SIDE 1.
JINGLE BELL ROCK
HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS
MY FAVORITE THINGS
GIVE ME YOUR LOVE FOR CHRISTMAS
SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN
WHAT ARE YOU DOING NEW YEAR'S EVE?
SIDE 2.
DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR?
CALYPSO NOEL
THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY
CHRISTMAS DAY
THE LORD'S PRAYER
Well, Christmas in March, who knew? More accurately, I didn't think I could possibly have owned any Christmas albums that weren't Bing Crosby (except for possibly Jim Reeves, but R is a long way away and I wasn't concerned about that yet). Lo and Behold, here's Johnny Mathis, who Bette Midler (via Wikipedia) has dubbed 'the king of Christmas'. My lack of knowledge of Christmas music besides Bing, and the general association with Tin Pan Alley, is clear to me after reading about this man. This was his third out of now six Christmas-themed albums. Who knew?
The style itself is a bit more up-tempo than most Christmas stuff I've heard, while not being super schmooze-y. In fact, Mathis presents a mostly palatable version of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, a song my wife has accurately described as a 'funeral dirge'. When next Christmas comes around, I am going to keep an ear out for him and if I don't hear him, I'm going to call and request him from stations that insist on Michael Bublé or any soft pop garbage.
