Heigh Ho, The Green Holly and not just another Nutcracker

For me, the best Christmas music covers the full spectrum of emotion. It's not all tinsel and candy; there are moments of reflection, reminiscence, and in Van Morrison's words, "a sense of wonder". "Heigh Ho, The Green Holly" captures those moments of the Christmas season in fine fashion, 

The Celtic instrumentation makes for a refreshing wintry blast of traditional carols and Irish/Scottish melodies. Flutes, pipes, fiddle and.. trombone (!) -- I'm a sucker for trombones -- this one is in the CD player a lot. I love the tunes, the variety of instruments, and the musicians -- this collection is compiled from 2 earlier releases, and despite the revolving cast of characters, the sequencing and pacing is masterful. Happy holidays!  

Transcribing orchestral music to the guitar is a monumental task, especially if you're dealing with Tchaikovsky, who is a master of instrumental color and melody. Tim Sparks is up to the task, and this is sure to be the definitive acoustic version of the Nutcracker Suite.

She Is Shelby Lynne

Shelby Lynne for me occupies the same territory as Lucinda Williams, Wynonna Judd, Cassandra Wilson, Christine Collister and Bonnie Raitt; they sound nothing alike (okay, Shelby does sound a bit like early Bonnie Raitt), but they all share a sense of unfettered choice in their material. They are not to be pigeon-holed, yet the record labels insist on cramming them into something easily marketable.

Shelby's early albums were slick country affairs, and she finally rebelled, reassessed, and released "I Am Shelby Lynne", her 6th album which won her a Best New Artist Grammy -- go figure. A greatest hits collection "The Definitive Collection" (not), features 7 out of 10 tracks from "I Am...", and the songs they didn't pick are good too. Initially, I was put off by the album, until last week, listening again, I realized she was putting out her resume. What I took for a grab-bag of styles was essentially her way of showing the world "I can do ALL of these things -- country, blues, soul...I have more to offer than what you've heard from me before."

But that can come back and confuse the public. Everyone loved "I Am...", but her next album "Love, Shelby" went all slickety again. Good songs, but...huh? Shelby zigzagged like this for a while; later albums featured powerhouses like Bill Payne (Little Feat) and Benmont Tench (Tom Petty), but still asked the question "Where's the Shelby we all love?"

I mentioned in an earlier post that her Dusty Springfield tribute "Just a Little Lovin'" is totally excellent. She's lately slipped into a groove with her last 2 albums. "Thanks" (more accurately an EP than an album) is Southern gospel/soul, and "I Can't Imagine" is a back-porch version of the country/blues vibe encountered in "I Am..." -- but the songs are not quite as memorable to me. Production is excellent, but the songs don't quite measure up.

Still, she's producing herself, making her own choices, and I'm positive there's more great work from Shelby in the future. 

David Grisman and Patty Loveless: Christmas Time's A-comin'!

Here's the thing with me about Christmas music: I really enjoy it, but I'm picky. I've left stores just because they've audibly assaulted me with Mariah Carey or Mannheim Steamroller or Trans-Siberian Express or [insert your choice here]. Really? It's not Christmas until someone's belting in a range only dogs can hear? 

 That said, we started early with the Christmas music this year; the weather's been particularly bleak lately, so we wanted to lighten things up. As much as my wife and I at Christmas time love to blast Phil Spector, we tend to listen to more acoustic fare. I had picked up the David Grisman album at Value Village a while back, so it was good to finally listen to it at length -- and what a treat! Grisman (and Tony Rice) have been favorites of mine for a long time; their brand of 'spacegrass' (Tony's term) or the more familiar 'Dawg music' is probably my favorite offshoot of traditional bluegrass. Grisman's version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" isn't just 6:47 of great Christmas music, it's plain great music. It smokes!

Ah, sweet Patty Loveless. She started out in a more traditional country vein, but for years now, she's veered off into Kentucky bluegrass, and this 2010 album is another fine example. The song selection was a slight disappointment at first-- the usual suspects, on most every Christmas album, including other country/bluegrass  albums like "Christmas Time with the Judds" and "Light from the Stable" by Emmylou Harris. But Patty's voice, the beautiful arrangements, and the original material ("Santa Train" -- what a hoot!) lifts this album above the pack. Add in Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Dolly Parton, Ricky Skaggs and more guests, and you've got a fine Kentucky mountain Christmas album