Advent calendar—December 6: Chris Stamey Group, “Christmas Time”

Advent calendar—December 6: Chris Stamey Group, “Christmas Time” 

Chris Stamey Group, “Christmas Time” (1985)
from Christmas Time
Coyote TCC 8564

The album is credited to the Chris Stamey Group, but this cut is a reunion of the late lamented dBs, with Stamey and Peter Holsapple sharing vocals (indeed, it’s called a dBs song on subsequent collections). It’s kind of surprising that there aren’t more power pop/guitar pop/whatever you want to call it Christmas records. The tuneful, cheery, semi-nostalgic mood of pp/gp/wywtci seems a natural for the holidays. I guess only thriving genres get budgets for xmas discs. As it is, pp/gp/wywtci remains a genre without a subject, sexless, clueless; the Shakers of pop, doomed to extinction by lack of procreation. Ah, we’ll always have 1985. Long live pp/gp/wywtci.

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Advent calendar—December 5: Frank Sinatra, “Violets for Your Furs”

Advent calendar—December 5

Frank Sinatra, “Violets for Your Furs” (1954)
from Swing Easy and Songs for Young Lovers
Capitol W587

It’s not a Christmas song per se, but it’s a December song and a shopping song. Tom Adair’s verse paints as vivid a picture of winter in the big city as any holiday standard, and you can almost see the snowflakes falling with those opening piano notes. Frank reminds you what it feels like to be in love at this time of the year, even if you haven’t been—yet.

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Advent calendar—December 3: Johnny Cash, “The Little Drummer Boy”

Advent calendar—December 3

Johnny Cash, “The Little Drummer Boy” (1959)
from The Best-Loved Music of Christmas
Columbia House DS 822

Drummer Buddy Harmon takes up where Sam Woodyard left off on Johnny Cash’s chart-hit version of this chestnut. You’re not always sure what you’re going to get from Johnny in this period (Thunderball?), but this is a thoughtful rearrangement that shakes some of the fake snow off the song. Found on a Columbia House collection that featured the usual record club loss-leader mish-mosh—Johnny shares side two with the Moog Machine and Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra. The best thing about it is that when you open up the gatefold, you get this:

It’s not an advent calendar, but its not bad.

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