There are some things that are just synonymous with Christmas. Decorating the house, inside and out. Leaving your shopping far too late so that everything you were planning to buy is sold out. Cracker jokes and paper hats. Tucking into Turkey. Family and Friends. That enforced post-Christmas dinner walk. Returning to eat your own body weight in chocolate coins and settling in to watch The Muppet Chrismas Carol for the 27th time. And, of course, putting the latest Bongo Boy Christmas compilation album on as a soundtrack for the season.
Yes, it is that time already, and Let’s Have a Rockin’ Christmas, Vol 9, has arrived. Let the party begin. As always, we have here a collection of the great and good of the Bongo Boy musical family, new friends and old, all manner of genres, sounds, and styles coming together to produce the perfect, and perfectly varied, Christmas album.
Kicking off with Fans of Jimmy Century‘s “Here Comes Christmas,” we are treated to an excellent slice of contemporary pop that does that rarest of things: marries seasonal sentiments with the sort of music that you can listen to all year round. And putting the rock in this rocking Christmas, who better to follow that sweet start than The NEW Bardots and “A Pocketful of Christmas,” a song that runs through all the images and experiences of the season put to big guitars and dulcet bells.
And dulcet bells take us into “Christmas Eyes”, a collaboration between Wendy Tuttle and Boys ‘N’ Barry, a poised pop reminder that the best way to enjoy Christmas is to break out your inner child. After all, people say that “Christmas is for the children,” so why not be one, just for a while? It will be magical.
Clark Ford and Underground Treehouse bring us something reminiscent of the 50s crooners: a sophisticated and sentimental chamber-pop-infused ballad evoking the likes of Tony Bennett or Nat King Cole and those songs that have become every bit a party of the season as the carols and hymns and silly singalongs.
Willow Layne and Countryside Studios add a neat slice of country pop to the proceedings with “Me and You, December,” the sort of song you can play all year round. Fans of Jimmy Century return for that Dr. Seuss penned classic, “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” turning Thurl Ravenscroft‘s spoken word horror vibes into a big, sophisticated, and sassy swing band groover.
“Mistletoe and Shiny Guitars” sees The Paula Boggs Band reminding us to be happy with what we have and live in the moment, a collection of balladic bluegrass instrumentation – twinkling banjos, shimmering mandolins, and heavenly harmonies all working in unison.
Denise Fink and Roselyn Brinkman deliver a masterful instrumental piece that blends Debussy‘s “Clair de Lune” with “Silent Night” into a gorgeously deft and delicate piece called “Clair de Noel.” Simonne Draper adds to this understated and delicate part of the album with her classical guitar and orchestral arrangements of her piece “Finesca,” evoking Mediterranean guitars and lush classical elegance.
“Climb Through a Rainbow” is a folk rock singalong for the highest order, thanks to Steve Andrews, before a third and final visit from Fans of Jimmy Century who get their island vibes on. “Santa Jamaica (Jolly Old St. Nicholas vs Santa Jamaica)” blends the traditional holiday sounds with the chiming loveliness of the steel pans, a shuffling groove, and the sort of beat that will make you want to be dancing on the golden sands of the Caribbean.
“Saint Nick to Aisle Six” sees Willow Layne and Countryside Studio deliver a sort of modern-day fairy tale and a reminder of the joy and happiness that is ushered in at this time of year. Steve Andrews follows this up with “We Can Sing Together,” a lush folk piece that again reminds us of just how addictive a writer he is – if you are not swaying, singing, and perhaps holding a lighter aloft by the end of this, then there is something wrong with you. Fact!
“This Christmas is Gonna Be Great” sees Dulcie Taylor mix vintage blues, elegant jazz, soul, and sass into a delightfully nostalgic and wonderfully heartfelt song.
All that is left is for STUDEO to play us out in fine, and indeed refined, pop-rock style by asking, “Why Can’t Christmas Last All Year?” I’ll tell you why—because I’m not made of money. And if we did this all year round, the arrival of such albums wouldn’t seem so special.
And special it certainly is. It has everything you need to add the perfect soundtrack to the perfect day, week, and season.