill produces some fine music for Christmas worship.  This album contains 18 songs recorded at the Midnight Mass at St. John the Baptist Church.  Most of them are in traditional Croatian (and you'll find other versions on previous shares this year), while a few are historical English carols.  This is a great record capturing a slice of history from this venerable KCK church.

As I noted in an early post, all of the album shares this year came from records owned by Don Lipovac, the Polka King of Kansas City, that I acquired at the family estate sale.  I feel that these records, now shared on this blog, form a small tribute to Mr. Lipovac and the music he shared with so many through his long, successful career.

Please enjoy "Christmas on Strawberry Hill"

download link  Updated!

Strawberry Hill Povitica website

Saturday Night Share: Gunter Kallmann Chorus

12 hours of freezing drizzle + 1 inch of snow + 6 degrees outside = two posts today.

I have a new share for you tonight, "The Gunter Kallmann Chorus Sings in German 28 Christmas Songs".  While I admire the precision, I would suggest hiring an album title specialist next time around.

The Gunter Kallmann Chorus, of which seven handsome choraliers are pictured on the back cover, sing their 28 songs in a collection of 8 medley tracks.  Some very recognizable classics (O Christmas Tree, Silent Night, I'll Be Home for Christmas) are woven in with traditional German carols for a great mix of songs.

This is a very nice album.  The recording is very clean and crisp, the chorus quite talented, the instrumental accompaniment (orchestra and bells) very festive.  Enjoy!

download link

Katie Garibaldi single "Tomorrow is Christmas Morning"

Der Bingle is iced in today in Kansas City - several hours of drizzle yesterday followed by rapidly falling temperatures and snow today have made it impossible to get out of the house.  So, today you may see several posts here on the blog.

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I made a quick reference to San Francisco singer Katie Garibaldi's single "Tomorrow is Christmas Morning" in the last post, in the list of links to new songs by several artists.  Given a bit more time today, I want to highlight Katie's song just a bit more.

"Tomorrow is Christmas Morning" is a very well-written and performed song about two people being apart on Christmas Eve, and the longing to be together on Christmas morning.  What makes this song successful and gives it a fresh identity among all the "we're apart on Christmas" songs is the focus on Christmas morning.  Katie sweetly brings together the imagery of the Christmas season and the space between the singer and her love with the importance of Christmas Morning.  Not Christmas day, Christmas Eve, Christmas dinner, or the season, but the morning.  That strikes home to me personally, as Christmas morning has always been the time that is the most spirited, and the most sacred.  I love that Katie has given us a song that really captures the magic of that very special time of the season.

"Tomorrow is Christmas Morning" is available at all the usual outlets for digital releases.  Katie has hinted that this is merely a preview for a full-length Christmas album coming in 2017.  That's a Christmas wish that I hope comes true.

Katie Garibaldi website
Katie Garibaldi on Bandcamp  (you can buy "Tomorrow is Christmas Morning" here)

Laurence Juber Trio, Jocelyn and Chris Arndt, and many links......

It's late-season 2016, and I want to do a catch-up post here, to highlight a couple of albums and give links to other music submissions that I won't be able to cover with more than just some brief exposure for your awareness.  I feel it's better to do this now than after Christmas day.  I always wish I could do full coverage and a full critical review of every submission that comes my way, but that's not possible with work, family, and lots of other Christmas-related activities (like an upcoming guest DJ stint on a local radio station!).  So, here are a couple paragraph-length mini-reviews, and some links and blurbs about other Christmas songs.

Laurence Juber Trio "Holidays and Hollynights" 

This album seems to have stayed under the radar just a bit in the Christmas music blogosphere.  It's on Stubby's 2016 release list, and is a sponsor at Sounds of Christmas, but I haven't seen mention of it elsewhere.  Could be I just missed it.  Anyway, Laurence Juber is a galaxy-class acoustic guitarist, having formerly been in Wings (you know, Sir Paul's old band), and has a long and distinguished career, including winning two Grammys.  He and his trio (Domenic Genova on bass, Michael Jochum on drums) released "Holidays and Hollynights" this season, an album with 11 Christmas standards.  It is an amazingly pleasant album, the trio arrangements soothing and familiar, played with a top-tier level of expertise and brilliant musicality.  Though there is a relaxing and soothing quality throughout, this is no elevator-music album.  It's a superbly performed, friendly sounding album full of joyous music.  It would be perfect to accompany a Christmas gathering in your house this season.  Der Bingle highly recommends "Holidays and Hollynights".

Laurence Juber website

Holidays and Hollynights on Amazon

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Jocelyn & Chris Arndt "Still: A Holiday Collection"

The opening track to the 6-song EP "Still: A Holiday Collection" is a hard-driving blues tune titled "Christmas Man Blues", featuring kickin' blues guitar, great sax work, and fine rhythm section, and Jocelyn Arndt's powerful vocals.  It's an immediate attention grabber from this Maryland-based duo.  The momentum from "Christmas Man Blues" continues through the EP, with "Mary Mary" as a highlight and a personal favorite.  There are times when I can hear a reminiscence of Linda Perry in Jocelyn's vocals.  

Ok - dang, "Mary Mary" is good (it's playing as I write).  It's on my Christmas comp 2017 list.

Check 'em out - you'll be glad you did.  

Jocelyn & Christ Arndt website

Amazon link

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Many links and info.....

Jolivi "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" - info on her Facebook page

Jetty Rae "More Than December" 5-song EP - info on Soundcloud

Katie Garibaldi - "Tomorrow is Christmas Morning" - info at Katie's website

piKziL - "Little Drummer Boy" single - listen on Soundcloud

Teflon Beast - "Three Seasonal Songs" EP - FREE on Bandcamp

Loop Line - "Christmas in July (in December)" - on Bandcamp

David Bazan - "Dark Sacred Night" - on Bandcamp

That's enough for tonight - there will probably be another set of links like this later in the season.  Please take some time to check these out - there is some remarkable music out there.

The World Rejoices

Tonight's share is "The World Rejoices", Christmas songs from England, France, Germany, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden, the Philippines, and the USA performed by the Gregg Smith Singers and the Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir.

Most of the tracks on this album are medleys, like the first track, combining In Dulci Jubilo, Wexford Carol, N'ia gaire que auvit, and Pastores a Belen.  I've simply named the tracks "Band 1", "Band 2", and so on, to retain the spirit of the original album.

This is a very nice collection of songs, interesting, well-arranged, with familiar carols as well as some you may not have heard before.  Seven tracks, 47 minutes of good Christmas music.  Enjoy!

download link

Carly Jamison Rocks Christmas

Earlier this season I mentioned Carly Jamison's 2015 Christmas single, "Christmas May Have To Be Postponed".  Right on schedule this year, Carly has released her annual single "Keeping Christmas", another original rock 'n' roll Christmas tune that is, well, freakin' awesome.  Check out this lyric sample:

"Because the bells will be ringing, carolers singing, ain’t no cold dark silent night.
We got the fireplaces burning and turntables turning and a mood merry and bright.
As we gather together in our ugly sweaters eating cakes, candies, and pies,
we’re keeping Christmas spirits high, keeping our Christmas spirits high.”

To me, based on listening to thousands of original Christmas songs, the hardest thing for a Christmas songwriter is to channel the traditional icons and imagery of Christmas into a song without sounding trite and cliche.  Please songwriters, don't rhyme "snow in the city" and "lights are pretty" ever again.  So, look at Carly's lyrics again.  Traditional stuff - bells, carolers, 'silent night', fireplaces, cakes.  But there isn't a hint of cliche in this song.  It's sooooo fresh in lyric and sound.  Dang, I love it.  If I had a rating scale it would get the top rating.  Five Fruitcakes.  Five Snowflakes.  Five Sleigh Bells.  All on of a scale of one to five.

But here's the best part, and what I really wanted to write about.  "Keeping Christmas" is Carly's sixth Christmas single.  After hearing "Christmas May Have To Be Postponed" I bought the rest of her Christmas catalog (5 at the time) and then promptly added "Keeping Christmas" when it was released.  I love every single one - they all pass the 'no cliches' test, they all rock your Christmas Bells off, and they are all as original as they come.

Image from Fame Magazing (link)

Carly has this Chrissie Hynde thing going on with her voice - it kind of floats above the music as it blends and drives the songs ahead.  This vocal style, coupled with a great band, gives us some of the best rock and roll Christmas music you can find.  

A final thought: I don't know the story (if there is one) behind 2014's "The Happiest Christmas Tree", but Carly could positively be Carly Ramone on this one.  There's a definite Ramones feel and drive to it.  If this is what Carly was trying to accomplish, she hit it out of the park, and it's a grand slam - great original lyrics, most definitely a Christmas song, and the drive and energy of the Ramones.  Well done!

I urge everyone to head to Carly's website, or iTunes or Amazon or your preferred online music outlet, and check out Carly's Christmas music.  On my list for January - to check out her non-Christmas catalog.  Gotta be good....

Carly Jamison website

Carly's online store  (oooh look - autographed CDs)

"Keeping Christmas" on Amazon