This is a record I have hunted for a long time and finally found an affordable copy on Discogs earlier this year. I've wanted one ever since I heard a copy I got from the long-defunct blog of my buddy Inkydog. Looking at that paint-by-numbers cover with a weird looking car and some sort of psychedelic turnip on it, you wouldn't even suspect this is a Christmas album, but believe me, it is. This LP was a promo for United States Steel to advertise some new ideas they had for using steel in automotive production that they had incorporated into that car, called the Innovari II. Believe it or not, that's the front of the car you're seeing on the cover. There's lots more info about the car inside the gatefold, it's all there in the download for you to read. (And if you're really interested, they released
another non-Christmas LP by these same two artists.) The two artists featured here, one per side, are otherwise unknown to me, though I see where they released other stuff, mostly in and around the Detroit area. (I should have posted this on Detroit day! Opportunity missed!) Some of this is hardcore Christmas lounge, some of it is pure exotica. Check out the version of Little Drummer Boy that leads off side one. If the vibes don't scream exotic to you, the bongos will make it obvious. If you were to dub some bird calls and croaking frogs over top of this, you'd swear it was Martin Denny live from the Aluminum Dome. It's not the cleanest copy in the world, but you will still enjoy this one. And there's a Chanukah track on here as well, so enjoy that here on the second night. (See, something for everyone on this record!) This is
Holiday Innovations (Columbia Special Products CSS 836 For United States Steel, Stereo, 1968).
1. The Jack Brokensha Quartet-Little Drummer Boy
2. The Jack Brokensha Quartet-We Three Kings
3. The Jack Brokensha Quartet-Do You Hear What I Hear?
4. The Jack Brokensha Quartet-O'Hannukah
5. The Jack Brokensha Quartet-Engulfed Cathedral
6. The Lenore Paxton Trio-Joy To The World; Little Drummer Boy
7. The Lenore Paxton Trio-Frosty The Snowman; What Child Is This?
8. The Lenore Paxton Trio, Robert Chambers-Vocal-I Saw Three Ships; Christmas Waltz; Sleigh Ride
9. The Lenore Paxton Trio, Robert Chambers-Vocal-The Twelve Days Of Christmas; The Christmas Song
10. The Lenore Paxton Trio, Robert Chambers-Vocal-Santa Claus Is Coming To Town; Deck The Halls; Trimming The Tree At Christmas
11. The Lenore Paxton Trio-Angels We Have Heard On High-Hark The Herald Angels Sing
12. The Lenore Paxton Trio, Robert Chambers-Vocal-Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
MEGA
Christmas - promo - exotica - electric turnip - What's not to like?
ReplyDeleteIt's great, don't skip this one!
DeleteWOW. This might be my favorite this year.
ReplyDeleteIt's good stuff, but I wish the copy I got were a little cleaner. I thought it still sounded dodgy when I finished it up. But I was very happy to finally have a copy. Wanted one for a long, long time now.
DeleteWhat a find!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to take the credit for it, but this was introduced to me by my buddy InkyDog all those years ago. :)
DeleteTotally excited for this one. Thanks, E!
ReplyDeleteLemme know what you think. I think it's great!
DeleteI had a Matchbox car like that! Same colors and all. I've been accumulating lots of stuff hear. Only listened to a small fraction so far.
ReplyDeleteThank You!
*here
DeleteReally? I hunted around and couldn't find a picture, but they probably gave it a different name to save on licensing. :)
DeleteBetter get busy with your listening, only a couple weeks to go!
So. Much. Randomness. I love this!
ReplyDeleteGood. My work here is done. :)
DeleteI must have InkyDog's rip in my collection as well -- thanks for the upgrade, this is a great one!
ReplyDeleteYou've gotta be pretty old school if you have InkyDog records in your collection. He's been out of business for a long time now.
Deletesince the dawn of time! (i.e. internet sharing). I think I've been shopping here at Ernie's (not Burt's) since the beginning or at least close to it!
DeleteI think sharity had been around for a while before I got here, though it used to be a lot harder. Dialup was a real pain. I can remember trying to get stuff from Napster that took all night to download, and failed when the other user logged off. Those were the days!
DeleteSorry, that was unclear -- I've been coming to this blog since near its inception (though you wouldn't know it from my lack of commenting!) but have been downloading music since the early napster days in 1999 and downloading uuencoded naughty pictures from usenet over dial-up for years before that. Those were the days indeed; kids today have no idea how good they've got it!!
DeleteSorry for not leaving more comments in the past to thank you for your monumental efforts; I'm trying to be a better blogosphere citizen these days since so many music blogs have folded recently. So, THANK YOU for everything!!
I gotcha. Thanks for hanging with it all these years. And yes, comments make my job a lot easier. :) Or at least a whole lot more satisfying.
DeleteDefinitely great. The Brokensha tracks seem fully reimagined.
ReplyDeleteIt's good stuff. I've been listening for months now and still find new and interesting bits.
DeleteAnd... Merry Christmas!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your work here.
I haven't been on here much this year, but last year I got one of my favorite mixes ever from your posts. Thanks again.
Did you send me a copy of that mix? I love to hear them and see what tracks people like out of the hundreds I share. :)
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