Re: Christmas Album vs Non-Christmas Album

Date: Tue, 24 Jun 2003 15:57:17 GMT
Newsgroups: alt.music.moody-blues
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Cathputer (email-address-deleted) wrote:
> I wonder who here would prefer a Christmas album or a non-Christmas album if
> they could only have one choice.
A non-Christmas album vs. a Spiritual/Christmas/Winter *themed* album...
I'll take the latter. Based on what I have read, especially in
Graeme's interview, it sounds like we will be hearing new Hayward & Lodge
compositions, and that *does* interest me.
A non-Christmas album vs. John singing "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa
Claus"...
I'll take the former.
I LOVE Christmas music.
John Mellencamp's "I Saw Mommy..." is great! I'd pass on a MB version.
In the late 90's, The Lovemongers (Heart's Ann & Nancy Wilson) did a
beautiful album of mostly original Christmas music, with a gorgeous cover
of "O Holy Night." The same goes for Jon Anderson of Yes in the 80's.
Something like that would be OK for the Moodies. I just don't want to
hear them doing Jingle Bells and Frosty the Snowman and Sleigh Ride and
Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree and Deck the Halls and .......
If they were to do some cover versions of Christmas songs along with the
MB originals that it seems we will be hearing, songs like the
aforementioned "O Holy Night" would be great. But, as I mentioned before,
I'd wouldn't mind if they took a crack at some contemporary Christmas gems
like Greg Lake's "I Believe in Father Christmas" or Tull's "A Christmas
Song" or "Ring Out Solstice Bells" or the Lovemongers' "Here is
Christmas" or "Christmas Must Me Tonight" by Robbie Robertson/The Band or
Gordon Lightfoot's "Song for a Winter's Night."
I'm probably the only 40 year old who owned a Roger Whittaker album as a
teenager, but his Christmas album of mostly originals (that he did before
he recorded every sappy song ever written) is really very well done. He
has one song called "The Governor's Dream" which combines spoken
passages with singing, that worked very well & is very moving. The
Moodies could do a track like that, too - with Graeme adding his speaking
bits (although he *has* to sing as well as Ringo Starr...so he should give
it a shot some day).
I'm rambling...
Bye!
Jim