April Fools!

Today marks another milestone as we head into the month of April and the shares are still flowing! I never imagined I could keep it going this long, but here we are. I keep saying that the coffers are almost empty and it's true, but I keep scraping the sides of the barrel and something always seems to fall out. I can count the number of unfinished files on my hard drive on my fingers now, so the end is near (Repent!). But I'm not stopping yet. Today is a pretty yellow & brown marbled record from the budget label king, Tops. This music was probably reissued a dozen or more times throughout the sixties (usually without White Christmas so they wouldn't have to pay anyone any songwriting royalties), but this appears to be it's first issue. It's a sister album to a couple of records I recorded and shared out early in the season over at my pal Buster's excellent blog. (Go get 'em if you don't have 'em yet.) It's simple choral stuff but it has a sound that really takes you back to that period in history. This is The Fireside Carolers-Let's All Sing Our Christmas Favorites (Tops/Mayfair 9676S, Stereo, 1959). Enjoy!

1. O, Come All Ye Faithful
2. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
3. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
4. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
5. Jingle Bells
6. The First Noel
7. Silent Night
8. White Christmas
9. Deck The Halls; Joy To The World
10. O Little Town Of Bethlehem

MEGA

Life Words

From one college group to the next, that's been the story of the blog this season. If it's not college groups or high school groups, middle schools or elementaries, it's churches or civic groups. I usually avoid such things but I feel like I need to work my way though the hundreds of these records in my collection. There's usually something of interest on each one of them, at least worth one listen. Occasionally there's something you'll want to hear again, but if you're like me, you can't remember what it was. This is The Word Of Life Collegians-The Sights & Sounds Of Christmas (Word Of Life Fellowship 8511, Stereo, 1985). Just in case you're curious, Word Of Life Bible Institute, the people behind this album, do not appear to be associated with the Lutherans, or any other denomination. They have a campus here in Florida just a couple counties north of me (as well as one in New York state). That would explain how this album came to me, it didn't have to travel very far. Sometimes the forensics of album dispersion are easy, other times they are hard.

1. Here We Come A-Caroling
2. Jingle Bells
3. O Holy Night
4. Silent Night! Holy Night!
5. The Twelve Days Of Christmas
6. White Christmas
7. Ring The Bells
8. The Best Gift I Ever Got For Christmas
9. Toyland
10. Frosty, The Snowman
11. They Need Love
12. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
13. While By My Sheep
14. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
15. Angels We Have Heard On High

MEGA

Not That Carthage

I thought it odd that one of the major cities of the millennium before Christmas became a thing would have recorded an album of Christmas music, and I was right to be suspicious. Turns out this Carthage is a liberal arts college in Kenosha, Wisconsin, affiliated with, you guessed it, the Lutherans, and has nothing at all to do with the city of Carthage in Tunisia. Thought maybe I had something there for a minute, but it's just another college choir doing their best. Still plenty here to enjoy though, so give it a listen. This is The Carthage College Choir-Christmas Music From Carthage (No Label S80-383-2148 (Kenosha, Wisconsin), Stereo, 1972). Nice cover!

1. Joy To The World
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
3. Hark, The Herald Angels Sing
4. Mary Had A Baby
5. The First Noel
6. Silent Night
7. O Come, All Ye Faithful
8. For Unto Us A Child Is Born
9. Hallelujah Chorus
10. Virga Jesse Floruit
11. Lo How A Rose E'er Blooming
12. While By My Sheep
13. Song Of The Stable Boy
14. Get Thyself Up, Now Arise

MEGA

The Allergies?

I don't speak or read Spanish, but sometimes I try to interpret what I'm seeing based on similarities to words in English. When I saw the artist on this record, I thought maybe it said The Allergies of Texas Hats. I don't think that's correct because it seems silly, but I've seen worse things. Let's check in with Google Translate and see what it comes back with. Oh, OK, that makes more sense. "The Joyful Ones From Hato Tejas", that's what it says. Hato Tejas appears to be a small city in Puerto Rico, so now it all makes sense. No traditional carols here, I'm afraid, but it certainly is joyful. This is Los Alegres De Hato Tejas-Parranda Tipica (Gema LPG-3004, Mono).

1. Flores De Amistad
2. Santo Nombre De Jesus
3. A Las Zarandelas
4. Llego La Navidad
5. Hermoso Bouquet
06. Aguinaldo Puertorriqueño
7. Llegaron Los Reyes
8. Aguinaldo
9. Saludo
10. Hasta Aqui Llegamos
11. De La Montaña Venimos
12. Seis Chorreao

MEGA