MUSIC SCENE

The McGarrigle Christmas Hour - Nonesuch Records

I am a capitalist, music fan and next to "Talk Like A Pirate Day" (Sept. 19) Christmas is

my favorite holiday. But by the time Christmas rolls around I am so tired of hearing holiday

music pumped through speaker systems at temples of consumption, large and small, that

I am burned out on Christmas music. The only two holiday records that don't make me

wince are my copy of Handel's Messiah and The Vince Guaraldi Trio's A Charlie Brown

Christmas. That being said there are a couple of items to bring to your attention, one newish

and one a new compilation of classics. Happy Holidays - Bob Jones

Kate & Anna McGarrigle The McGarrigle Christmas Hour

MUSIC REVIEWED BY BOB JONES

The McGarrigle Christmas Hour came out a couple of years ago but it blew past me and Christmas records are only stocked about three months in the year that it's released. What is refreshing about this record is that it is not a quaint little folk Christmas record. It is one of the more traditional style Christmas Records I have heard. The first third of the disc is a choir and organ arrangement. When Emmylou Harris comes in on "O Little Town of Bethleham" things loosen up a bit and it becomes a little more folkish. The tenth track, "Spotlight on Christmas," is a Rufus Wainwright pop tune, his voice is welcome on any record. But the record goes back to traditional with a Christmas caroler's arrangement of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" with a pennywhistle and drum accompaniment. The McGarrigle Christmas Hour is a record that could please the whole family from Gramps to the jaded teenagers. and everyone in between. ¦ Various Artists Ultra Lounge Presents Best of Christmas Cocktails

Ultra Lounge Presents Best of Christmas Cocktails - Capitol Records

MUSIC REVIEWED BY BOB JONES

Capitol Records' Ultra Lounge is always a blast from Bongo Land to Organs in Orbit, the people who put these collections together are hip musicologists. Ultra Lounge Presents Best of Christmas Cocktails is the best material from the six previous Ultra Lounge collections. It's a classic roundup of who's who from the lounge era with my favorite, Dean Martian, singing Winter Wonderland. I don't remember much about the Dean Martin TV Show but I do remember him having a drink in one hand and a lit smoke in the other on national TV. They were the good old days. Peggy Lee kicks it off with Happy Holiday and close to the end of the disc Julie London adds her brand of sex appeal to "I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm." Martian Denny with his odd arrangement of "My Favorite Things," that sounds like it could have come from a Tom Waits record but it's half a century old. This collection is filled with mid-century Christmas gems, some truly classic and but mixed with just enough of the space age to make it a Christmas party classic. So find a little something to put in your eggnog and break out Ultra Lounge Presents Best of Christmas Cocktails. ¦ Bob Jones is founder of Silver Platter CDs EST1998 in Fort Myers. For info or to suggest music, email recordreviews@comcast.net