Chimes IV

Almost time to welcome 2026, but real quick I've got one more entry into this confusing chain of similar organ and chime records. This one doesn't appear to have anything to do with Enoch Light, Dick Hyman or Terry Snyder, but it's credited to Malcolm Richards And John Fredericks. Sound familiar? This is a budget label, so I don't want to say who was ripping who off, but there was a lot of copy-catting going on here. If these people had put this much work into making good music, they could have become millionaires. Well, I guess Enoch Light did just just that, but he's the exception that proves the rule. This is Malcolm Richards And John Fredericks-Chimes At Christmas Time (Audition AUD 33-5944, Mono). Enjoy, and Happy New Year! (Pretty sure this is a reissue of the first record I shared with you in this series, though a couple of the tracks are different. It's like playing whack-a-mole with these releases sometimes.)

1. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3. Silent Night
4. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
5. Beautiful Savior
6. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
7. The First Noel
8. Deck The Halls
9. Away In A Manger
10. O Come All Ye Faithful
11. Joy To The World
12. We Saw Three Ships
13. Good King Wenceslas
14. God Give Ye Merry Christmastide

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Chimes III

We continue the inevitable march to the new year with another record that looks the same as that last one, but once again has been fully re-recorded. This time it's in stereo, so the reason for the re-recording is pretty obvious. Enoch Light was always on the cutting edge of what was possible with stereo sound, so he certainly wasn't going to try to put out last year's mono recordings while the public was demanding music they could listen to with both ears. This time around the recording is David Harkness And Fredrico-Christmas Chimes (Grand Award GA 221 S.D., Stereo, 1960). Is David Harkness a real person? Doesn't look like it. Discogs says it's Dick Hyman again, which seems possible. Hyman was probably on the payroll of Grand Award by this point, and he was already familiar with the music after having recorded that first album only a few years earlier. He could probably play this stuff in his sleep by this time. The Discogs entries for all these albums are fairly mixed up, claiming some of the recordings are the same when they clearly are not. One of these days I'm going to have to get in there and straighten it all out. But not tonight, I'm tired.

1. Joy To The World
2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
3. Silent Night
4. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear
5. Beautiful Savior
6. Good King Wenceslas
7. Shepherds Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep
8. The First Noel
9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
10. Angels We Have Heard On High
11. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
12. We Saw Three Ships
13. O Come All Ye Faithful
14. Away In A Manger
15. Oh Christmas Tree
16. God Give Ye Merry Christmastide
17. Deck The Halls
18. We Three Kings Of Orient Are

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Are you confused yet? Well, it's about to get worse. The LP at the top was later reissued as the one shown above on a label called Brigade. I have no idea who they were or who owned them, but they reissued a few albums associated with the Grand Award label. And they reissued this one, but credited it to Godfrey Malcolm instead of David Harkness. I tell you, they were trying hard to confuse the consumer. I shared this way back in 2006, but I had no idea about any of this reissue and renaming nonsense. Here is Godfrey Malcolm And Fredrico-Chimes Of Christmas (Brigade P-1320S, originally issued on Grand Award, Stereo). Actually, I see where I got the story wrong when I reposted this LP in 2018 alongside the original Waldorf LP, claiming they were both the same. They are not.

1. Joy To The World

2. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing

3. Silent Night

4. It Came Upon The Midnight Clear

5. Beautiful Savior

6. Good King Wenceslas

7. Shepherds Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep

8. The First Noel

9. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

10. Angels We Have Heard On High

11. O Little Town Of Bethlehem

12. We Saw Three Ships

13. O Come All Ye Faithful

14. Away In A Manger

15. O Christmas Tree

16. God Give Ye Merry Christmastide

17. Deck The Halls

18. We Three Kings Of Orient Are

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Chimes II

Here's part two of our New Year's Eve tribute to the tangled discography of some Organ and Chime records that are all somewhat connected to the impresario Enoch Light. This time it's a recording on the first label that Enoch founded, Grand Award. There were greater things to come, but this was where he got his start at ownership. This is Lew White And Fredrico-Chimes At Christmas Time (Grand Award G.A. 33-320, Mono). I thought for many years that this record was just a reissue of that last one on Waldorf with different artist credits, but when I actually recorded and listened to it, I discovered that it was a new recording. Lew White appears to be a real person with other credits to his name, and Fredrico is still Terry Snyder as far as I know. Perhaps Enoch was trying to steal sales from his former label by recording and marketing this album with a near identical tracklist. At this far remove, I guess we'll never know. Give it a listen and you'll be able to hear the difference immediately. I also threw some alternate artwork in the download for you, though the differences are minor.

1. Silent Night
2. O Come All Ye Faithful
3. Joy To The World
4. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
5. The First Nowell
6. We Saw Three Ships
7. God Give Ye Merry Christmastide
8. Beautiful Savior
9. Away In A Manger
10. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
11. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
12. Deck The Halls
13. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
14. Good King Wenceslas
15. Shepherds Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep
16. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
17. Angels We Have Heard On High
18. Oh Christmas Tree

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Chimes I

Here's a little series of records I've been putting off because it's so hard to keep straight. If you're a Christmas record collector, may of these records are going to seem familiar to you, and I finally ripped them all to digital this year in hopes of figuring out some of their secrets. The biggest secret I discovered is that they are all different recordings. I long thought that each of these records was a reissue of the last, but I was wrong. Here's the first one in the series, Godfrey Malcolm & Fredrico-Chimes At Christmas Time (Waldorf Music Hall MHK 33-1230, Mono, 1955). For the uninitiated, Waldorf Music Hall was one of the earliest labels associated with Enoch Light, later to found Grand Award, Command and Phase 3. But back in the early days he worked with Waldorf, though I don't think he had anything to do with this one. I discovered at Discogs that both names on this releases are aliases of known associates of Enoch Light though. Godfrey Malcolm appears to be Dick Hyman, master of the organ, and Fredrico seems to be an AKA for Terry Snyder, percussionist to the stars. Both were well known for many years in the industry, but likely appeared here to make the catalog from Waldorf appear a big wider than it actually was. I shared out a 10" version of this LP back on the 10th of December, but everything on that LP (and more) is reprised here.

1. O Come All Ye Faithful
2. God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
3. Silent Night
4. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
5. We Saw Three Ships
6. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
7. Good King Wenceslas
8. The First Noel
9. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
10. Deck The Hall
11. Joy To The World
12. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
13. Angels We Have Heard On High
14. Oh Christmas Tree

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Plymouth Rock(s)

I thought I had two different Christmas records to share with you today from the great state of Minnesota, but closer examination revealed that they're the same album, reissued under a different title. One appears to be a record issued for the group that performed it, and the other one seems to be a version put out by a department store. No idea which came first or maybe they both came out at the same time (both have the 1986 date, but that could be a copyright date, independent of the actual release date). It's good music though and it features a handbell choir, so it's got that going for it. Side one is a complete suite of Christmas music especially composed for this release (and I present one of the two records in two different versions, one with the suite intact and one with the suite cut into it's component movements). Don't say I don't give you lots of options here. The other side of the record is unique arrangements of classic Christmas songs arranged by local musicians at the time. I didn't recognize any of the names, but that doesn't mean that none of these artists have name recognition, it's just that they don't perform in a field that I'm overly familiar with. I'm hoping that readers will chime in if there are known performers here. Oh, just remembered another difference between the two records. One of them had an insert sheet that detailed the movements of the specially composed piece. I think I entered a lot more detail into the track tags on that version. Anyhow, I've gone on long enough, let me share the records with you so you can download it and figure out the differences. This is version one of Plymouth Festival Chorus And Orchestra-The Season To Shine (Donaldson's 45379, 1986)

1. Ringeltanze-Christmas Carol Dances-Part 1-Welcome Yule  
2. Ringeltanze-Christmas Carol Dances-Part 2-O Hark The Bell's Glad Song  
3. Ringeltanze-Christmas Carol Dances-Part 3-Beautiful Star  
4. Ringeltanze-Christmas Carol Dances-Part 4-Le Petit Nouveau Né  
5. Ringeltanze-Christmas Carol Dances-Part 5-At Christmas Be Merry  
6. Ringeltanze-Christmas Carol Dances-Part 6-The Shepherds All Are Waking  
7. Noel, My Jesus  
8. Gloria  
9. Go Tell It On The Mountain  
10. We Three Kings  
11. Away In A Manger  
12. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear  
13. I Wonder As I Wander  
14. O Little Town Of Bethlehem 

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And here is the other version if you feel like being a completist, or maybe you like this cover better. It's your choice, only I didn't bother to give you an uncut version of this one. I doubt if it matters very much. This is Plymouth Festival Chorus And Orchestra-A Very Merry Minnesota-Holiday Favorites (Plymouth Music Series PMS 002, Stereo, 1986).

1. Ringeltänze: Christmas Carol-Dances I. Welcome Yule  

2. Ringeltänze: Christmas Carol-Dances II. O Hark The Bell's Glad Song  

3. Ringeltänze: Christmas Carol-Dances III. Beautiful Star  

4. Ringeltanze: Christmas Carol-Dances IV. Le Petit Nouveau Ne  

5. Ringeltanze: Christmas Carol-Dances V. At Christmas Be Merry  

6. Ringeltanze: Christmas Carol-Dances VI. The Shepherds All Are Waking  

7. Noël, My Jesus  

8. Gloria  

9. Go Tell It On The Mountain  

10. We Three Kings  

11. Away In A Manger  

12. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear  

13. I Wonder As I Wander  

14. O Little Town Of Bethlehem 

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The Funky Font

I'll be perfectly honest there, the only reason I grabbed this album was for the funky typeface and layout there on the top of the sleeve. It was pretty badly water damaged but I cleaned it up a bit as best I could. I see I screwed up the orangey-red background pretty badly. I think I was just in too much of a hurry this year with having to get everything done before we went to New Mexico. Sorry about that. But how about that funky font? This is The St. John's University Men's Chorus-Christmas At St. John's (The Liturgical Press LP 51967, Stereo).

1. Overture: In Dulci Jubilo (From Heaven Above; Good Christian Men, Rejoice; Angels We Have Heard On High; The Door Of Heaven Opens; Mary Walked Through A Thorn-Wood)
2. Festival Of Carols: My Heart This Night Rejoices; Lullaby For Christmas Night; Rejoice And Be Glad
3. Festival Of Carols-Continued: It Soon Will Be Evening; Come, All Ye Shepherds; Dear Nightingale, Awake; They Followed The Star; Silent Night, Holy Night

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Mann Oh Mann

Here's a remaster from way, way back in the day, 2005 to be exact. I wasn't going to share this because it's a mono copy and I have upgraded that original share to stereo at some point in the past, but I figured I'd throw it up here late at night when no one is paying much attention anyway. I do have a different cover for the LP this time, so that has to count for something. I think I also threw in a copy of my original cover in the download. Please feel free to ignore Sy Mann-Everybody's Christmas Favorites-Organ And Chimes (Webster Hi FI XM-901, Mono, 1957).

1. White Christmas
2. Adeste Fideles
3. Silent Night
4. Joy To The World
5. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
6. Away In A Manger
7. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
8. Jingle Bells
9. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
10. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
11. Noel
12. Deck The Hall
13. We Three Kings Of Orient Are
14. Good King Wenceslas

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Solid Gould

This is a follow-up post to a ten inch record I shared many moons ago in 2020. (Time flies when you're having fun, doesn't it?) Same artist but all-new stereo recordings of some beloved carols. I don't know why this LP is kinda hard to find, I rarely, if ever, see it out in the wild and only had this one copy in my collection. It's stylish stuff and well worth your time. Have a go at Morton Gould-A Musical Christmas Tree (RCA Red Seal LSC-3110, Stereo, 1969).

1. Adeste Fideles
2. The First Noël
3. Home For Christmas
4. Serenade Of Carols
5. Good King Wenceslas
6. Medley: O Little Town Of Bethlehem; Away In A Manger
7. The Little Drummer Boy
8. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
9. Silent Night
10. Jingle Bells

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Christmas Islands

Time to pay a visit to the Hawaiian Islands. Lots of good Christmas music has come out of Hawaii from Alfred Apaka to modern day singers. But I don't know how many of those artists have covered The Carpenters. You know you can't go wrong when that happens. This is Maile Aloha Singers-Christmas Aloha (Sinergia SR 7105, Stereo, 1975). I think you'll really enjoy this record, I know I did. The Carpenters cover is just icing on the cake. Oh, be sure to take a look at the scan of the back cover in the download. Check out the guy in the purple jacket. The purple jacket is bad enough, but I think he looks a bit too much like John Waters. What we he doing there?

1. Ku'u Pahu Nei (Carol Of The Drum)
2. Smol Taon (Small Town)
3. Po Hemolele (O Holy Night)
4. Vivii I Le Atua (Praise The Lord)
5. Oshogatsu (New Year's)
6. Merry Christmas, Darling
7. Kasadya Ning Taknya'a (Joyful Is This Hour)
8. The Twelve Christmas Days
9. Mary's Boy Chile
10. Kani Bele E (Carol Of The Bells)
11. Enfant Prodigue (Prodigal Child)
12. Santa Claus Is Coming To Town

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Amigas (Not IBMs)

I only have a small inkling of what's going on here, but this is what I know. I took this record out of the shrinkwrap. It was fully sealed. It still didn't sound that good, but it's OK. It appears to be a promo item for a small chain of grocery stores (or maybe more like bodegas or convenience stores) in Panama. I can't tell if they are still in business anymore though. I get some hits on my searches, but they don't seem to go anything very informative and I don't speak the language. The last song on the record appears to be a jingle for the store, which is kid of interesting, but it's not Christmas. Lot's of different artists here but I don't really recognize anyone. If you know anything more about this release, please chime in down in the comments, I'm sure we're all dying to know the backstory here. This is Parranda De Navidad Con Las Amigas Del Pueblo (Discos Istmeños S.A. (Panama) TABOGA-1033, Stereo).

1. Toby Muñoz-Venid Pastorcillo
2. Toby Muñoz-Cascabel
3. Toby Muñoz-Zambomba
4. Toby Muñoz-Panderetas
5. Toby Muñoz-Arbolito
6. Toby Muñoz-Blanca Navidad; Noche De Paz
7. Manito Johnson-Botellon En Navidad
8. Chalino Nieto-Noche Buena Y Navidad
9. Los Mozambiques-Navidad En Casa No
10. Coros De Posadas Navideñas-Doce Campanadas
11. The Soul Fantastics-Noche De Paz
12. The Soul Fantastics-Jingle "Las Amigas Del Pueblo"

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Short Round

Christmas has come and gone, yet I don't think I've had the chance to share any country Christmas music with you all season long. That senseless neglect ends now. This is Shorty And Betty With The Nashville Longhorns-A Merry Country Christmas (Noel Records N-2, Stereo). Says it right there in the title, A Merry Country Christmas. I like when my Christmas product is clearly labelled.

1. Silent Night  
2. O Little Town Of Bethlehem  
3. Jolly Old Saint Nicholas  
4. O Come All Ye Faithful  
5. O Christmas Tree  
6. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear  
7. Jingle Bells  
8. Blue Christmas  
9. Go Tell It On The Mountain  
10. Away In The Manger  
11. The First Noel  
12. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

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Dunn For Now

What time is it? Oh, four AM, must be time for another religious Christmas album. Doing the honors this morning is Wayne Dunn-Home For Christmas (Majestic Records WDST 112, Stereo, 1973). According to the liner notes, those are not his kids on the cover. I think it said they were his brother's kids, so his nieces and nephews. Good to bring some family in for your album cover, that's what I always say. Very 70's photo, what with the wood paneling and the brown carpet. Love the Tonka dump truck, too.

1. O Come, All Ye Faithful
2. Thou Didst Leave Thy Throne
3. What Child Is This
4. There's A Song In The Air
5. The Birthday Of The King
6. Hallelujah Chorus
7. White Christmas
8. I'll Be Home For Christmas
9. The Christmas Song
10. The First Noel
11. Angels From The Realms Of Glory
12. O Tannenbaum

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Hook, Line & Sinker

Does anyone remember the 'Hooked On' series of records from the late seventies and early eighties? It was long medleys of songs that were all themed together in some way. I think the first one was Hooked On Classics where they strung together a dozen or more classical tunes played over an annoying beat that likely made the original composers roll over in their graves. It was such a huge hit that many other versions soon hit the shelves line Hooked On Swing or Hooked On The Beatles, and of course a Hooked On Christmas. The US was not the only country the experienced the trend, here's an interesting example from Venezuela that features a side-long medley of Christmas tunes, along with a handful of single-length tunes as well. This is Unknown Artist-Supermezclas De Navidad-Hooked On Christmas (Palacio (Venezuela) LPS-99596, Christmas, 1982). I couldn't figure out who the performer is here, but that's not to say the info isn't there. I don't speak the language so perhaps there is something there in the fine print. Also, the sleeve details out all the songs in the giant medley, but I couldn't fit them all into the track tabs. You'll have to pull it up and read it if you don't recognize all of the songs in there.

1. Supermezcla De Navidad (Mosaico Disco Navideño)
2. Nosotros Los Tres Reyes (We Three Kings)
3. El Abeto (Oh Christmas Tree)
4. El Pequeño Tamborilero (Little Drummer Boy)
5. Rock Alrededor Del Arbol de Navidad (Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree)
6. La Despedida (Auld Lang Syne)
7. El Viejo, Jovial San Nicolas (Jolly Old St. Nicholas)
8. El Buen Rey Wenceslas (Good King Wenceslas)
9. Jingle Bells

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The Whole World

How can you possibly go wrong with an album entitled The World Of Christmas? Well, it promises more than it gives, I think, since it's all choral music from England and leaves out a really big chunk of the world. I grabbed this LP from the shelf after I saw another blog somewhere share a dozen or so records from the same series that were all rock music, or at least pop from the time, but this one wasn't nearly so interesting to my ears. Still, you might like it. This is The Choir Of King's College, Cambridge-The World Of Christmas (Argo (UK) SPA/A 104, Stereo, 1970). There appears to be a volume two of this release, but I couldn't find it in the archives. That doesn't mean I don't already have a copy, but it's functionally the same as not have it if you can't find it.

1. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
2. The First Nowell
3. While Shepherds Watched
4. I Saw Three Ships
5. Ding, Dong! Merrily On High
6. King Jesus Hath A Garden
7. In Dulci Jubilo
8. Unto Us Is Born A Son
9. O Come All Ye Faithful
10. Away In A Manger
11. O Little Town Of Bethlehem
12. The Holly And The Ivy
13. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
14. See Amid The Winter's Snow
15. Past Three O'clock

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Mariachi Navidad

I would be remiss if I didn't share a little bit of mariachi music with you this season. Not that I have much, but I do have a little. I don't know that it sounds very Christmassy to my ears, but if you're into this sort of thing, please by my guest and download El Mariachi Jalisco-Navidad Con El Mariachi Jalisco (Linzel Records (Puerto Rico) LPS 1371, Stereo). Every year I try to get into music like this, but so far I haven't been able to find an entry point where I can grow to appreciate it. Always nice to find a familiar melody, though I don't think there was anything familiar at all on this one.

1. Que Fallo Pedro, Que Fallo
2. Trullando Con El Mariachi
3. Tu Fotografia
4. Daremos Parranda
5. La Luz Fua
6. Boda En Navidad
7. Amor Divino
8. Vengan Parranderos
9. Un Huerfano En Navidad
10. Vamos A Gozar

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Merrill (Not Lynch)

Sometimes a cover really attracts my attention, but then there are records like this one, where the cover is so bad I have to stop and wonder. What were they thinking? I've seen plenty of budget albums that skimped on cover photos or fonts or even colors, but this one is just blah. There's got to be a story here, but I'm sure we'll never get to hear it. I just want to keep picking it apart. The logo for the record company is the same size as the clip-art they've assembled to decorate the cover. The typeface and arrangement makes me think it's an advertisement for some sort of minstrel show or a vaudeville revival at The Palladium. The monochromatic color scheme is pretty cheap, too. Robert Merrill & The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra-Christmas Favorites (Melody Records (UK) ME-1001, Stereo, 1974). The scan is not very good and I did a poor job of color-correcting it back to the proper shades of white and green, so that part is on me. Maybe i can get a better scanner in the new year. Hard to find large flatbed scanner anymore.

1. Winter Wonderland
2. White Christmas
3. Joy To The World
4. An Old Fashion Christmas
5. Silent Night
6. Ave Maria
7. Holiday
8. Christmas Song
9. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
10. Birthday Party
11. I'll Be Home
12. Oh! Holy Night

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Leisure Suit Larry

As I mentioned yesterday, I love completing an artist's Christmas catalog, and this is another one that completes a set. I first shared out a Christmas record from this guy here, and now sharing another one. I think at one time this record was not listed at Discogs (and it may still be missing, I didn't enter it). I imagine sometimes that makes it extra rare. The truth is more likely that no one cares enough to enter it in. This is Larry Caton-Merry Xmas (Regent MG-6035, Mono). Isn't that a great cover?

1. Silent Night  
2. Oh Come All Ye Faithful  
3. Hark The Herald Angels Sing  
4. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem  
5. Jingle Bells  
6. Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer  
7. Frosty The Snowman  
8. The First Noel  
9. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear  
10. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen  
11. Away In A Manger  
12. We Three Kings Of The Orient Are  
13. Joy To The World  
14. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night  
15. Oh Holy Night  
16. Auld Lang Syne  

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A Revelation

Early in the morning right between Christmas and New Year's, what better time and place for another religious Christmas record. This time it's The Singing Revelations-Merry Christmas (Thunderhead Records TH1056, Stereo). I've shared so many records like this with you this season, I'm sure you're getting tired of them. But I really enjoy these self-produced records, there's always something good to find on each one, you just have to listen to them and give them a chance. I like the little spoken word introductions here to each song. I'm sure that sort of thing gets tiring after repeated listens, but they work well in a long playlist. And that's a great cover, no matter how you slice it. We don't get scenes like that in Florida.

1. Intro To C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S
2. C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S
3. Intro To Mary's Boy Child
4. Mary's Boy Child
5. Intro To Away In A Manger
6. Away In A Manger
7. Intro To Oh Come All Ye Faithful
8. Oh Come All Ye Faithful
9. Intro To Little Drummer Boy
10. Little Drummer Boy
11. Intro To Silent Night
12. Silent Night
13. Intro To Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem
14. Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem
15. Intro To Do You Hear What I Hear
16. Do You Hear What I Hear
17. Intro To Joy To The World
18. Joy To The World
19. Intro To Go Tell It On The Mountain
20. Go Tell It On The Mountain
21. Intro To Silver Bells
22. Silver Bells
23. Intro To White Christmas
24. White Christmas
25. We Wish You A Merry Christmas

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Duquesne Again

As promised, here's a second full-length album from the Duquesne Tamburitzans. Boy, try saying that three times fast. I'm hoping someone will chime in with a good reason for their fascination over the music of Croatia at Christmas. I guess everyone has to have a thing, and this is theirs. I'm not sure of the date for this or the LP I shared a few hours ago. They both show the same year of release over at Discogs, which seems really unlikely. I can't imagine why anyone would release two albums of Christmas songs in the same year. I mean, Guns N Roses released two albums of their melodious heavy metal at the same time back in my college years, but they were one of the biggest bands in the world at the time so they could get away with that sort of thing. These folks are a bunch of students from Pittsburgh. Anyhow, you're just here for the music here in this slow week between Christmas and New Year's so I'll shut up now. This is Duquesne University Tamburitzans-Christmas In A Croatian Village (Duquesne University Tamburitzans LP-DU 13 & 14, Stereo, 1978).

1. Kyrie Eleison
2. Veselje Ti Navjescujem
3. Svim Na Zemlji
4. Na Svetu Noc
5. Djetesce Nam Se Rodilo
6. Dobar Vecer, Gospodar
7. O Pastiri, Cudo Novo!
8. Kakva Je To Svetlost?
9. Danas Se Cuje
10. Cestit Sv'jetu Danak Svemu
11. Oh, Djetesce
12. O, Betleme
13. Oj, Pastiri

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Duquesne

Seems to be a year full of hard-to-spell place names. Tonight's tongue twister is Duquesne, which I have no idea how to pronounce, much less spell. This record was produced by the college kids at the college of the same name located in Pittsburgh, PA. Not sure what the relationship between the school, it's students, and Croatia is, but they surely loved it and celebrated it's culture every chance they got. This LP celebrates the Christmas music of the region, and it's not the only one they produced. I shared a 10" version of this very same album a couple years back, in fact, and I suspect there will be another record later tonight, you'll just have to wait and see if that turns out to be true. While you're waiting, here's the record of the moment to listen to, Duquesne University Tamburitzans-Christmas In Croatia (DU-TAM LPDU-5 & 6, Stereo, 1978). Enjoy!

1. Dobar Vecer, Dobri Ijudi 1
2. Dobar Vecer, Dobri Ijudi 2
3. U Sej Vrijeme Odišta
4. Narodi Nam Se Kralj Nebeski
5. Tiha Noc, Sveta Noc
6. Neba Dvorani
7. Na Mlado Ljeto
8. Radujte Se Narodi
9. O Isuse Poljubljeni
10. Presveta Noc
11. Dobar Vecer, Japica
12. Na Prostoj Slami
13. Veselje Ti Navještujem

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Way Out West

Don't forget that I'm still out west celebrating Christmas with my in-laws and the blog is pretty much on autopilot. Hopefully nothing catastrophic has occurred in my absence. If you can't see this then you know something horrible has happened. (Don't worry, I'm checking in as frequently as I can, and if all has gone to plan I've been able to post a few travel pictures now and then to let you know how things are going.) Anyhow, in honor of my being out west, here's a Christmas record with a bit of a western theme for you. This is The Western Wind-Christmas In The New World (Music Heritage Society MHS 4077, Stereo, 1979). Most of the releases on this label feature much less colorful covers, so this is certainly an exception. In fact, I only recently got this record properly filed with the other Musical Heritage Records and then I decided to rip it just because it caught my attention. I hope it captures your attention as well. Enjoy!

1. Boston
2. Judea
3. Three Settings Of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks: Carol
4. Three Settings Of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks: Sherburne
5. Three Settings Of While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks: Bethlehem
6. Rise Up, Shepherd, And Follow
7. Star In The East
8. Expression
9. He Is King Of Kings
10. I Believe This Is Jesus
11. Of A Rose
12. A Christmas Carol
13. Ay Ay Galeguiños
14. Salve Regina
15. Magnificat
16. Agô Loña
17. Los Cofla Desde La Estleya

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Matisse, Not Monet

Here's a fun one, depending on whether or not you like her voice. If you're not into it, then you might want to skip it. I'll quote the liner notes here that describe Miss Matisse as "Mezzo-Soprano" and "a background in oratorio, opera and concert." Take it for what you will. This is Janice Matisse With Paul Liljestrand At The Steinway-Janice Matisse Sings The Music Of Christmas AKA Janice Matisse Sings Christmas Favorites (Custom Audio Recording-Dick Beamer 3818, Mono, 1967). Three long medleys here with some spoken word linking it all together. Give it a try, you might like it.

1. The Story Of Christmas In Word And Song: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel; He Shall Feed His Flock; And There Were Shepherds; The Birthday Of A King; The Virgin's Slumber Song; O Jesus, So Sweet; Cantique De Noel; Sweet Little Jesus Boy; Silent Night

2. Carols Of The Season: Deck The Halls; O Tannenbaum; Here We Go A'Wassailing; The Holly And The Ivy; I Wish You A Merry Christmas

3. Carols Of The Church: Joy To The World; O Little Town Of Bethlehem; It Came Upon A Midnight Clear; Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Away In A Manger; O Sanctissima; O Come, All Ye Faithful

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Strang Days Indeed

I always love to complete a set of something, whether it's a Coke bottle from every country in the world or a coin from every year minted. And that same life philosophy applies to Christmas music. So I was very excited when I was able to find another Christmas record from an artist who I'd previously shared here at the blog. (I see I actually mention I saw another release by this artist that I needed to find, and I did!) Problem was, not only did I have a hard time tracking down the record, I also had a hard time recording it once I got my grubby paws on it. There was a scratch on side one and I just couldn't get it to play through without skipping. I recorded it a dozen times trying different methods to avoid that scratch. I tried changing the weight of the tonearm, I played it backwards, I tried playing at different speeds. I think the trick that finally worked was going back to my old conical stylus instead of my current elliptical one (both of which are sorely in need of replacement). I think those conical needles are more resistant to jumping out of the groove, which also means they aren't as sensitive to movement caused by the finer striations on the record. I can see a difference in the waveform, but my hearing is not good enough to hear a difference. Maybe you can tell, and since I'm using FLAC for the shares this year, you might be able to tell after the music is encoded. So if you can tell a difference in the sound on one side versus the other, lemme know. Anyhow, that's a long story that really has little or nothing to do with this share. I know Christmas is over and done with, but maybe you can save these stories for next year. This is Mary Strang-Fairy Tales For A Winter's Night (CMS Records CMS 534, Stereo, 1968).

1. The Elves And The Shoemaker  
2. The Little Match Girl  
3. 'Twas The Night Before Christmas  
4. The Fir Tree

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