Wednesday, December 21, 2011

Cover Me Impressed: 'Christmas Wish'

This really is a Christmas gift. Thanks to She & Him once again covering NRBQ, I get to talk up one of my favorite classic albums of the season, 'Christmas Wish (Deluxe Edition).' This 2007 CD collects all of the band's holiday tunes from the 1986 'Christmas Wish: Mini-LP' from Rounder Records, as well as several live renditions of classics with that NRBQ touch. NRBQ actually recorded the song "Christmas Wish" way back in 1979, and I posted the song (along with another '79 recording, "Jolly Old St. Nicholas") a couple of years ago, but since this post is all about the "Christmas Wish" song, I'm including a couple of other versions of the tune from the deluxe edition.

As for the brand-new 'A Very She & Him Christmas,' the reviews have been lukewarm at best. Remember back in October when I wrote about the recent spate of Zooey bashing, particularly from the indie-hipster community that once embraced her? Well, that seems to have been turned up a notch. Here is the album review from Pitchfork, as well as a semi-humorous take on the record from the usually reliable and entertaining Popdose crew. The consensus seems to be that the "act" is getting old and that the duo seems "posed." If that's the case, I guess I'm a lemming 'cause I'm still buying the act... hook, line and sinker. As a fan of classics like the Ella Fitzgerald, Phil Spector and Beach Boys Christmas albums, it's been years since I have been this excited about a new holiday record, and "Christmas Wish" is the best new song from these "posers."

NRBQ - Christmas Wish (mp3)
NRBQ - Christmas Wish (Reprise) (mp3)
NRBQ - Christmas Wish (Instrumental) (mp3)
She & Him - Christmas Wish (mp3)

More Cover Me Impressed:
"I Don't Like Mondays"
"Half a Boy and Half a Man"
"Money Changes Everything"/"The Right Stuff"
"I Put a Spell on You"
"Johnny, Are You Queer?"
"Superman"
"Voices"
"Almost Saturday Night"
"Too Many Teardrops"
"Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me"
"They Don't Know"
"Everybody's Talkin'"
"What Goes On"
"There Is A Light That Never Goes Out"
Halloween Edition
"Porpoise Song"
"Prairie Rose"
"Come On Eileen"
"Walking On Thin Ice"
Jason Falkner Edition
"True Love Will Find You In The End"
"This Will Be Our Year"
"You're My Favorite Waste of Time"
"Nightime/Thirteen"
"The End Of The World"
"(Don't Go Back To)Rockville"
"God Only Knows"
"And Your Bird Can Sing"
"So Sad About Us"
"Everywhere"
"Walking The Cow"

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