In the late 70s there were many potential TV crushes for a teenage boy. There were American actresses who were impossibly glamorous to our eyes, female pop singers like Blondie and actresses from all areas of England who could and did catch your eye. For me, however, one woman stood above all others, the Scottish co-host of Larry Grayson’s Generation Game, the beautiful Isla St Clair. She was the first celebrity whose autograph I requested, and much to my delight she wrote back enclosing a signed photo, which started a hobby that has been continued with a number of peaks and troughs ever since. Now, her real talent lay beyond the TV studio, although she did have occasional opportunities to demonstrate that talent on the Generation Game and beyond. She is one of the foremost interpreters of Scottish Folk music, and a singer whose recordings are used in university courses as reference points for academics and students alike.
In 1979, she recorded an album of Christmas music, simply entitled Isla, which is a jewel amongst all the Christmas albums in my collection. It has, in my opinion, been consigned to completely undeserved obscurity, and in my own very, very small way I would like to rescue it from that obscurity and bring this lovely album to your attention.
Side 1
The album starts with a softly sung version of Mary’s Boy Child, a track Boney M took to Number One the previous year. While it isn’t home territory for Isla, she makes the most of her incredible voice to turn it in to a lullaby style carol that is absolutely lovely. Once she gets to the chorus her voice just soars, but not in the showy way we are now used to. Green is the Holly is a traditional song that, judging by the lyrics, has a history that moves beyond the era of Christianity whilst still blending in the Christmas story. I had never heard it before, nor have I heard anyone sing it since. It is a gorgeous air. The next carol is Little Drummer Boy, which is delivered with beauty and quiet power as Isla shows the full range of her voice. One thing you notice with all of these songs is the subtlety of the arrangements which suit her perfectly. The First Noel is absolutely heavenly in both senses of the word. Here, Isla takes an overly familiar carol and gives it new life. As you can imagine I have a large number of versions of this carol on vinyl and CD, but I can honestly say that none of them match this for beauty. Nativity is the penultimate song on Side 1 and is another unfamiliar tune. It is a very bouncy number, with a slightly Caribbean feel, that in other circumstances could have set Isla St Clair off on a middle of the road pop career, but like Charlotte Church later on, you feel that she preferred a different route but that she could definitely have pulled it off. She sounds far more at home with Isn’t it a Goodly Thing which reminds me, vocally, extremely strongly of the songs that Enya has had such success with. It is further evidence of the quality and versatility of Isla’s voice.
Side 2
This side opens with Mel Torme’s famous The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting by an Open Fire), and she shows a lightness of touch and delivers the lines with a smile in her voice which is absolutely enchanting. You can tell that she loves singing this song, and I love listening to a version that has a real point of difference. The vocals are, of course, amazing, but it is the way they are delivered that puts this version right at the top of the tree. Silent Night is next and I really liked the arrangement of the tune. In most of the songs, the skilful arrangements fall under the radar, as indeed they should, but this one really works incredibly well in giving fresh life to a song that everyone knows. The secret is that the arrangement serves the singer and vice versa, and that doesn’t always happen, particularly at Christmas. Ding Dong Merrily on High is usually belted out by a full choir with orchestra. To hear one voice is to hear the carol stripped down to its very essence, and it works marvellously. One of my favourite Secular songs is Winter Wonderland and this version makes it feel like Isla is singing directly to you rather than past you. It makes it almost conspiratorial as you imagine she is talking over plans with you alone, or perhaps that’s just me! It’s my favourite version of the many I have heard for these reasons and my favourite on the entire album. The next track is Child in a Manger, which is sung to the tune more familiar as Morning is Broken. Now, it is not my favourite tune, for which school assemblies get the blame (!), but it gets a pass on here as it is so beautifully delivered. The final track on the album is Midwinter Song, better known as In the Bleak Midwinter. I love the carol, but here the voice of Isla St Clair transcends the raw material and lifts it to a truly divine level. It is a beautiful end to a beautiful album.
Listening to this again has been an absolute treat, and inside I am a star struck 14 year old once more! If my review has piqued your interest in the Scottish songstress supreme, and if it hasn’t I haven’t done my job, you can listen to more of Isla St Clair’s incredible voice on her Spotify page, where you can sample the voice that defines traditional Scottish music. https://open.spotify.com/artist/1CIIhGiinCwOk1PCFz75iu?si=8Lm9XayjTRGR_hHiQ5osMA
One of the delights of my Christmas listening is the classical music equivalent of the original Now That’s What I Call Christmas. It comes from the same stable as the Classic Collection I & II and like the Now album reviewed yesterday, it’s never been equalled or beaten. What makes this album so special? Well, the orchestras, soloists and conductors chosen for this set are like a who’s who of the classical world. As well as that, the excellent choice of composers and tunes, together with the playing order, make this collection seamless.
Side 1
The selection starts with a rousing instrumental version of Deck the Halls which, according to the marvellous notes in the middle of the gatefold sleeve, is a Welsh secular song originally sung to commemorate New Year’s Eve. Second track is the instantly recognisable Troika. Don’t recognise the name? Well, it’s the music that forms the basis of Greg Lake’s I Believe in Father Christmas, and it sounds amazing here. The first carol featuring a choir is I Saw Three Ships featuring the Clare College Singers conducted by John Rutter. It is probably the best version of the carol I have heard. We’re back to the orchestra for Cantique De Noel, another song much better known by an alternative title, in this case O Holy Night. Sleigh Ride is given everything by an irrepressible Halle Orchestra who give perhaps the definitive version of the tune which incorporates lots of styles including jazz and some great sound effects. O Little Town of Bethlehem is once again sung by the Clare College singers and the notes include the priceless piece of information – for those who like to google – that the tune I have always loved is called The Ploughboy’s Dream. I always forget the notes from year to year so they are a source of fascination each Christmas time! Ding Dong Merrily on High is sung by The Bach Choir with a lightness of touch and enthusiasm befitting this marvellous carol. Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring is a tune written by Bach that some fans of the Kinks or the Beach Boys will recognise from tracks they recorded. The Hely-Hutchinson version of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, from his amazing Carol Symphony, is a track I always associate with the end of each episode of the Radio 4 Book at Bedtime A Christmas Carol, read by Martin Jarvis and Denise Briars. The final track on Side 1 is from the Vaughan Williams Fantasia on Christmas Carols, written in 1912. The London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus give real heft to the version of God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen from this orchestral setting of famous carols, whilst the performance of On Christmas Night is simply beautiful.
Side 2
The second side starts with a Russian Bacchanale from a 1900 ballet, The Seasons and has a tune that will be familiar to many of us who remember the Richard Dimbleby lecture. Next is Delius’ Midnight Sleigh Ride, which is probably the most unfamiliar of the 20 tunes on the album. However, it is perhaps the most beautiful. Engelbert Humperdinck, the singer, was born Tommy Dorsey, but took his name from the composer of the opera Hansel and Gretel, conducted here by Mr Andrew Preview! Yet again, it is a largely unfamiliar piece, but one that is just sublime and finishes the opening trio of tracks on this side with a flourish. Part of the beauty of the Classic Collection albums was the way it expanded your musical horizons. Now a quartet of showstoppers from any carol service. Stille Nacht, of course translates as Silent Night in English. It had a central role in the history and mythology of the Christmas Truce (Day 22 of Blogmas), but it is simply one of the best loved carols in the world. The Kings’ Singers version on here is absolutely sublime. Following on is my personal favourite, Hark the Herald Angels Sing in a version by The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra that brings Mendelssohn’s marvellous tune front and centre. The third carol is the start of Christmas for many when sung by a solo choirboy to begin Carols from King’s. It is of course Once in Royal David’s City and, once again, the Clare College Singers give it fresh life. Finally, The First Noel gets the Hely-Hutchinson treatment complete with falling snow played by a heavenly harp. Any fans of Box of Delights will recognise this tune instantly, although for me, once again, it is the end of every episode of the Book at Bedtime mentioned earlier. In Dulci Jubilo featured yesterday on the Now Christmas Album in the Mike Oldfield version. This version is no less entrancing especially as it features those incredible Clare College Singers once again. I really must find an album of theirs! O Come All Ye Faithful is the third selection from Hely-Hutchinson and I really cannot recommend the full symphony highly enough. Finally, the Halle Orchestra and choir Wish You A Merry Christmas in a properly festive finish to this marvellous album.
Stop Press
I ordered the full 2 CD set of Carols from Clare before this album ended!!
First released in 1985, this was undoubtedly the album that put Christmas music back on the map for music listeners and radio stations alike. Prior to this album, you might hear Slade and Wizzard, but you wouldn’t hear much more in the way of Christmas music from previous years. From 1985 onwards, the back catalogue of Christmas music started to become part of the soundtrack of the season. I would argue that you can draw a straight line between this original album and the domination of the songs of Christmas Past that we see due to streaming sites.
The tracklist
Side 1
The album starts off with four bona fide crackers. Do They Know It’s Christmas? had been released the previous year and had sold 3 million copies, so it made sense to start with it for this album. Following that came the 1973 one-two of I Wish it could be Christmas Everyday and Merry Christmas Everybody by Wizzard and Slade respectively. The 1984 runner-up in the chart battle, Last Christmas by Wham comes next to make as powerful a first four as you can imagine. The 1973 also ran, Step into Christmas is Track 5, and despite the recent reappraisal of the song, I still think that it’s original chart position of 25 was absolutely right for a record that didn’t come close to the big two in terms of quality. The fact that it had been largely forgotten in the 12 intervening years was probably fair enough. Mike Oldfield’s In Dulce Jubilo is good fun and the following track was also good fun at the time. As it is Another Rock ‘n’ Roll Christmas by 70s glam rocker Gary Glitter, it can obviously no longer be played, except on a vinyl original. The final two tracks on Side 1 are Wonderful Christmastime by Paul McCartney and Blue Christmas by Shakin’ Stevens. The latter was a Number 2 hit in 1982 at the end of another fantastic year for the Welsh rocker, but it would be completely obliterated in the Christmas playlists just after the release of this album by the magnificent Merry Christmas Everyone.
Side 2
This side is arguably more interesting than the parade of big hitters on Side 1, because it served to reintroduce a number of songs dimly remembered or completely forgotten. It starts off, however, with the catalyst for the revival of the Christmas song in the 70s, Happy Xmas (War is Over) by John Lennon and the Plastic Ono Band released in 1972. Famously, both the writing partnership of Jim Lea and Noddy Holder, and Wizzard front man Roy Wood were inspired by listening to this track when they decided to write Christmas songs themselves. Greg Lake’s I Believe in Father Christmas got to Number 2 but had no chance of a Christmas chart topper because of the Bohemian Rhapsody juggernaut in 1975. Despite this, it is one of the most amazing Christmas songs ever recorded and still sounds fresh nearly half a century later. Also released in 1975, but failing to chart was Chris De Burgh’s A Spaceman Came Travelling. I had never heard it before this album came out, but it definitely made a big impression when I did. Stop the Cavalry by Jona Lewie was a huge favourite of mine when it was released in 1980, and one I was very familiar with having bought the single at the time. The biggest oddity of the album was Little St Nick by The Beach Boys, the archetypal purveyors of the summer sound. It’s a fun track in a way, but quality wise I would say its not up to the standard set by the bulk of the tracks on here. The same can be said about Queen’s Thank God Its Christmas, and I say that as a fan, but it has been one of those songs that has gradually grown on me year after year. The Christmas Number Ones of 1974 and 1976, Lonely This Christmas and When A Child is Born are followed by White Christmas, first sung by Bing Crosby in the film Holiday Inn in 1942. It is a final three that match each other perfectly in terms of their tempo and they bring arguably the most influential compilation of the festive season to the close.
Final Reflection
It definitely isn’t the case that this album started my infatuation with Christmas pop music, but it definitely reminded me of the power of these three or four minute songs. The first Christmas with this album, it was barely off of my turntable and when I was listening to Radio 1 it was clear that the influence was starting to be felt with the increase in Christmas singles from previous years being played. Years later it still reminds me why I love Christmas music and why I continue to love it.
I came across this album by accident and decided to take a chance on the combination of two of my favourite things, rock music and Christmas! Well, what could go wrong?
It starts with a lullaby style song called Ghosts of Christmas Eve which sets the story in motion of a young girl looking through boxes in her attic one Christmas. It reminded me a lot of Land of Make Believe by Bucks Fizz, a song I always liked. The next track is a tune called Boughs of Holly, a guitar powered rock treatment of Deck the Halls that sounds like a song that Europe would have produced in the mid 80s. The World That She Sees returns to the girl with another lullaby start but this soon gives way to a Meatloaf style rock opera tune with a chorus that is sung in the style of Michael Ball. Yes, it’s as bonkers as it sounds, and utterly irresistible! The next song is The World That He Sees, a reflection on what the world could be that introduces an air of melancholy into the proceedings.
Midnight Christmas Eve once again gives us a contrast by developing a gentle tune that is effective and quite beautiful in its own way, but which has a Brian May style guitar solo towards the end just because it can. Then The March of the Kings, a French carol, is combined with my favourite, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, in a flurry of electric guitars as the Trans-Siberian very entertainingly continue to throw the kitchen sink at everything. The Three Kings and I goes into Southern Rock and Blues mode because, well why not?! Christmas Canon is the next song, and by this time in the album the use of an actual cannon wouldn’t surprise me! Instead it is an absolutely beautiful version of Pachelbel’s famous canon, with occasional lyrics sung by a children’s choir, which definitely matches any other version I’ve ever heard. We’re back to electric guitar based carol mash ups for the next track, Joy of Man’s Desire and Angels We Have Heard on High although by way of variation the latter is sung gospel style. Find our Way Home is a song about the way we continue to treat Christmas Day as a day apart in our lives in spite of everything else we might be chasing the other 364 days of the year. Appalachian Snowfall returns to the tune of the first song on the album before the rock element kicks in to good effect.
The Music Box completely changes the mood as we hear a woman reflecting on the Christmases she spent with the person she lost during the year. It is a sad and beautiful song that has a real emotional impact. The Snow Came Down continues the very reflective mood although the music is heavier and the vocals are delivered with a Joe Cocker style growl that is very effective. Christmas in the Air starts with a music box style tune that trips lightly across the words before becoming a song of joy to the new year ahead. Dream Child reflects upon the Nativity, but you don’t have to be a believer to be caught up with the lovely lyrics and reflect on why Christmas alone among all the times of year is seen as special. Penultimate track An Angel’s Share has lyrics that may lead you to expect a quiet tune that sounds like a carol you are sure you have heard. Well it is, in amongst the guitars and bells that punctuate the song at regular intervals in the way that The Darkness may well have enjoyed! The final track is Music Box Blues, and it is a suitably baffling end to a bonkers, brilliant and fun Christmas album.
You can find it on Spotify here https://open.spotify.com/album/0ONDwjJpx82SNMqIzwoyJy if my review has whetted your appetite. However, if you decide to stretch to the CD, the insert contains the story of the album written as a Christmas fairy tale, and there are unsung lyrics (in italics) that give more of the story. The extra material definitely gives more context that you would otherwise miss. In this, as in just about everything else, the Trans Siberian Orchestra play by their own rules. The Christmas Attic is definitely a Christmas album unlike any other!
The third in my series of recommendations for children’s entertainment at Christmas focuses on books. One of my pleasures as a parent was sharing books with my children that became firm favourites. The great thing about Christmas was that I could return to books that I loved and that the children loved as well. There were so many to choose from. Every year the reading ‘season’ around Christmas time became longer and longer! I now read my own Christmas books from October, but the children had their Christmas favourites from the latter part of November. Here are three books that I would recommend to any family plus a bonus recommendation from last year I can’t leave out.
Paddington’s Magical Christmas
This is Michael Bond at his best, writing with warmth, charm and humour. It is a proper Christmas treat in every way, and a book that I returned to every Christmas for years. It starts when Mrs. Bird is overheard singing about a partridge in a pear tree, confusing Paddington who cannot see a pear tree anywhere and certainly not one with a partridge. When he hears her, then Mrs Brown and Judy singing about her true love sending her even more items he goes to his friend Mr Gruber who tells him that they have been singing a Christmas song. He then decides to give a present to Paddington that is an absolute delight. It is a fast-paced read that’s great for sharing with your children and, as they get older great for them to read on their own.
My Christmas Treasury
I just loved this book from the first time I saw it in a charity shop and picked it up just because of the cover. It has Christmas songs, the Nativity Story, the Little Match Girl and other traditional stories. It also includes ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas which I read every Christmas Eve without fail. However, at the end of the book there are two stories that became real festive favourites for all of us. Mrs Muddle’s Present Puzzle and The Full House are marvellous original stories that made the children (and me) laugh every time. You will find delights on every page and your children will learn about different aspects of Christmas, religious and secular alike. It is great fun to dip in to and great fun to read every year.
Another Night Before Christmas
This is the other story that became a Christmas Eve staple in our house. Written by the former poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy it is a very clever updating of the story with references to television and cash points amongst other things. It deals with elements of belief, consumer culture and eventually magic. The illustrations by Marc Boutavant are full of lovely details that the children loved exploring on their own after I read it to them. It amazes me that it hasn’t become more widely known and been more widely loved by parents and children. You really need to give it a read if you have children of any age, because I can guarantee they will love it.
Merry Christmas Sleepover Club
I recommended this last year, but I have no hesitation in including this as a bonus book in this list. The Sleepover Club is a series of books about five girls from Cuddington near Leicester who form the club of the title and whose adventures eventually filled over 50 books and served as the inspiration for two series on Australian Television. This book, the only Christmas themed book, is a treat for older and younger children alike. It is based around the school panto that the girls get involved in and has a couple of subplots that revolve around a parent of one of the girls dating again, and the mystery of who is stealing food from donations to the homeless. It is tightly written, entertaining, very funny and even a little sad in places as the five girls get into their usual scrapes. The set piece finale is heart-warming and satisfying as is the resolution of the subplots. It is a perfect book for the middle of December when you don’t really want to read another story about the big day itself. As an introduction to Rosie, Frankie, Kenny, Lyndz and Fliss it is pretty much perfect and the Christmas theme made it my personal favourite.
So there you go. Four books that really make the seasonal bedtime stories magical and are perfect for sharing year after year.
David Pearce - Popular Culture and Personal Passions 