Ep. CXXI: 'In the Christmas Spirit' - Booker T. & The MG's

Okay, people. 

It's mid-November. The Holiday Pre-Season is upon us.

And you all know what that means. . . .

The Great Christmas Record Odyssey.

If you like pompous know-it-alls in their mid-40's who act as if they have some kind of authority on a super random - albeit obscure - piece of pop culture, look no further. Yours Truly has spent nearly a decade hunting down and amassing stacks upon stacks of Christmas Records. From the dusty shelves of thrift stores, to the dollar bins at record stores, to the hunting down of limited edition, color-pressings of new albums online, I have collected and deeply analyzed (and, more often than not, thrown out) over a hundred and twenty albums thus far. All of them celebrating the most glorious of time of the year. 

Seeing how it's the first installment of this year's season of vinyl scrutinization, I'll once again direct your attention to the sacred rating scale we use around these parts:

10 - . . . And Out Come the Wolves  (Perfection. Don't believe me? Name a better punk album. I'll wait.)

9 - Cowabunga!  (I'm Gen-X, guys - for people in my age group, this term encapsulates the feeling of being round-house kicked across the face by a Ninja Turtle. But in a good way.)

8 - Awesome  (Solid, without any major faults. Worthy of repeated spins during the Holidays. )

7 - Pretty Rad  (Generally, in order for an album of mine to stay in Holiday Season Rotation, it needs to be rated '7' and up.)

6 - Decent  (This is the point where it gets dicey. Once and awhile a '6' makes it into constant rotation, but only if it satisfies a previously-vacant Holiday music niche.  These albums almost always get 'Shelved':  I hold on to them - for the time being - but they lose turntable time for the duration of the Season.)

5 - Meh   (This is the dime-a-dozen wasteland, where you find your Julie Andrews and your Percy Como's. Anything below this point is almost always put into my annual 'Donate to Goodwill' pile.)

4 - Borophyll  (There may be some redeeming qualities here that might make albums at this score appeal to some people, but definitely not to Yours Truly.)

3 - Seriously?  (Comically bad, if you will.)

2 - Reality TV  (There's only one thing shittier than Reality TV, gang. . . .)

1 - Ohio  (Do I really have to explain this?)

Good.  Now that everyone's been refreshed with how shit works around here, let's just go ahead and get started, shall we. . .

Album Title:  In the Christmas Spirit

Album Artist:  Booker T. and the MG's

I managed to snatch this up on Amazon for an unheard-of-in-2024 price of $14, pressed on clear vinyl to boot. This one had been on my radar for awhile, but, like I've said before, I have serious problems paying $20 - $25 for a single-record LP. 

And I know that's the going rate now, guys, calm down. Doesn't mean I have to be cool with it. Open up another pressing plant already, this shit's getting ridiculous.

Anyway, this Holiday album is exactly what I expected it to be. If you haven't heard of Booker T. & the MG's before, that's fine - I guarantee you've heard the instrumental, '60s classic 'Green Onions.' If that doesn't ring any bells, do me a favor real quick and just Google it.  I'll give you a sec.

. . .

Sound familiar now? Okay. Take that 'sound,' and now make it do Christmas stuff. 

That's what this album sounds like.

This is solid background music for cocktails or hosting a dinner party. It's a soft, almost quiet album that fades easily into the background, yet somehow retains a presence without being forgotten or drowned out. I credit this feat with the simple fact that this Holiday offering just seeps 'coolness,' calling back memories of the great '60s soul artists that the MG's used to support in the studio back in the day. 

Much of this 'coolness' vibe comes courtesy of the Hammond B-3 Organ so often affiliated with Booker T. Jones' personal sound. 

If you have a problem with Hammond organs, you should probably steer clear of this one. Because there's a LOT of B-3 to be found here.

This album is a slow burn, guys. You're not going to get smacked in the face with a hook that just floors you, right out of the gate. You're not going to drop the needle down on this record and sit up and take notice. There aren't really any stand-alone tracks worthy of mention here, either - they all kinda sound the same, and bleed together with the same level of intensity, tempo, and volume. But, despite me bringing up 'monotony' before in previous posts as a telltale sign of a shitty Christmas album, this is definitely not the case here.

Booker T. & the MG's want to be a soft, cool presence in the background. They're a backing band, after all. If they wanted to write a Christmas classic that would get repeated airtime on the radio every Holiday season, they would've done it already. They simply chose not to.

If you had a super cool, elderly black uncle that dropped in and out of your life from time to time, and whenever he did so he'd like offer you a joint and drop some bit of soft-spoken, but profound, life knowledge on your ass, this would be it. 

Just, you know, in Christmas album form.

VERDICT:  7/10 - Pretty Rad (A slow burn, to be sure, but nevertheless it's one of the coolest, low-key records you'll spin this Holiday Season.)

- REMAINS IN CIRCULATION -

- Brian

Ep. CX: 'A Very Cool Christmas, Vol. 2' - Various Artists

Hey gang, welcome back - pour yourself a Christmas cocktail and join me for a double-length spin around the yuletide turntable . . .

Album Title:  A Very Cool Christmas, Vol. 2

Album Artist:  Various Artists

I picked this one up on Amazon a couple months ago when it dropped down to, oh, $20 or so. That's a lot to spend on a Holiday album for sure (for me, at least), but considering this originally retailed for, like, $40 - and knowing that the producers of this series generally put together pretty stellar compilations - I decided to pull the trigger on it. Plus, with a whopping 32 tracks on it, it's well worth the money.

I'm kinda kicking myself I didn't pick up Volume 3 when it was at a similar price point, as that one's currently listed at almost $50 (but you can rest assured I'm keeping my eye on it.)

You may recall that I've already reviewed Volume I, back in 2019, and that release scored a solid '8' on my rating scale.  Similarly, this album is also a double-LP, pressed on matching gold-colored vinyl instead of the previous volume's red and green records. Like its predecessor, the album is divided into two, distinctive sections: the first record, 'Rockin',' is a mix of rock, indie, blues, and country (seriously), while the second 'Groovin''' record is comprised of soul, funk, and classic R&B.

Note: I have #908 of the Limited Edition Numbered variant. 

The first record doesn't have the highs and lows of Volume I; the songs here are more middle-of-the-road. While there aren't a lot of songs that completely knock it out of the park, there's no out-right stinkers, either (no bizarre French cha-cha'ing this time around, thank Christ.) Canned Heat's 'Christmas Blues,' Weezer's 'We Wish You a Merry Christmas,' and Chuck Berry's 'Run Rudolph Run' are all heavy-hitters on many of my Holiday playlists, and all make appearances on this first record. Sadly, so does Bob Dylan's polka-fied 'Must Be Santa,' which, judging by his voice, he recorded in his eighties (I love Bob Dylan as much as the next guy, but this Christmas song - which gets way more attention than it should - is downright grating.)

Could have also done without Harry Nilson's 'Remember' on this album, as its far from 'Rockin'' - plays like a soft-rock ballad. If it had made an appearance on a Holiday album with that kind of sound, I may have not batted an eyelash, but it feels ridiculously out of place on this one.

And also, I probably wouldn't own such a record. But that's besides the point.

The 'Groovin'' record is a little safer - lots more 'song recognition' on this one. Heavy Motown vibe here, with songs from James Brown, Stevie Wonder, Darlene Love, etc. all delivering with songs I'm sure you've heard on the radio countless times. There's more consistency in 'vibe' here as well, and the songs seem like they were compiled by one person instead of, say, a country fan, an indie fan, a classic rock fan, and a weirdo (which I'm sure was the scenario on the first record.)

If you end up picking this one up, I'd avoid the Isaac Hayes and John Lee Hooker tracks on this second album at all costs. Both sound exactly like you'd expect, they're definitely not deviating from their signature sounds (and more power to them for that, I guess), but neither mesh well with the rest of the sound found here. 

Isaac makes you want to rush over to the nearest living thing and have yuletide sex with it, and John Lee makes you want to get drunk and blow its brains out with a shotgun once you're finished with it.

Happy Holidays, everyone.

VERDICT:  8/10 - Awesome (Another great addition to this star-studded compilation series. The majority of this album blends fluidly, without cringe-inducing tracks to pull the rating down too far. It loses a couple points for some odd song choices, but even these aren't outright terrible. If it drops in price again, be sure to pounce on it.)

- REMAINS IN ROTATION -

- Brian