3 4 ▼ d * c * m b « r 2 , 1 0 0 4 ▼ ju s t o u t
AURAL GRATIFICATION
TWENTY-THIRD AVENUE
BOOKS
#Tis the Season
Why does everyone think they can do a holiday album?
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by Aaron Bong
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T ony B ennett
M ariah C arey
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Merry Christmas
*.
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The Gift
**
Liz Story has been playing piano all of her life.
She studied at Juilliard, then soon after became a
pupil of Sanford Gold.
This is the most enjoyable of all of the Christ­
mas albums I heard. Especially for unwinding
after you get back from dealing with all of your
relatives and in-laws and such.
Lots and lots of piano, and just a little bit of
acoustical bass. But the piano is lush and vibrant,
standing on its own with only the bass as occa­
sional garnish.
The songs are all churchgoing Christmas fa­
vorites. “Angels We Have Heard on High,” “O
Holy Night,” “Greensleeves,” and “We Three
Kings of Orient Are.”
Liz Story plays effortlessly through her own
arrangements of each piece.
In my family, we often compete with “mood”
music during holiday conversations. It can get
difficult, at times, to hear what relatives you have
artfully dodged all year are saying. Sometimes it
can be a downright blessing hearing the Mormon
Tabernacle Choir belt out a particularly loud
song, so I don’t have to listen to Aunt Judy do her
armchair psychologist bit on me.
Don’t count on The Gift to save you from any
obnoxious relatives. Instead, reserve this album
for when you and snookums leave the "festivi­
ties” and go back home to relax by yourselves.
'Q A9 OiOHd
Tony Bennett is in his own element here. He
chose to go with a more “traditional” sound for his
Christmas album. The big band sound works,
with trumpets wailing and the bass grooving
along.
This is a re-release of an album Bennett did in
1968, except for the last song, “I’ll be home for
Christmas,” which he recorded on The Jon Stewart
Show. The first, “My Favorite Things,” sounds
really good a little jazzed up.
Bennett also covers “The Christmas Song,” as
well as “White Christmas,” and “Winter Wonder­
land.” So many times I have heard people butcher
classic Christmas songs, trying in vain to make
them their own. Bennett has found a way to be true
to the original scores and at the same time make
some memorable music.
I know that my grandmother would really
enjoy this CD, and I think that it’s OK, but I’m
holding off buying a Christmas album until the
Pet Shop Boys produce one with Liza Minnelli, or
just come out with one of their own.
All right. Picture it. Portland, Ore. Christmas
of 1986. The pink-flocked tree (remember those
abominations?) you put up is covered from top to
bottom with that horrible tinsel crap I hate so
much.
Being the consumptive, label-conscious shop­
ping queen that you are, every one of the hundred-
or-so packages under the garish, cinematic-in-its-
horror tree has a designer label on it.
Slowly puffing on your overpriced Pall Mall,
you contentedly waltz over to your brand new CD
player to choose some music to play. There it is.
Stuck between the Stray Cats and the latest Cars
album you might find this little piece of ’80s
trash.
But no, Mariah had to wait until 1994 to
release it.
So, you caught me. I’m not a big Mariah Carey
fan. I don’t even pretend to enjoy the way she
consistently oversings and over-embellishes
songs. And I can never forgive her for what she
and Luther Vandross did to “Endless Love.”
So, as my friend Nicci would say, “That’s a
dark place, you wouldn’t wanna go there.”
V arious A rtists
Joyful Christmas
* * *
RuPaul once said “very contemporary,” and
where this album is concerned I must agree.
Joyful Christmas is rich gospel and rhythm and
blues. Very contemporary.
The songs do seem to be slow and dragging in
some areas, but that seems to be the R&B feel.
Patti LaBelle sings “Away in a Manger,” and
she sounds a little tired, not quite up to her usual
speed. Lou Rawls glides through “Angels We
Have Heard on High,” and Oleta Adams beckons
us with “O Come All Ye Faithful.”
All the songs are well executed and well
performed. And the choir involved is fabulous.
C a u tio n :
Steer clear of Neil Diamond’s little attempt. I
won’t even bother going into it, because it is
nothing more than a major party faux pas. So
please pass it up. The “Hallelujah Chorus” should
never have a guitar solo in it.
*
<6 *
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AA
Been there, done that
Buy it used if you really want it
It’ s in fashion this season
Timeless and flawless