I just unearthed this 1984 collection out from under a pile of vinyl. My copy is cheaply packaged with photocopied liner notes and cover art and not even a way to tell which is the A-side, at least not in a faintly lit room, anyway. Whether this is a promo copy or the actual final release is probably lost in the sands of time. UPDATE: Definitely a promo, just found the full-color cover art at left. End update. Nevertheless, there's good 80s vintage indie music in these grooves. The early 2000s wasn't the first time there was a fad for retro 60s garage rock, as most of this album attests. Plan 9's "Merry Christmas," Yard Trauma's "Christmas Tyme (Baby)," "Forget It" by Nadroj and the Wolrats, "Schizophrenic Xmas" by Suburban Nightmares are all in this vein, as well as the album's best cut, "Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)" by The Tryfles, a witty combination of "Angels We Have Heard on High" and Them's "Gloria." Think about it for a second, it'll come to you. Elsewhere on the LP, we get power-pop from Wednesday Week on "Christmastime Here (Could Never Be Like That)," the Dogmatics on "Xmas Time (It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It)" and The Point with "On Comet," Cheepskates give us a pop-rock "Christmastime With You" and a surf instrumental "Last Minute Rush," Johnny Rabb goes garage on "Christmas Dance" and rockabilly on "Gotta Get Lucky for Xmas," and Screamin' Jay Hawkins (the very same) gives us a blues piano take on "It's Xmas (A Time For Giving)." And there's a nod to Phil Spector with the Droogs' version of "Silent Night" to close the album. A few of these cuts have trickled out on other compilations over the years, but I think this collection could stand the test of time as a CD reissue. FURTHER UPDATE: Sean Delany writes in to tell us that this album was just volume 1, there was a volume 2 in 1986 and volume 3 in 1987. Randy at Hip Christmas has some more info, including track listings for all three LPs.
A Midnight Christmas Mess, various artists (Midnight International)
I just unearthed this 1984 collection out from under a pile of vinyl. My copy is cheaply packaged with photocopied liner notes and cover art and not even a way to tell which is the A-side, at least not in a faintly lit room, anyway. Whether this is a promo copy or the actual final release is probably lost in the sands of time. UPDATE: Definitely a promo, just found the full-color cover art at left. End update. Nevertheless, there's good 80s vintage indie music in these grooves. The early 2000s wasn't the first time there was a fad for retro 60s garage rock, as most of this album attests. Plan 9's "Merry Christmas," Yard Trauma's "Christmas Tyme (Baby)," "Forget It" by Nadroj and the Wolrats, "Schizophrenic Xmas" by Suburban Nightmares are all in this vein, as well as the album's best cut, "Gloria (In Excelsis Deo)" by The Tryfles, a witty combination of "Angels We Have Heard on High" and Them's "Gloria." Think about it for a second, it'll come to you. Elsewhere on the LP, we get power-pop from Wednesday Week on "Christmastime Here (Could Never Be Like That)," the Dogmatics on "Xmas Time (It Sure Doesn't Feel Like It)" and The Point with "On Comet," Cheepskates give us a pop-rock "Christmastime With You" and a surf instrumental "Last Minute Rush," Johnny Rabb goes garage on "Christmas Dance" and rockabilly on "Gotta Get Lucky for Xmas," and Screamin' Jay Hawkins (the very same) gives us a blues piano take on "It's Xmas (A Time For Giving)." And there's a nod to Phil Spector with the Droogs' version of "Silent Night" to close the album. A few of these cuts have trickled out on other compilations over the years, but I think this collection could stand the test of time as a CD reissue. FURTHER UPDATE: Sean Delany writes in to tell us that this album was just volume 1, there was a volume 2 in 1986 and volume 3 in 1987. Randy at Hip Christmas has some more info, including track listings for all three LPs.
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