BY LARRY NAGER
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Used to be, sweet and corny were the only flavors Christmas records came in. Angelic choirs, sweeping strings - it was the musical equivalent of too much eggnog.
Nowadays, it's a different drummer boy, as holiday music moves to the beat of reggae, swing, hip-hop, country and more. No matter what you listen to the other 11 months of the year, you can probably find some Yule tunes that fit your tastes.
Here's a look at some of the newest seasonal sounds.
Swing
Santa comes out swinging this year, as a sackful of jump 'n' jive holiday discs signals the biggest Yule trend.
The '20s-style hot jazz of the Squirrel Nut Zippers' Christmas Caravan (Mammoth, $16.98 CD; 3 1-2 stars) is the most fun of this year's batch. The 10 songs, originals and vintage fare, open in true Billie Holiday style with singer Katherine Whalen's "Winter Weather." A dixieland "Sleigh Ride" fits the Squirrel Nuts' familiar style. But two of the better tracks are more modern (i.e., the '40s) - an R&B "Indian Giver" and the T-Bone Walker-styled blues, "A Johnny Ace Christmas."
A bluegrassy "Gift of the Magi" adds to the eclectic celebration, while "Hot Christmas" will give neo-swingers a chance to Lindy Hop.
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NAGER'S TOP 10
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1. A Christmas Heritage (Six Degrees - Koch, $16.98; 4 stars), Heritage. Heartfelt traditional songs filled with brilliant musicianship.
2. Christmas Caravan (Mammoth, $16.98; 3 1-2 stars), Squirrel Nut Zippers. Great party music for jazz babies of all ages.
3. Yule B'Swingin' (Hip-O, $11.98; 4 stars). Another great party CD to show today's swing kids the good old days were pretty great
4. Christmas With Babyface (Epic, $17.98; 3 1-2 stars). A smooth 'n' sexy R&B holiday.
5. The Beach Boys Ultimate Christmas (Capitol, $16.98; 3 1-2 stars). Loads of fun, fun, fun surfing the Yuletide.
6. Christmas With the George Shearing Quintet (Telarc, $15.98; 4 stars). Genteel jazz, great background music that stands up to critical listening.
7. A Winter Solstice Reunion(Windham Hill, $16.98; 3 1-2 stars). Gentle world music and acoustic holiday pieces.
8. Christmas With Shirley Caesar (Word - Epic, $16.98; 3 1-2 stars). Soulful Southern gospel that puts the "holy" into the holidays.
9. Cyndi Lauper's Merry Christmas ... Have a Nice Life (Epic, $17.98; 3 1-2 stars). Fun and folksy holiday tunes from an underrated singer - songwriter.
10. Celtic Christmas IV (Windham Hill, $16.98; 3 1-2 stars). Dreaming of a green Christmas? (four stars) Excellent (three stars) Good (two stars) Fair (One star) Poor No Stars Bomb
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Yule B'Swingin' (Hip-O, $11.98; 4 stars) is a swing collection from Christmas past. Louis Prima wails "What Will Santa Claus Say When He Finds Everybody Swinging?"; Louis Armstrong blows hot on "Cool Yule"; and Ella Fitzgerald liltingly reworks "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
Lionel Hampton swings a couple, including "Merry Christmas Baby," the Glenn Miller Orchestra works out on "Jingle Bells" and such divas as Peggy Lee, Kay Starr and Nancy Wilson all tunefully provide holiday cheer, before Dean Martin tucks us in with the nightcap, "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm."
Dino also does that one on his posthumous collection, "Making Spirits Bright (Capitol, $16.98; 3 stars). The orchestra's schmaltzy, but the crooner lives up to the title in 14 performances for Christmas in Cocktail Nation.
The revivalists rule on Swingin' Christmas (Daddy-O - Royalty, $15.98; 3 stars), with a dozen familiar tunes swung by neo-swingers like the Heavenly 7, the Swingtips, the Flipped Fedoras, Ron Sunshine & Full Swing and Set 'em Up Joe.
Divas
Merry Mary Christmas (Strugglebaby, $15.99; 3 1-2 stars) has local diva Mary Ellen Tanner serving up a Cincinnati Yule. She's backed by her pianist Lee Stolar, bassist Jim Perkins and drummer John Von Ohlen, with help from guitarist Cal Collins (whose solo on "Mistletoe and Holly" is worth the price of admission).
The 10-song collection is a cozily sophisticated take on the holiday. She makes it all her own, from chestnuts to the newer stuff. It's a warm, homey package, with a back cover photo with her dog Shadow and a CD label featuring her dad.
But the diva to beat this Yule is Celine Dion. These Are Special Times (Epic, $17.98; 3 stars) turns those titanic pipes to tinsel in a generous package of 16 holiday songs.
"O Holy Night" opens the set with syllable-warping vocal acrobatics. The surprise here isn't her string-laden duet with R. Kelly on "I'm Your Angel," but the unexpected country tinges. She follows Elvis' trademark "Blue Christmas" with a strolling country ballad by fellow Canadian Bryan Adams.
The vocal fireworks return on "Ave Maria" and "Adeste Fidelis." Then it's on to John Lennon's "Merry Xmas (War is Over)" and the picante chestnut "Feliz Navidad."
These Are Special Times showcases Ms. Dion's range, vocally and in choice of material. But like too many trips through the buffet line it's just too much, too varied, never settling on a cohesive mood.
On Cyndi Lauper's Merry Christmas . . . Have a Nice Life (Epic, $17.98; 3 1-2 stars) the mood is decidedly zany - sentimental. There's no "Girls Just Wanna Have Yuletide Fun," but her place as rock 'n' roll's Betty Boop is intact on these 11 songs, most of which she wrote.
R&B belter Etta James could have made the ultimate blue Christmas disc, but her 12 Songs of Christmas (Private Music, $16.98; 2 1-2 stars) finds her in a jazzier mood, accompanied by a fine band including pianist Cedar Walton. She does assay the ultimate R&B carol, "Merry Christmas Baby" in warm style, but that rare bit of juke joint amid the supper club sounds just leaves one wanting more.
Christmas With Tammy Wynette (Epic, $5.98; 3 stars) is a reissue of the late country queen's 1970 album. With Billy Sherrill, Nashville's answer to Phil Spector, producing, these 10 songs find Ms. Wynette at her over-the-top best. Choruses and strings meld into steel guitars, as Ms. Wynette applies her crying voice to old favorites and three newer tunes that fit her well. A true classic and a well-timed memorial.
Diana Krall is 1999's calendar diva. Her EP, Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas comes with a free desk calendar. It cleverly fits into a CD case, but it's so poorly designed, the numbers so teensy, that it's nearly useless. The three-song CD (Blue Note, $7.98; 3 1-2 stars) is fine, featuring her warm vocals and assured piano in company with guest guitarist Russell Malone, bassist Ben Wolfe and drummer Jeff Hamilton. Along with the title track are Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time is Here" and yet another "Jingle Bells," swung here in glorious style as voice and piano play a musical game of tag.
Contemporary gospel diva CeCe Winans offers His Gift (PMG - Atlantic; $16.98; 2 stars), glossily wrapped in slick R&B production. Christmas With Shirley Caesar(Word - Epic, $16.98; 3 1-2 stars) focuses on the earthier soul of the veteran gospel singer, with joyous results.
Jazz piano
It's an elegantly swinging Christmas With the George Shearing Quintet (Telarc, $15.98; 4 stars). The perfect background for a cozy evening by the fire, these 15 pieces range from simple carols to Claude Thornhill's eerily impressionistic "Snowfall." The pianist even wittily works Weather Report's "Birdland" into "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas."
For nostalgic boomers, the Vince Guaraldi Trio's Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits (Fantasy; $15.99; 3 1-2 stars) is the jazz piano set of the season. Halloween ("Great Pumpkin Waltz" and Thanksgiving ("Thanksgiving Theme") also get their due, but the Guaraldi contribution to the Christmas canon, "Christmas Time is Here" is here twice, first a vocal with children's chorus, then instrumentally.
R&B
Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, the former Cincinnatian who has emerged as one of the premier pop and R&B producers of the '90s, provides a smooth Yule with Christmas With Babyface (Epic, $17.98; 3 1-2 stars).
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" goes down in history with a soulful strut, as Babyface multitracks his vocals into a one-man Boyz II Men. Nine of the usual Yules are here, including "Winter Wonderland," "White Christmas," "Sleigh Ride," "The Christmas Song" and an "I'll Be Home for Christmas" with Take 6.
He didn't write any new songs for the package, but he does include "You Were There," which allows fans to avoid buying the entire Simon Birch soundtrack.
Jermaine Dupri Presents 12 Soulful Nights of Christmas (So So Def - Columbia, $16.98; 3 stars) finds the hip-hop maestro orchestrating a dozen songs, most of them newly written by such R&B stars as Faith, Gerald Levert, Chaka Khan, K-Ci and JoJo, Xscape, Brian McKnight, Jagged Edge and the multi-group collaboration Voices of Soul. Alicia Keys takes time out introducing her "Little Drummer Girl" to speak out against runaway materialism, a welcome change from hip-hop's usual obsession with "the Benjamins."
Smooth R&B for a slightly older audience is in season on The Colors of Christmas (Windham Hill, $16.98; 2 1-2 stars). There's a distinct touch of '80s nostalgia in the lineup of Peabo Bryson, Sheena Easton, Philip Bailey, Jeffrey Osborne, Melissa Manchester and Roberta Flack. Big arrangements give this a distinct middle-of-the-road feel. (Colors of Christmas performs Dec. 20 at the Aronoff Center. Tickets: 241-7469.)
Teen idols
Last year's bubblegum holiday hit came from Hanson. This year, it's 'N Sync's Home for Christmas (RCA, $17.97; zero stars). The five-hunk group's sugary brand of pop-R&B should be a welcome treat for their young fans, but there's no escaping the slick, hurried feel to this disc. "O Holy Night" provides some relief from the blizzard of synth beats, as the quintet shows off its a cappella chops. Even here, the vocals are pretty thin.
In further teen idol news, 'N Sync fans' parents (or grandparents) should have a good time remembering the '60s on The Beach Boys Ultimate Christmas (Capitol; $16.98; 3 1-2 stars). The 26-track CD combines the Beach Boys' original Christmas LP with 14 rare singles, alternate takes, unreleased songs and radio station promos by Dennis and Brian Wilson.
And more
Chuck Leavell is best known for touring with the Rolling Stones, but he's also one of Georgia's top Christmas tree farmers.
So he's got a right to sing the Yule, getting back to his Southern rock roots with What's in That Bag? (Capricorn, $16.98; 3 stars). It's a low-key, R&B-inflected set of 13 songs, including his original "Hey Santa" as well as Otis Redding's arrangement of "Merry Chistmas Baby," featuring Stones saxman Bobby Keys. Mr. Leavell is best at his bluesiest. His pop ballad "Bethlehem" is sappier than one of his fresh-cut firs.
A Winter Solstice Reunion (Windham Hill, $16.98; 3 1-2 stars) brings together some of the label's best musicians, including Hawaiian slack key great Keola Beamer, mandolin wizard Mike Marshall, pianist Liz Story and the progressive Celtic folk band Nightnoise. The result is simply beautiful.
Some of those Winter Solstice alumni can also be found in the group Heritage's disc, A Christmas Heritage (Six Degrees - Koch, $16.98; 4 stars). Mr. Marshall, violinist Darol Anger and pianist Philip Aaberg have all been part of Windham Hill's Christmases past.
They're even better here, in a group with banjo player Alison Brown, singer - guitarist Tim O'Brien and bassist Todd Phillips. The group is also touring; Dec. 12, they play the Emery Theatre (tickets: 458-3115, (800) 230-3576, Ext. 115).
This set promises a great show, an eclectic celebration that mixes classics like "Greensleeves - What Child is This" and the gospel of "Go Tell It On the Mountain" with the free-flowing instrumental virtuosity of "Christmas Eve." There's even an ecumenical fusion of "Shalom Aleichem" (equal time for Hanukkah) with the Applachian fiddle tune "Breaking Up Christmas." One of the season's best. Celtic Christmas IV (Windham Hill, $16.98; 3 1-2 stars) pushes the Irish envelope a bit, as a dozen fairly genuine Gaelic pieces (by the likes of Liam O'Flynn and Triona Ni Dhomhnaill) share space with Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder's bluegrass chestnut, "Christmas Times A Comin'."
Merry Axemas Vol. 2 (Epic, $17.98; 3 stars) is another collection of rock and fusion guitar instrumentals by an all-star gang of fretboard surfers. Bassist Stu Hamm goes on a low-register "Sleigh Ride," but the remainder are six-stringers, from heavy rock to lilting acoustics.
The cast includes Al DiMeola, Neal Schon, Zakk Wylde, Robin Trower and Trevor Rabin. The only disappointment is that Ted Nugent, rock's foremost deer hunter, does "Deck the Halls" instead of "Run, Rudolph, Run."
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