A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU
The Christmas ... ass-kicking classicos

A CHRISTMAS GIFT FOR YOU. From Phil Spector.  (Philles Records.)

'Tis the Season for dusting off Mad Phil's monsterpiece, and the damn thing never fails to deliver ... roaring out of the speakers, freshly minted every time.

I've bought it in the original mono vinyl , on cassette, on digitally remastered C.D., you name it, and it's soundtracked my Xmases for forty years.

The Wall of Sound in all its extravagant glory; the Wrecking Crew in full cry; Darlene Love, surely the most under-rated singer ever, wailing over the oceanic swell; The Ronettes sexing up everything they touched, even Rudolph ( no wonder his nose was  red  ); Hal Blaine's relentless, masterfully manic drum assault, mountainous with reverb and slap, driving all before it .... and they cut it in the heat of an L.A. summer

This ain't no relic, folks; if you've never wallowed in its riches, you don't know what you're missing.

THE BEACH BOYS CHRISTMAS ALBUM. (Capitol).

Brian Wilson , the self-confessed Spector obsessive, goes for it with the Wrecking Crew, and the glorious harmonies,  with Brian acknowledging his debt to the Four Freshmen, using their orchestral arranger, Dick Reynolds  on several   songs. This is the sweet companion piece to
Spector's more subversive vision.



There are a ton of Christmas albums out there, including the wonderful, guest -filled Chieftains record,  THE BELLS OF DUBLIN, and Fats Domino's   CHRISTMAS GUMBO    but for my money these two have set the bar to be beaten.

So, I'm going to sample them delicately between now and Xmas morn......then FULL THROTTLE

And I mean that  

M.S.