For those of you not down with "Family Guy," Cleveland is Peter's black friend, now the star of his very own spinoff half-hour on the Fox network. I'm guessing there's no need to explain who Earth Wind and Fire are, though this song is more from the "Family Guy" world than EWF's. I doubt there's much explanation needed of the title or lyrics to this song, but as obvious as it is it's also fairly entertaining, which now that I think of it is the appeal of the two TV shows mentioned here.Recently in 2000s Category
For those of you not down with "Family Guy," Cleveland is Peter's black friend, now the star of his very own spinoff half-hour on the Fox network. I'm guessing there's no need to explain who Earth Wind and Fire are, though this song is more from the "Family Guy" world than EWF's. I doubt there's much explanation needed of the title or lyrics to this song, but as obvious as it is it's also fairly entertaining, which now that I think of it is the appeal of the two TV shows mentioned here.
Old-school soul music is beloved of so many folks that it's hard to believe there's much in the way of anything from that era that hasn't found its way into the marketplace. And yet, the good folks at Strut Records tell us they have unearthed a bunch of obscure gems, all soul and funk, all Christmas-oriented. Not being a collector's scene expert, I'll let their claim stand, though the comments are available for those who have something to add on the topic. I will say the only people on this album I even recognize are bluesman Jimmy Reed and the Harlem Children's Choir. The 13 tunes on this collection are all from the 60s and 70s, and it doesn't take a recording expert to tell these tunes were put down quite a while ago. I won't claim these are indispensable classics, but they sure are fun to listen to. Electric Jungle's "Funky Funky Christmas" has a bit of War's "Me and Baby Brother" in it, and "Let's Get It Together For Christmas" by the Harvey Averne Band has quite the slinky beat itself. "Gettin' Down For X-mas" by Milly and Silly (really!) features wah-wah rhythm guitar of a kind that might remind you of porn soundtracks if not for the Christmas melodies played on bells. The Soul Saints Orchestra come to tell us that "Santa's Got a Bag of Soul," in an arrangement that wouldn't sound out of place on a James Brown disc. The Funk Machine imagines a "Soul Santa" "with black kinky hair," while J.D. McDonald tells us about "Boogaloo Santa Claus." The Jimmy Reed tune, "Christmas Present Blues," is a take on the funky blues, and the Harlem Children's Choir offers a ballad, "Black Christmas," about a holiday among the poor. The album doubles up on New Year's bonuses with Jimmy Jules going all Barry White on "New Year," followed by The Black On White Affair doing a big band jam on "Auld Lang Syne." All told, an interesting collection for those who like to delve into pop music history. You may want the physical disc, as I downloaded this only to discover I did myself out of what are supposed to be extensive liner notes.
Mishon, last name Ratlif, is one of the stars of ABC Family's "Lincoln Heights," and he's intent on parlaying his TV audience into a musical following. He's offering this modern r'nb hit for 2009, a midtempo soul ballad. He sneaks a little overt auto-tune in there, despite the current vogue for bad-mouthing that technique. This is a good tune, and it bodes well for a wider music career.
Swamp Dogg, aka Jerry Williams, may be best known for this album cover, but he's got a long career as a songwriter and producer for soul and country artists. His success is probably more due to his behind-the-scenes work, as his records under his nom-de-canine are quirky outings, too outre for soul fans, though some rock folks have unearthed tunes of his like "Total Destruction to Your Mind." This 2009 disc is right in the tradition of previous Swamp Dogg albums, in which he creates old-school soul songs with titles designed to grab attention. Like the title song, which goes on to be a fairly conventional lost-love lament about pursuing another man's wife unsuccessfully. Probably the most attention-grabbing title is "Santa's Just a Happy Fat Fart," a gospelly tribute to the man in red designed to make you laugh. "Santa Claus Has Fallen In Love" kicks things off nicely with the story of a randy old elf. "What Christmas Means To Me" is a Dogg original, not the Stevie Wonder song, and it's a slow ballad about holiday verities. Given the title, you may be surprised to find that most of the album is like this song, fairly straight 60s-70s soul takes on classics like "Jingle Bells," "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," "Silent Night" and "Away in a Manger," along with originals based mainly on familiar themes. But I'll give him credit for a fairly rocking take on "Silent Night," not the usual slow-tempo rendition. How you feel about old-school soul will probably color your reaction to this album, but it definitely has its moments.
Joe, who drops his surname Thomas for his recording career, has been around for quite a while, with a number of R'nB hits to his name like "Don't Want to Be a Player" and "All the Things Your Man Won't Do." He's dueted with Mariah Carey and he's also pals with the Wayans family, which has resulted in a number of his songs being placed in their movies. This EP, billed as a Target exclusive for 2009, features half a dozen tunes, including two Joe originals, "It Ain't Christmas" and the title tune. The approach throughout is balladry, with jazz-influenced arrangements, well done but with no real surprises and no uptempo interludes to liven things up. Along with Joe's originals we get his versions of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts)" and David Foster's "Grown Up Christmas List." UPDATE: Apparently Joe's not sticking with Target this year; this same disc, extended to 10 songs, is being issued on iTunes as Home Is the Essence of Christmas. The additional songs are "Christmas in New York," "Christmas Time Here," "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and an instrumental of "Have Yourself."
Old-school soul music never goes away, does it? This 2008 single by this great ensemble from Brooklyn could have been on the original Atlantic Soul Christmas album from the 60s -- it would certainly fit better than say, Luther Vandross did on the CD-era reissue. A nice mid-tempo ballad about the joys of the holiday, and Tre sings the heck out of it.
This is a 2008 re-release of a 2006 EP with additional songs from the roster of this gospel and R'nB label. I'm just catching up to it this year, and well, this sucker just makes me smile. It's old-school soul music of the 60s variety, less like Motown and more like Stax. I got a little confused trying to identify the title song, as there are two versions of "It's Christmas" by Rick Lawson and O.B. Buchana, but the real title song is "It's Christmas Baby" by Ms. Jody, more of a big-band blues number in which we are invited to jingle the singer's bells. Yeah, we get a lot of those single-entendres here, but that's a feature, not a bug. Just check out "I Need a Man Down My Chimney" by Barbara Carr, Sheba Potts-Wright on "I Need a Lover For Christmas," or the return of Ms. Jody on "Humping Santa," the latter set to an Al Green beat. Lee Shot Williams also has only one thing on his mind when he sings "I Ate Too Much Over the Holidays." If a soul Christmas gets your Yule log burning (now there's a double-entendre), you need this collection.
The Queen of Soul hasn't done much Christmas music before. She sang "Winter Wonderland" during her Columbia Records days in the 1960s, and she did a version of "O Christmas Tree" for Very Special Christmas 2. There's also a YouTube of her singing "Go Tell It on the Mountain." So this 2008 disc is her first-ever holiday album. It's pretty much what you'd expect from an R'nB diva -- scratch that, THE R'nB diva. Which is to say, it's a helping of old-school soul, a helping of gospel, and not a lot of contemporary touches, other than a bit of talk-in and talk-out of the title track, done as a duet with her son Edward. As for that title track, yes, it's the Donny Hathaway classic. She also does the O'Jays "Christmas Ain't Christmas," but that's pretty much it for soul Christmas songs, although she does the David Foster tune "My Grown-Up Christmas List," originally done by Natalie Cole and Amy Grant. The rest is mostly classic carols. She puts her stamp on the traditional "Ave Maria" and goes to church for "The Lord Will Find a Way." She also brings her own perspective to a reading of "The Night Before Christmas" to close the album. This is a disc that older listeners will appreciate more. My wish would have been to cut a Christmas album on Aretha in the early 70s, somewhere between her Fillmore West and Amazing Grace concerts, to get something a little grittier for the holidays. This was only available at Borders in 2008.
This up-and-coming R'nB singer just completed a great year, with several hits, two Grammy nominations, guest shots on TV with the likes of Prince and Sergio Mendes, and an acting stint in the film "Leatherheads." So here she is with a full album of Christmas goodies, a mix of the familiar and five originals. And praise be, "This Christmas" isn't the Donny Hathaway song -- a rarity for a soul Christmas album in the modern day. It's one of the originals, a similar take lyrically with the subtitle "(Could Be The One)." The originals that open and close the album, "I'll Go" and "Thank You," are more religious than holiday-oriented, and "What a Wonderful World" isn't Christmas, though it seems to turn up on Christmas albums more and more. Her version of "Children Go Where I Send Thee" is a strong contemporary gospel performance, and she does a nice job on the evergreen blues "Please Come Home For Christmas" as well. All told, a strong modern soul record.
This is Brian's second Christmas album, the first out in 1998 and this one a decade later in 2008. As Brian's a mature R'nB singer, you'll probably find this album to be as much pop as soul, as it relies on pop and older soul readymades to back up his still-considerable voice. He performs mostly classic carols and pop holiday tunes here, with "Let It Snow" and "Most Wonderful Time of the Year" being the uptempo numbers, the rest falling into various shades of ballad, though "The Christmas Song" treads closer to a slow jam. "Christmas You and Me," "Bless This House" and "Who Would Have Thought" are the original tunes on this album. Well made, but more for an older crowd. UPDATE: Forgot to note that Josh Groban makes a guest appearance on "Angels We Have Heard On High."
This is my first time hearing Patterson's work, and I'm impressed. It's very modern R'nB singing and songwriting. Not bad for a former denizen of "Kids Incorporated." "Holiday" and "Christmas at My House" are very Prince-like songs, with synthesizer work harking back to the Purple One's 80s heyday. He gets off an original arrangement on Stevie Wonder's "What Christmas Means To Me," though the vocal evokes the author's distinctive sound. "This Is the Season," "Peace and Joy" and "First Christmas" are original slow ballads, then he puts together a remarkable jazz-funk arrangement on "Angels We Have Heard on High." Patterson also does a fairly faithful take on Sir Paul's "Wonderful Christmastime," though he wrings the slapdash elements out of the original and puts a studio sheen on the proceedings. And "Little Drummer Boy" emphasizes the percussion, but in a modern R'nB way. This is my favorite of this year's soul Christmas crop so far. From 2008.
Hewett, the longtime soul and gospel singer who started out in Shalamar with Jody Watley, brings his talents to the holiday for 2008. The roster of songs is mainly classic carols like "O Come All Ye Faithful," "The Christmas Song," "Silent Night," "What Child Is This," and yes he does Donny Hathaway's "This Christmas." That's one of the few uptempo songs here, other than "Christmas on Sunset (Interlude)"; most are done in ballad style, with a couple of slow jams takes on "Sleigh Ride" and "Baby It's Cold Outside," with a singer named Jasselle as his duet partner. And "Christmas Time Is Here" has a bit more of a jazz flavor. Plenty of big names came out for these sessions, with Stevie Wonder lending harmonica, the Earth Wind and Fire rhythm section providing backing, and jazz legend George Duke playing and co-producing. All told, it's what you might expect from a mature soul artist.
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