Bloggerhythms

Little known Phyllis Sinclair is a singer-songwriter with four CDs to her name. The latest is Wishlist (2013), a Christmas album with eight originals and an adaption of "Silent Night" that takes a deeply personal and introspective turn. Interesting songs abound. The bouncy "Evergreen" is a about a ragged, unloved tree not chosen to be in someone's house during the holidays and "Handwritten Christmas Card" is another upbeat entry on the thrill of receiving such a personal greeting in the mail. Accompanied only by acoustic guitar, "A Lesson In Harmony/Silent Night" begins with a spoken word tale of how Sinclair's mother asked her to sing one of the World's most popular Christmas carols at home as a lesson in how to sing harmony and she closes the story with all three verses of the song. I don't know Sinclair's religious beliefs but it's obvious she has given spiritual matters more than a cursory thought because of ...

The Brian Setzer Orchestra take their loud, rocking big band formula and apply it to some classic holiday music, revitalize it, and make it totally their own. If you missed this album upon its initial release in 2002 you must open your wallet and lay down your holiday green so you can start your Christmas party immediately. Setzer’s flaming, frantic, greaser rock guitar dominates many of the hard rocking tunes while always meshing perfectly with the brass and reed sections on such seasonal standards as "Sleigh Ride," "Winter Wonderland" and "Jingle Bells." Setzer welds his leather jacket and tattoo persona perfectly into the lyrics of the latter track by changing the closing line to "Oh what fun it is to ride in a '57 Chevrolet." These songs are always overplayed every Christmas but the fresh arrangements Setzer offers up are a welcome adventure. Not every track roars at breakneck speed. The pace slows down a bit for guest Ann-Margaret wh...

One of the few Christmas songs written in the post-World War Two years with a religious theme that also became a mainstream hit is "Do You Hear What I Hear." Despite the subject matter it's not a hymn or a carol, it's a pop song. It's been recorded by literally hundreds of artists although in recent years, as things have become more and more politically correct, vocalists have become increasingly afraid of singing religious holiday songs, so today, it is heard less frequently. The reason I'm writing about this classic has nothing to do with religion. Instead it's because I accidentally discovered "Do You Hear What I Hear" has a short, simple, but very interesting origin. It was written by the married songwriting team of Noel Regney and Gloria Shane Baker. According to Wikipedia Regney wrote the lyrics and Baker the music, a situation that was opposite of how the two usually worked. They also wrote songs for a host of others including Bobb...