European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 17, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Entertainment Holiday music a few gems Many lumps of Coal . Considine the Baltimore Sun As i entered my fourth straight Day of listening to nothing but Christmas albums one thought kept creeping into my mind do we really need a new twist on Christmas music somebody certainly seems to think so because it seems almost impossible these Days to find anyone willing to record familiar Christmas carols in old fashioned arrangements. In the mood for a quiet choral rendition of silent night or a brass quintet Reading of Good King Wenceslas Tough Luck because you won t find anything so traditional or tasteful Here. Instead what we get Are concepts and gimmicks As if some music Industry Martha Stewart decided that what Ake Neil diamonds the Christmas album perhaps the single most insufferable album of the season. We really wanted was a theme for our Christmas albums. A country Christmas for example. Or Jazzy holidays. Or a Rockin round the Christmas tree Good time. And on and on until this year s pile of alleged seasonal cheer included Christmas blues Doo Wop carols a Caribbean Christmas party a collection of seasonal favourites As performed by sitcom stars a collection of seasonal favourites performed on traditional chinese instruments a polka Christmas album a porno Christmas album and a gangsta rap Effort entitled Xmas a the Hood. Hoho to frankly it s enough to turn any listener into a growling griping Crinch. Mind you it s not As if this current crop of Christmas albums is completely worthless for there Are a few glints of Gold amid the seasonal dross. But winnowing them out May seem More trouble than it s Worth. Take for example the All Star album a very special Christmas 2 a amp a 31454 0003. Like its predecessor 1987 s a very special Christmas this set is Long on big names and Good intentions As everyone from aretha Franklin to extreme pitches in to raise Money for the special olympics. But it s maddeningly Short on worthwhile music. Despite a few Sterling moments a the Luther Vandross version of the Christmas song Tevin Campbell s incandescent o holy night a most of the album is either Boring Wilson Phillips snoozy silent nig Timy Grant seems downright modest on Home for Christmas happily taking a Back seat to the orchestra and chorus when the music demands. Gimmicky Cyndi Lauper overdubbing herself Natalie Cole style into a duet with the Young Frank Sinatra on Santa Claus is coming to town or lame not even Tom Petty can enliven a song As hackneyed As Christmas All Over again. Part of the problem with superstar Christmas albums is that they invariably involve superstar egos. Take Neil Diamond s the Christmas album Columbia 52914perhaps the single most insufferable album of the season. It s bad enough that he Junks the songs up with trick arrangements so that White Christmas is played As fake Doo Wop while a pedal steel is added to countr Ify the sound of Silver Bells but what made my skin crawl was the Way Diamond treated each tune As if his was the birthday being celebrated. Fortunately not every pop Star is so self obsessed. Amy Grant for example seems downright modest on Home for Christmas a amp a 31454 0001happily taking a Back seat to the orchestra and chorus when the music demands although Given her tendency to murmur these melodies she May not have had much Choice. Likewise Macauley Culkin s angelic voice May be present throughout the Chris Massy soundtrack album to Hume alone 2 Fox 11000but the emphasis remains on the pop performances especially tic s Perky Sleigh ride and Darlene love s All alone on Christmas. Still the Best example of How superstar voices can be corralled into a cohesive ensemble has to be Handel s Messiah a soulful Celebration reprise 26980. Instead of starting up Handel s score with hip hop beats and gospel flourishes Quincy Jones and his arrangers have reworked the material so it fits the contemporary grooves provided for the singers. So even though Handel scholars i Macauley culkins angelic voice May be present throughout the Chris Massy soundtrack album to Home alone 2, but the emphasis remains on the pop performances. Are unlikely to swoon Over Stevie wonder s o thou that tallest Good tidings to Zion or Tramaine Hawkins take on and Hie shall purify these performances do succeed on their own terms. Much the same can be said of Christmas carols and sacred songs Blue note 99965which finds the boys choir of Harlem walking the line Between Church choir conservatism and gospel Fervour on everything from o holy night to go Tell it on the Mountain the latter featuring a fiery Dianne Reeves. But ambition gets the better of sounds of blackness on the night before Christmas a musical fantasy perspective 3 1454 9000an album so Brassy and overblown that its less like a Christmas album than a bad Broadway musical. Seeing As How he w Rote the Christmas song you might think that Mel Torme a Koukl turn in the definitive version. But you d be wrong for Torme s Christmas songs Tel arc 83315 seems far More interested in swinging through the likes of it happened in Sun Valley and glow worm huh than adding any insight to True seasonal favourites. Country stars have Long understood that there s no better Way to Cash in on a fan s Goodwill than to release a Christmas album and the astonishing August sales Rush on Garth Brooks treacly beyond the season Liberty teeing As How he wrote the Christmas song you might think that Mel torm6 would turn in the definitive version. But you a be wrong. 98742 shows that the current country music Boom has done Little to change that. If it s Bluegrass you want Odds Are you la love the Seldom scene s version of silent night or sugar plums sugar i Lill 3796though the Folk performers miss More often than they hit. Blues bulbs should be pleased with the Alligator records Christmas collection Alligator 9201 so so songs but great grooves from Tinsley Ellis and Kenny Neal. Mas a i Ribben Christmas party Ryk disc 10150 does an impressive Job in making the listener yearn for Palm Trees at Christmas. But Brave combo s polka crazed it s Christmas Mon Rounder 9033 is the sort of thing that gives world beat a bad name while the Oriental Echo ensemble s Chung King Christmas big 61328 is funny for about 45 seconds a which would be Fine if it weren t 32 minutes Long. Mcm s Xmas a the Hood priority 6611 is More fun to spell than it is to play and you d have to be drunker than Mojo Nixon was when he and the Toa liquors recorded Horny holidays triple x 5111 7 to enjoy its puerile attempts at humor.t., a singles 1.1 will always love you from the bodyguard a Whitney Houston 2. If i Ever fall in love Shai 3. Rump Shaker reckon effect 4. In the still of the Nite i la remember Boyz ii men 5. I d die without you from Boomerang a . Dawn 6. How do you talk to an Angel the Heights 7. Rhythm is a dancer snap 8 Good enough Bobby Brown 9 real love Mary j Blige 10 what about your friends to top a albums 1. Soundtrack to the bodyguard various artists 2. Timeless the classics Michael Bolton 3. The Chase a Garth Brooks 4. Some gave All Billy Ray Cyrus 5. Home for Christmas Amy Grant 6. Unplugged Eric Clapton 7. A very special Christmas 2 various artists 8. Christmas album a Neil Diamond 9 breathless Kenny g. 10 beyond the season Garth Brooks country a singles 1. She a got the rhythm and i got the blues a Alan Jackson 2 Don t let our love Start Suppin away Vince Gill 3.1 Cross my heart George Strait 4. Burn one Down Clint Black 5. Sure love Hal Ketchum 6 lost and found a Brooks amp Dunn 7. Somewhere other than the night a Liberty 8. Two sparrows in a Hurricane Tanya Tucker 9 when she cries restless heart 10 i m in a hurry and Don t know Why Alabama amp by singles 1 i will always love you from the bodyguard a Whitney Houston 2. If i Ever fall in love Shai 3 Rump Shaker a reckon effect 4 slow and sexy Shabba ranks 5 Here we go again i portrait 6. In the still of the Nite i la remember a Boyz ii men 7 Good enough a Bobby Brown 8. Love Shoulta brought you Home from Boomerang a Toni Braxton 9 flex mad cobra 10 baby i m for real natural High after 7classical a albums 1 if you love me Cecilia Bartoll 2. Kathleen Battle at Carnegie Hall a Kathleen Battle 3. In concert a Carreras Domingo Pavarotti 4 baroque duet Kathleen Battle Wynton Marsalis 5 Horowitz discovered treasures a Vladimir Horowitz 6 Amore a Luciano Pavarotti 7. Shostakovich 24 preludes amp fugues Keith Jarrett 8 the last recital for Israel Artur Rubenstein 9 Bach sonatas Keith Jarrett Michala Petri 10 Gorecky symphony no 3 Upshaw London so Lonitta compiled by billboard december 17, 1992 stripes Magazine ii