Get Funky This Christmas
Everyone loves Christmas, but one element of the holiday season that’s sure to bring out inner Grinch in the hearts of music lovers is the unrelenting, monotonous repetition of the same old worn out Christmas songs: Mariah Carey; followed by Nat King Cole; followed by Wham!; followed by Mariah Carey; followed by Chris Rea; followed by Nat King Cole… For those doing a little festive shopping, and especially for folks working in retail, the mind numbingly predictable Xmas soundtrack is enough to drive anyone to distraction. However, it doesn’t have to be like this…
The golden era of ‘60s and ‘70s soul music boasts a great tradition for Christmas songs and albums. James Brown’s ‘Funky Christmas’ and Motown’s ‘Motown Christmas’ are fine examples of how you can inject a little groove into Yuletide proceedings. This month Strut records delve deep into this period on their latest compilation, which unearths 12 rare soul, funk and blues cuts rediscovered from past seasons. Featuring tracks often only ever released as obscure 45 B-sides, the compilation tracks one-off moments when the good groove met the jingle bells to devastating effect. Artists include bluesman Jimmy Reed, jamming hard on ‘Christmas Present Blues’ or ‘Calypsonian Capt’ and Elmo McKenzie with a lilting Yuletide Caribbean ode on Barbados label Trex. UK-based session collective Zebra also weigh in with a festive slice of gritty Afro-rock and kids choir Harlem Children’s Chorus’ paint a poignant picture of ‘Black Christmas’ in the ghetto.
A fine addition to the collection of anyone looking for an alternative to the usual seasonal fare, or an ideal gift for diggers of deep funk and soul, ‘In The Christmas Groove’ is available in shops now.
Not included on the comp, but still a winner, here’s James Brown’s ‘Hey America’ taken from his ‘Funky Christmas’ album.
