The holiday season is a wonderful time to give in to obnoxiously themed advertisements, celebrate consumerism (and maybe — just maybe — the birth of Christ) and help musicians and producers balance their budgets by purchasing their regurgitated versions of Christmas cheer. Whether it be sappy remakes of already sappy classics about a pedophilic bearded man who’s waiting to slip down your chimney, or original attempts at making the season seem magical more than monetary, a lot of Christmas albums just plain suck. (Did someone say Merry, Merry Christmas by New Kids On the Block?) But despite the conspicuous commercial origin, there actually are a few diamonds in the rough. We’ve attempted to gather some of the best Christmas albums — from classic to just-released — so you don’t need to sift through all the dirt and rubble yourself. (Or give in to the Frozen overlords at Disney and purchase Idina Menzel’s Holiday Wishes.)
That’s Christmas To Me by Pentatonix (2014)
This a cappella quintet ingeniously rehashes boring Christmas classics in an unexpected and fresh way, with compositional tweaks, creative mash-ups and layered vocal harmonies that range from deepest-canyon low to top-of-the-mountain high.
Blood Oranges In the Snow by Over The Rhine (2014)
For those who can’t get enough local music, the third all-original Christmas album by Over The Rhine is like crisp holiday reality — folky, melancholy nostalgia of another year passed and another winter in which to brood on it.
James Brown’s Funky Christmas by James Brown (1995)
James Brown does what he does best by bringin’ da funk to Christmas. His classic crackling voice keeps it diverse with slow winter-sex tunes placed right next to good ole’ jump-and-jive.
Christmas by Mannheim Steamroller (1984)
Tastefully blending Electro Pop and Classical music, this album is one of the few holiday musical choices from the age of hairspray and cocaine that isn’t totally laughable.
The Ventures’ Christmas Album by The Ventures (1965)
The Ventures took their Surf Rock sound and some classic Christmas songs, tossed them in a blender and rendered this upbeat, almost psychedelic collection of songs that just plain sound cool.
A Charlie Brown Christmas by Vince Guaraldi Trio (1965)
The incredible Christmas episode of Charlie Brown wouldn’t be the same without the soundtrack — wonderfully smooth West Coast Jazz that will ease any listener’s ears after a stressful day of Christmas shopping.
Elvis’ Christmas Album by Elvis Presley (1957)
The King brings the spirit of the ’50s and early Rock & Roll to Christmas with his soulful mixture of whooping, swooping and diving vocals and background music that is both soft and swinging.
Merry Christmas by Bing Crosby (1945)
Arguably the most famous and influential Christmas album ever, this classic — and the songs it made famous (including “White Christmas”) — will likely never cease to be a standard thanks to the distinctive rolling baritone voice of Bing Crosby.
OVER THE RHINE plays its annual Christmas concert at the Taft Theatre Dec. 20. More info: tafttheatre.org. Buy Christmas albums at independent record stores like EVERYBODY’S RECORDS (6106 Montgomery Road, Pleasant Ridge, everybodysrecords.com), SHAKE IT RECORDS (4156 Hamilton Ave., Northside, shakeitrecords.com) and SUGARCUBE RECORDS (609 Main St., Covington, Ky., 859-291-2823).
This article appears in Dec 10-16, 2014.
