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What's New?This is something of a bellwether year for me. I feel a change coming on. Mostly, the quantity and quality emanating from holiday music market seems lackluster at best. Not that much has been released, and most of what has has been released is underwhelming - despite new albums from Sharon Jones and Brian Setzer, long overdue reissues from the Soulful Strings and Lynn Anderson, and some great singles from The Both (aka Aimee Mann and Ted Leo), The Bayonets, and Shake Some Action! (their exclamation point, not mine).

Has the manic energy brought on by the huge expansion of the digital market finally started to wane - or at least level off? Have we finally reissued most of the really good stuff? Have Donald Trump and Isis stolen Christmas in a way that the Grinch could never pull off?

Or is it just me? I've been obsessing about this stuff for close to 50 years. I have more records than I can possibly listen to before I die. I suspect it's time for me to stop collecting - and start listening, writing, and documenting on the web like I've wanted to - transforming Hip Christmas into the online treasure trove that I've always dreamt about.

But, more about that later. For now, let's dive in and see what rock 'n' roll Santa brought this year.

New AlbumsNew Albums

Sharon JonesHands down, the most exciting new release of the year is Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings' It's A Holiday Soul Party. Jones, if you haven't met her, is a latter day soul queen from Brooklyn, New York, renowned for a string of records on Daptone Records, including previous Christmas singles "Ain't No Chimneys (In The Projects)" (2007), "Big Bulbs" (2013), and "Just Another Christmas Song (This Time I'll Sing Along)" (2014). All of those songs are included on Holiday Soul Party along with a healthy dose of funky new tracks. Not quite groundbreaking - but a solid soul workout head-and-shoulders above anything else released this year.

Having said that, this has been a surprisingly strong year for jazz. The Count Basie Orchestra - minus Mr. Basie - released A Very Swingin' Basie Christmas! featuring guests Johnny Mathis, Ellis Marsalis, Carmen Bradford, and Ledisi. In a similar, if more heavily starched vein, Ellis' most famous offspring, Wynton Marsalis, leads the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra through a Big Band Holidays. Perhaps most surprising, however, is We Two Kings from guitarist Charlie Hunter and drummer Bobby Previte. The album offers some very non-jazzy treats like the surf-laden "Joy To The World," and treads close to rock territory throughout. The sense of fun is palpable, but the paucity of swing disappoints.

Brian SetzerOf course, I have to mention the Brian Setzer Orchestra and their third formal Christmas album, Rockin' Rudolph (meaning that I'm not counting compilations, live albums, videos, etc.). Assuming you like this sort of thing - a lively mix of rockabilly and swing - you love this album. I'm particularly fond of "Yabba Dabba Yuletide," which is either the most brilliant thing I've heard all Christmas - or the dumbest. Regardless, I can't fault Setzer and his band for their musicianship or enthusiasm, though it's definitely starting to feel like they've drunk from this well too often.

Two other rock releases come from opposite ends of the spectrum. Christmas In Reno by Cassie Ramone (née Grzymkowski), a former member of the Vivian Girls, is an utterly indie, willfully lo-fi collection that will appeal to nobody over 30 years of age. Meanwhile, The Quality Holiday Revue Live by Nick Lowe & Los Straitjackets will appeal to virtually nobody under the age of 50. The album was recorded during their joint 2014 tour which promoted Lowe's Quality Street (2013) and Los Straitjackets' 'Tis The Season (2002) and Yuletide Beat (2009), all released by Yep Roc. Confusingly, at press time, the MP3 and vinyl were listed separately at Amazon, and the CD was only available through Yep Roc.

Martin CiliaSomewhere in between is Electric Christmas by Martin Cilia - who bills himself as "Australia's Premier Surf Rock Guitarist" and combines the fire of Dick Dale with the technical precision of Joe Satriani. Cilia's no youngster - he's been playing since the 70's and is best known for his tenure in the Atlantics, who recorded the Aussie surf classic "Bombora" (1963) before Cilia joined the band. But, Electric Christmas will appeal to youngsters - or at least young at heart - and it stands up pretty well to classics by the Ventures and aforementioned Straitjackets. Get it at Double Crown Records, along with other holiday, surf, and garage goodies.

Similar to last year's All Is Bright, Amazon has a new exclusive playlist, Indie For The Holidays. The concept is transparent as the name - all independent labels, mostly alternative rock. As usual with this sort of thing, it's a mixed bag. Compared to All Is Bright, I'd say that Indie For The Holidays is more consistent but less impressive - the highs aren't as high, but the lows aren't as low. Said highlights include Langhorne Slim's funky "Deck The Halls," Reverend Horton Heat's raucous "Donuts In The Snow," a Jewish rap from The LeeVees & Matisyahu, a quirky cut from Guided By Voices' Robert Pollard, and a surprisingly buoyant New Year's song from Lisa Loeb, "Champagne (I'm Ready)."

Elsewhere, we've got notable rhythm 'n' blues releases from India Arie and the Braxton Family - both too smooth for my taste, though the former includes contributions from the late Joe Sample. Entitled Christmas With Friends, Arie's album often approaches jazz - even if it doesn't quite get there - and features additional cameos from Michael McDonald, Trombone Shorty, Brandy, and others. Other big names releasing Christmas albums this year include "bayou soul" singer Mark Broussard, former jailbait Ariana Grande, international pop star Kylie Minogue, former hair metal icons Matthew & Gunnar Nelson, country thrush LeAnn Rimes, GEICO pitchman Kenny Rogers, boy band The Vamps, drag queen king RuPaul, 60's hitmaker Tommy Roe, professional Scotsmen the Bay City Rollers, disco heroes KC & The Sunshine Band, and San Francisco rockers Train. None of those did much for me - but I am clearly in the minority.

However, I'd love to recommend former Scandal frontwoman Patty Smyth's Come On December since it benefits the Headstrong Project, which supports veterans of 9/11, Afghanistan, and Iraq. But, I can't. The original title track is fairly memorable, but the rest of it is, well, not. Great cause, though, and it made my Top Ten solely on that basis.

ReissuesReissues

Stevie WonderThe big reissue action this year was in the realm of vinyl - and I stopped collecting that stuff years ago. Well-monied hipsters like it, however, and this year saw vintage 12-inch platters from Gene Autry, John Denver (with and without The Muppets), Vince Guaraldi, Dean Martin, Brian Setzer, Randy Travis, Andy Williams, and Stevie Wonder - the first time it's been available with its original cover art in three decades. Plus, we got the How The Grinch Stole Christmas soundtrack, a new blues collection from Alligator Records, and an old, wonderful soul collection from Atco Records. One company even released little compact discs that look like red-vinyl LP's of classics by the Beach Boys and James Brown, as well as the highly dubious The Star Wars Christmas Album - featuring a very young Jon Bon Jovi, believe it or not.

On the flip side - figuratively, at least - quite a few albums were reissued only in the digital realm - most from the behemoth Universal Music. These include albums as disparate as Christmas With The Jets (1986) and Merry Christmas From Kukla, Fran, And Ollie (1954), Wayne Newton's Christmas Isn't Christmas Without You, an expanded edition of the Supremes' Merry Christmas (1965), plus Lost Christmas 2: Holiday Rarities, which proved to be less rare than its predecessor, and 20 Holiday #1's - which wasn't rare at all.

Don PattersonSomething I didn't see coming, however, were two jazz albums - both called Holiday Soul - that showed up exclusively through a website called Pro Studio Masters, which offers FLAC and AIFF downloads, including quite few Christmas albums. Issued by Prestige Records in 1964, these are two real gems - both of them warm, understated trio sessions. They have never been reissued in any format during the ensuing 50 years - though a few tracks popped up on albums like The Christmas Collection (1988). The first, by organist Don Patterson, is my favorite, in no small part due to the contribution of guitarist Pat Martino. But, the second, by pianist Bobby Timmons, is solid, too. I hasten to add that downloading an audiophile-quality album for $17.99 is generally at least as expensive as buying a CD and ripping it yourself. But, this is the only choice we currently have, and my Christmas swung a lot harder as a result.

Vinyl or MP3 or otherwise, almost all the best reissues this year came from one source, Real Gone Music. This indie label has almost single-handedly taken up the cause of vintage Christmas music. In 2015 alone, they accounted for roughly a dozen high quality releases. Many of them fell squarely into the realm of easy listening, but they also included the first truly authentic CD edition of Lynn Anderson's 1971 LP, the best-ever edition of Glen Campbell's 1968 LP, a three-CD set containing the almost-complete Christmas catalog of Johnny Mathis, and the first-ever CD reissue of the Three Suns' 1959 bachelor pad magnum opus, A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas. Given the tenuous nature of the entire music industry, I can only wish them Godspeed.

Soulful StringsMost surprising of all, Real Gone reissued the Soulful Strings' The Magic Of Christmas, a 1968 album from Chess Records long forgotten by all but the most ardent enthusiast (like me). It's a happy, smooth-but-soulful album released during an unhappy and turbulent era. A moderate hit at the time, Magic Of Christmas quickly faded - though Barry White would ride largely the same sound to stardom just a few years later.

Moving on, Sony continued their occasionally impressive Classic Christmas Album series, including volumes from Earth, Wind & Fire, Sarah McLachlan, and Celtic Thunder, plus the new-wavy Classic Christmas 80's Album and a more traditional three-CD set simply called Classic Christmas Album. These tend to be albums that are a perfect way to start a collection - but sadly, often maddeningly, short of definitive - let alone "classic." Sony also snuck out an obscure pop album, Swing Bells! Christmas with A Beat (1965) by the Glad Singers, as an MP3 download - no CD, no vinyl. Odd.

Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party Vol. 3Finally, two European collections are more than worthy of note - and perhaps your money. The first, Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party Vol. 3, is simply the third in an increasingly obscure series by a mysterious German label called Tramp. Christmas music, you may have guessed, is an abiding obsession of mine, and I haven't heard and don't own any of these tracks! Tramp is rather loose with their annotation, but they do a really good job cleaning up old vinyl sources.

The second, Ghosts Of Christmas Past, is a much more complicated matter. The two-disc set is the umpteenth iteration of an album first released back in 1981 on the Belgian label Les Disques Du Crepuscule. I hoped this edition would prove to be all-inclusive, collecting every song that had ever appeared on the constantly evolving track listing. We got close - but no cigar - in part because the revitalized label has included new recordings by artists on its current roster. But, it also now include both sides of an insanely rare flexi-disc by New Order recorded under the name B Music. Sadly, the tracks aren't very good, though they are very strange. Even worse, I paid a lot of money for the flexi-disc just a few ago....

Ghosts Of Christmas PastSo, as I inferred at the start, I'm going to take a step back. This year will be the last that I pay close attention to new releases - especially new music. This page will probably exist in some form - but my focus will be on listening to, documenting, and reviewing the past 100 years of recorded holiday music - not the next. My vision for Hip Christmas is ambitious, and that takes time - and, I hasten to add that I don't for this for a living! I want this website to be both an authoritative reference - a online history book and catalog about this strange and wonderful genre of music - and a place where people can listen to and discover what makes it so strange and wonderful.

Thanks to websites like Mistletunes, Christmas Underground, Stubby's House of Christmas, and others, I am confident that new holiday music will continue to be discovered and shared. And, I'll still be here - focusing on the giant pile of records begging for my attention rather than the vast cloud of music on the world wide web.

singlesSingles

This really has been a slow year for singles - even after I filter out my waning enthusiasm. That said, despite the trendiness of vinyl, almost all new Christmas singles are being released digitally, and many of those are distributed through websites like Noisetrade, Bandcamp, and Soundcloud - and I haven't exactly haunted those sites this year. All the same, I've found some winners!

Those are the good ones, and I'm also very fond of The Drabs' "Santa's Got Toys" and the Felice Brothers' "Carriage," even though I'm not too keen their respective EP's, Here Comes The Joy and Felice Navidad. Finally, of course, there are a lot more singles out there, including these high-profile releases:

Christmas treeMy Christmas List

Anyway, the list below is a look at all the new albums that I think will be of interest to people who love holiday music that rocks, rolls, swings, or twangs - meaning that it is neither a list of my recommendations nor a comprehensive list of new releases. Hope you find it useful. What have I missed? Drop me a line...

Randy Anthony

Artist Title Date Image Buy Review
Allen, Deborah Rockin' Little Christmas
- originally released on CD on through her website
2013 image buy  
Alpert, Herb Christmas Album
- reissued on his own label
1968 image buy  
Anderson, Lynn Christmas Album
- Real Gone Music CD reissue with bonus tracks
1971 image buy  
Arden, Jann A Jann Arden Christmas 2015 image buy  
Arie, India Christmas With Friends
- with Joe Sample and other guests
2015 image buy  
Autry, Gene The Original Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer & Other Christmas Favorites
- vinyl reissue of Challenge recordings
1957 image buy review
Band Of Merrymakers Welcome To Our Christmas Party
- all-star cast organized by songwriters Kevin Griffin and Sam Hollander; participants include Dan Wilson (Semisonic), Mark McGrath (Sugar Ray), Michael Fitzpatrick (Fitz & The Tantrums), and many others; benefits the MusiCares Foundation
2015 image buy  
Barenaked Ladies Barenaked For The Holidays 2004 image buy  
Basie, Count Orchestra A Very Swingin' Basie Christmas!
- guests include Johnny Mathis and Ellis Marsalis
2015 image buy  
Bay City Rollers A Christmas Shang-A-Lang
- includes their 2014 single
2015 image buy  
Beach Boys Christmas Album
- mini-LP replica CD
1964 image buy review
Blige, Mary J. A Mary Christmas
- new edition with two bonus tracks
2013 image buy  
Braxton Family A Braxton Family Christmas
- featuring Toni, Traci, Tamar, Trina and Towanda Braxton in association with their reality TV show
2015 image buy  
Broussard, Mark Magnolia & Mistletoe 2015 image buy  
Brown, James Soulful Christmas
- mini-LP CD replica
1968 image buy review
Brown, T. Graham Christmas With T. Graham Brown 2015 image buy  
Campbell, Glen Complete Capitol Christmas Recordings
- also see The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour: Christmas Specials (DVD)
2015 image buy  
Captain & Tennille The Secret Of Christmas
- reissued with new artwork
2006 image buy  
Chan, Elizabeth Red & Green
- mostly songs from her previous releases
2015 image buy  
Cilia, Martin Electric Christmas
- former member of the Atlantics ("Bombora") who bills himself as "Australia's Premier Surf Rock Guitarist"
2015 image buy  
Coasters Christmas With The Coasters
- latter day recordings; nearly all the original Coasters were dead by the time this was recorded...
2015 image buy  
Cole, Nat King The Christmas Song
- SACD reissue of classic LP
1963 image buy review
dB's & Friends Christmas Time Again!
- reissue of 2006 CD minus a few tracks, plus new recordings
2015 image buy review
Dean, Jimmy Christmas Card: The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings
- 1965 LP plus bonus tracks
2015 image buy  
Decker, Jessie James This Christmas 2015 image buy  
Denver, John Rocky Mountain Christmas
- vinyl reissue
1975 image buy review
Denver, John & The Muppets A Christmas Together
- vinyl reissue
1979 image buy review
Diamond, Neil Christmas Album 1992 image buy  
Diamond, Neil Christmas Album Volume II 1994 image buy  
Diamond, Neil A Cherry, Cherry Christmas
- above three reissued on his own label with no bonus tracks
2009 image buy  
Dodson, Miranda It's Merry Christmas Time (EP)
- online "living collection" expanded with two new tracks
2014 image buy  
Drabs Here Comes The Joy (EP) 2015 image buy  
Earth, Wind & Fire The Classic Christmas Album
- same as last year's Holiday plus three rare bonus tracks
2015 image buy  
Felice Brothers Felice Navidad (EP) 2015 image buy  
Ferrante & Teicher Xmas Hi-Fivories
- public-domain CD reissue of Westminster 10-inch LP
1954 image buy  
Four Seasons The 4 Seasons Greetings
- mono CD LP-replica
1962 image buy review
Gary, John The John Gary Christmas Album
- CD reissue of last year's MP3 reissue
1964 image buy  
Gill, Vince Christmas
- MP3 reissue of Breath Of Heaven (1998)
2015 image buy  
Glad Singers Swing Bells! Christmas With A Beat
- MP3 reissue of classic, kitschy LP; first-ever digital edition
1965 image buy  
Goulet, Robert The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings
- MP3 edition of 2014 CD with new artwork but same title and track listing
2015 image buy  
Grande, Ariana Christmas And Chill (EP) 2015 image buy  
Green, Al Feels Like Christmas
- CD reissue of 2012 MP3 edition of album first issued in 1983 as White Christmas
2012 image buy review
Guaraldi, Vince Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits
- vinyl reissue
1998 image buy review
Hunter, Charlie & Bobby Previte We Two Kings 2015 image buy  
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra Big Band Holidays
- with Wynton Marsalis
2015 image buy  
Jets Christmas With The Jets
- now available as MP3
1986 image buy  
Jones, Sharon & The Dap-Kings It's A Holiday Soul Party
- includes earlier singles
2015 image buy  
KC & The Sunshine Band A Sunshine Christmas
- MP3 listed separately
2015 image buy  
Kukla, Fran & Ollie Merry Christmas From Kukla, Fran, And Ollie
- MP3 reissue of children's classic
1954 image buy  
Living Voices Sing Christmas Music/The Little Drummer Boy
- Real Gone CD containing the complete RCA albums Sing Christmas Music (1962) and Little Drummer Boy (1965)
2015 image buy  
Lowe, Nick & Los Straitjackets The Quality Holiday Revue Live
- vinyl listed separately, CD available at Yep Roc
2015 image buy  
Martin, Dean A Winter Romance
- vinyl reissue
1959 image buy review
Mathis, Johnny The Complete Christmas Collection 1958-2010
- 3-CD set including five complete albums plus bonus tracks
2015 image buy review
McLachlan, Sarah The Classic Christmas Album
- Wintersong (2006) plus bonus tracks
2015 image buy  
Melachrino, George Christmas Joy
- fabled RCA "living stereo" album
1959 image buy  
Minogue, Kylie Kylie Christmas 2015 image buy  
Nabors, Jim The Complete Columbia Christmas Recordings
- includes 1967 and 1972 albums plus bonus tracks
2015 image buy  
Neal, Kenny I'll Be Home For Christmas
- self-released album reissued by Cleopatra with new cover art
2006 image buy  
Nelson, Matthew & Gunnar This Christmas
- Rick Nelson's twin sons; former leaders of 90's rock band Nelson
2015 image buy  
Newton, Wayne Christmas Isn't Christmas Without You
- MP3 reissue
1968 image buy  
Osmonds Merry Christmas
- expanded reissue of Christmas Memories (1999)
2015 image buy  
Over The Rhine Holiday Boxed Set
- includes their three Christmas albums 1996-2014
2015 image buy  
Patterson, Don Holiday Soul
- audiophile download only
1964 image buy  
Perry, Joe Joe Perry's Merry Christmas (EP)
- Aerosmith guitarist
2014 image buy  
Presley, Elvis Ultimate Christmas
- Wal-Mart exclusive two-disc set
2015 image buy review
Ramone, Cassie Christmas In Reno
- née Grzymkowski; former member of the Vivian Girls
2015 image buy  
Rimes, LeAnn Today Is Christmas 2015 image buy  
Roe, Tommy It's Now Christmas Day
- title song is update of his 1967 hit "It's Now Winter's Day"
2015 image buy  
Rogers, Kenny Once Again It's Christmas
- apparently, he doesn't know when to fold 'em...
2015 image buy  
RuPaul Slay Belles 2015 image buy  
Setzer, Brian Orchestra Boogie Woogie Christmas
- vinyl reissue
2002 image buy  
Setzer, Brian Orchestra Rockin' Rudolph 2015 image buy  
Shelton, Blake Cheers It's Christmas
- vinyl reissue
2012 image buy  
Smyth, Patty Come On December
- former Scandal singer; CD originally sold through PledgeMusic
2015 image buy  
Soulful Strings The Magic Of Christmas
- Real Gone CD reissue of Cadet LP
1968 image buy  
Stewart, Rod Merry Christmas Baby
- deluxe edition with bonus tracks and DVD
2012 image buy  
Supremes

Merry Christmas
- expanded MP3 edition with mono and stereo versions plus bonus tracks

1965

image buy review
Three Suns A Ding Dong Dandy Christmas
- first-ever CD reissue of lounge-core classic
1959 image buy  
Timmons, Bobby Holiday Soul
- audiophile download only
1964 image buy  
Train Christmas In Tahoe 2015 image buy  
Trans-Siberian Orchestra The Christmas Attic
- vinyl reissue
1998 image buy  
Travis, Randy An Old Time Christmas
- vinyl reissue
1989 image buy  
Tubb, Ernest Blue Christmas
- public-domain CD reissue of Decca LP
1963 image buy  
Vamps The Christmas EP 2015 image buy  
Vincent, Rhonda Christmas Time 2015 image buy  
Vinton, Bobby A Very Merry Christmas: The Complete Epic Christmas Collection
- 1964 LP plus bonus tracks
2015 image buy  
Williams, Andy Christmas Album
- vinyl reissue
1963 image buy  
Wonder, Stevie Someday At Christmas
- vinyl reissue
1967 image buy review
soundtrack How The Grinch Stole Christmas!
- vinyl reissue
1966 image buy review
soundtrack Star Wars Christmas Album: Christmas In The Stars
- mini-LP CD replica
1980 image buy  
various artists Blues Christmas
- vinyl-only collection from the Alligator catalog
2015 image buy  
various artists Blues Christmas
- Cleopatra grab-bag of mostly modern blues
2015 image buy  
various artists Christmas Monkey On My Back: GMR Xmas 6
- another installment from Seattle-based DIY label Green Monkey
2015 image buy  
various artists Classic Christmas Album
- 3-CD Amazon exclusive from the Sony vaults

2015

image buy  
various artists Classic Christmas 80's Album
- Sony collection of fairly obvious choices
2015 image buy  
various artists Ghosts Of Christmas Past
- 2-CD collection of tracks from 1981 Les Disques Du Crepuscule album that was repeatedly reissued and expanded through 1988; this edition includes additional new and vintage recordings but is not cumulatively comprehensive...
2015 image buy  
various artists I Heart The Holidays
- indie pop from Palladium Records
2015 image buy  
various artists Indie For The Holidays
- exclusive Amazon playlist of indie rock and pop
2015 image buy  
various artists Lost Christmas 2: Holiday Rarities
- MP3-only collection of hard-to-find tracks from Capitol, Decca, Polydor, and other Universal-owned labels
2015 image buy  
various artists Now That's What I Call Country Christmas
- mostly modern country; completely different album than similarly-titled 2009 release
2015 image buy  
various artists Punk Goes Christmas: Deluxe Edition
- emo-core and pop-punk from Fearless Records; new version of 2013 release with four extra tracks
2015 image buy  
various artists Punk Rock Christmas
- grab bag from Cleopatra Records including some big names from the early days of punk
2015 image buy  
various artists Riot Grrl Christmas
- grab bag from Cleopatra Records, mostly new bands rather than groups from the 90's heyday of the genre
2015 image buy  
various artists Santa's Funk & Soul Christmas Party Vol. 3
- another volume of obscure rhythm & blues from Tramp Records
2015 image buy  
various artists Soul Christmas
- vinyl reissue
1968 image buy review
various artists Southern Rock Christmas
- grab bag from Cleopatra Records, including both country and rock artists
2015 image buy  
various artists 20 Holiday #1's
- big hits from the vast holdings of the Universal Music Group
2015 image buy  
various artists Western Swing Christmas
- public-domain compilation from Kipepeo Publishing
2015 image buy  

Christmas TreePrevious Years. We've been compiling this "what's new?" list for awhile, going back to 2003 (Gary Hoey, Jackson 5), 2004 (Chris Isaak, Dwight Twilley), 2005 (Diana Krall, Brian Setzer), 2006 (Aimee Mann, Bootsy Collins), 2007 (Smithereens, Darlene Love), 2008 (Weezer, Pretenders), 2009 (Bob Dylan, Los Straitjackets), 2010 (James Brown, Shelby Lynne), 2011 (Killers, Carole King), 2012 (Rod Stewart, Polyphonic Spree), 2013 (Salsoul Orchestra, Nick Lowe), and 2014 (Blue Rodeo, Earth Wind & Fire).

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