A mid-'90s compilation of the best songs from James Brown's three earlier Christmas albums: James Brown Sings Christmas Songs (1966), A Soulful Christmas (1968), and Hey America It's Christmas (1970).
I purchased this disc for two reasons: 1) it's the freakin' Godfather of Soul, and 2) the album's appearance at #3 on Rolling Stone's The 25 Greatest Christmas Albums of All Time:
It's a welcome change-of-pace from the usual strings and sleigh bells.
Peak on the US Billboard Top 200 chart: Did not chart
Tracks: Here are the funky grooves that made it on my Xmas playlist: Go Power At Christmas Time, Santa Claus Go Straight To The Ghetto, Soulful Christmas, and Merry Christmas I Love You. I dig Tit For Tat (Ain't No Taking Back) but it's not very Christmas-y. However, the album is well-sequenced and has a good mix of funk and soulful ballads, so it's an pleasant listen from top-to-bottom.
The final track - the title song from the Hey America It's Christmas - was named one of the "Weirdest, Darkest Christmas Songs" by Spin Magazine in 2012. I wouldn't go so far as to place the song on such a list, but I don't really see the point in creating such a list in the first place.
Oddly, my CD only included 16 tracks instead of the 17 listed on the cover. The missing track? Track 4, Merry Christmas Baby. With cover art that bad, I shouldn't be surprised at an incomplete package. Looks like my full-retail-price CD is nothing more than a CD-R produced 'on demand' and someone at Chronicles didn't check all the boxes before burning:
Tsk tsk. For shame, Polydor. Shame on you too, Amazon, for not listing the fact that it's a CD-R. Ok, ok - rant over. Merry Christmas, everybody. And please, please, please 2021 - don't let me down.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: None
Previously revisited for the blog:
The CD of JB: Sex Machine & Other Soul Classics (1985)
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