Alternative Christmas Records: James Brown The Christmas Album and The Complete Christmas Box Set

The Christmas Album LP - DL Here
The Godfather of Soul puts on a showcase for Christmas in "The Christmas Album". The aplty titled record is none other than a shining example of what you can do with the Christmas spirit, and soul music. This is 11 tracks and 44 minutes of James Brown pulling through the world of the holidays. The thing with this record is that it’s not all “traditional” songs. This is a soul record that seems a bit disjointed at times, and sometimes, just odd.

Take for example the song “Clean for Christmas”, which regales in the fact that Brown wants to be “clean” on Christmas. Like by taking a shower and dressing nice. Of course there are other moments on this record that are odd, but hey, who am I to say a think about alternative records for the Christmas spirit. James Brown puts on a showcase of his classic rhymes, singing, and spoken word. The production is a bit odd to me, though. The vocals are turned up way high compared to the music, and it seems like it’s more of a hip hop compilation in the way that some of the songs are put together.

Stand out tracks on this record are definitely the ones that are more “traditional”, if you can even call them that. The good tracks include, “Sleigh Ride”, “Spread Love”, “Not Just Another Holiday”, “God Gave Me This”, and “Reindeer on the Rooftop”.

But that’s not all!
James Brown Complete Christmas LP - DL HERE

In 2010, another collection of songs from James Brown came out in a box set. This was 37 songs and
over 2 hours of music from the Godfather of Soul. I found this at a Hastings in Moscow Idaho for a whopping 5 bucks. Now this record is something else. It has outtakes, it has singles, it has new and old tracks. Now this is the Christmas record that you want to pick up from James Brown. It collects all of the tracks that you may or may not know about, including some from “The Christmas Album” mentioned above.

Now here are some stand out tracks and better recording overall. Perhaps the earlier release was late in his life and the production had suffered. This however has that classic production and good overall tone that you’d expect from the Godfather of Soul.

Some of the stand out tracks amidst this 37 song release include, “Let’s Make Christmas Mean Something This Year”, “Signs of Christmas”, “Please Come Home For Christmas”, “Christmas In Heaven”, “I’m Your Christmas Friend, Don’t Be Hungry”, and a lot more.

Ok, so there you go, 2 special records from James Brown. If you’re a big fan of soul, these two are very well worth it. If you don’t like soul, or you just can’t get over the stop and go traffic of James Brown’s delivery, you may not like these records.

You can pick up all the James Brown Christmas music you can handle by clicking here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10K Drops A Killer Track With Fresh White Tees

Image
10K comes out swinging with the latest catchy hip hop song you’re going to absolutely love. I’ve heard a lot of rap and hip hop tracks this year already, but a lot of it is just boring. The rhymes are just repetition, or the words just get slurred across some mediocre beats. But this, this is pretty cool, 10K drops a story rhyme that is all out catchy, and fun. 10K goes across several different thoughts in just 2 minutes and 58 seconds of music, never letting up and continually processing consciousness with rhyming ability. You’ll get hit hard up front, and by the first chorus, you’re going to be singing along. This is the type of song that really showcases a good ear for beats, rhyme schematics, and professional flow. 10K is no slacker here, he throws down as many adjectives and ideas as he can without losing the audience. Often time’s when rappers have a lot to say, they speed it up and try too hard to spit out as many sentences as possible, but not here. Here it’s a bit laid...
Read more

2KX Create A Lavish Musical Framework Beyond Comparison

Image
I know it’s my job to compare musical acts and try to paint a picture as to what they are doing so that you can go and buy the record and check them out, but every now and again artists are beyond just one genre and above any simple terminology. It’s paying disservice for me to call the latest release from 2KX anything other than a masterpiece. Fronted by Lisa LaRue, this is a release of progressive rock and is like nothing I’ve heard in a long time. Yes, there are other prog rock bands out there, but this release is a cataclysmic exemplification of art, and not just music. With the release of “Sussuration”, you get elements of every type of musical genre, but it’s like a work of art, seamless in the integral elements that make this worth picking up. I was floored by the pieces, and really found myself in awe at the precision at which every element comes together. It’s like a giant jigsaw puzzle, and once you hear the record, you understand the pieces fit to make sure that this makes...
Read more

The Bloody Jug Band Launches A Contender For Best Record of 2015 With Rope Burn

Image
Best Album Art of 2015! As far as creative bands are concerned, The Bloody Jug Band just hit my radar with full force. This type of alternative rock music is one of the reasons why I love music in the first place. With their release of “Rope Burn”, they truly put down a record that is going to be on my top 10 records of 2015. It starts off a bit slow with “Volfkiller”, then it spirals out of control with some amazing elements. Mixing strong guitar driven melodies, interesting narratives in the lyrics, and strong vocals, this is a record that opens up like a horror movie and comes through with grindhouse precision, only a bit more polished. There’s a “country” vibe that you get from some of the tracks, but it seems to be more in the way the lyrics are delivered. Strong and story filled, you are going to want to close your eyes and pay attention to the words. There’s a lot going on here, a story that is very easy to follow with each hand. A strong blues and country mix with strong ...
Read more