No, the Best Christmas Album Ever is one that I can promise you you've never heard. It's by an obscure British-American folk ensemble called Nowell Sing We Clear, and it's called (cheesily enough) Just Say Nowell. Why is it the Best Christmas Album Ever? Several reasons: first, the best, most rollicking and swinging version of "The First Noel" you'll ever hear; second, the New England Harmony classic "London," into which they interpolate material from William Billings' "Shiloh"; third, the utterly brilliant and powerfully moving modern carol "Chariots," written by Britfolk legend and concertina virtuoso John Kirkpatrick; fourth, the crooked rhythm of the 19th-century carol "Babe of Bethlehem." The group's nucleus is the duo of John Roberts and Tony Barrand, expatriate Brits now based in the American Northeast and engaged in a variety of academic and nonacademic musicological pursuits, many of them involving the collecting of songs in bars. Their voices are completely unique and blend together like some kind of weird but delicious emulsion -- like a good, vinegary salad dressing rather than a smooth milkshake. All of their albums are delightful, but Just Say Nowell is simply stunning. I look forward all year to the four-week period between Thanksgiving and Christmas when I can play it over and over.
3 comments:
Hmm, I dunno, Rick. A Charlie Brown Christmas is mighty hard to beat in my book.
Listening to clips on itunes, strangely loving it. Not actually a big fan of holiday music, but I just might purchase this one for the smile it throws on my face!
"Obscure" is in the eye of the beholder. Nowell Sing We Clear have toured the Eastern US every December with a program of holiday music since 1974, and I see them most every year. They have several other CDs and compilations, so you should obviously check those out! Their web site is "seasonal," but you can read a it about them here:
http://homepages.sover.net/~barrand
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