Take a trip to a supermarket in early November, and your ears will be bombarded with songs synonymous with this time of year.
The ubiquitous Christmas Song takes many forms. Most are whimsical earworms designed to latch onto your oratory organs and not let go until the New Year!
Without wishing to appear too "Grinchy", I find the majority of these to be, well, superfluous to my own Christmas. I know a Noddy exercising his tonsils or a Sacharin sweet George Michael lamenting the loss of a previous year's crush, does it for many, but for me, there is only one ageless, timeless Christmas song.
Nat King Cole's "Christmas Song", Popularly referred to as "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire", is the one that stimulates my own internal Christmas spirit.
There are many versions of this song, the recording that does it for me is the 1961 version orchestrated by Ralph Carmichael. The original recording was made in 1946 and consisted of Mr Cole's small jazz combo. The Carmichael version is far and away the most stirring.
The intro features high strings that appear to have some distortion or other artefact; however, this is brief, and once the delicious low double bass enters, along with more strings playing in a lower register, everything comes together.
The vocal entry at 13 seconds makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. Nat has a slight rasp in his voice, which is characterful and adds a totally natural air to his flawless delivery. The guitar tone is wonderful, and if you listen very closely, you can hear a very understated drum kit in the background. This is almost imperceptible, and I have to crank up the volume on my Forza amplifier to get my Voce II speakers to bring it to me.
There are many highlights, subtle yet beautifully poignant, with string crescendos and a harp that sets the stage for the short but exquisite piano and guitar instrumental passage. Once through this, the strings seem to become slightly more earnest until they pause at 2:46, leaving Nat alone to deliver the lyrical conclusion, "although it's been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you," after which there is a corny paraphrase of Jingle Bells on the guitar.
Listen to the 1999 remaster on Qobuz in beautiful Hi-Res. It is not going to get you jumping up onto the dance floor, but the Christmasses of my young years were not celebrated in that way; they were a time for peace, rest, reflection and happiness, and in my house, anyway, music.
Although it's been said many times, many ways, Merry Christmas to you - See you next year!
Carl
Editor
