Christmas A Go Go - Part 2

Photo of Tina Sugandh from her website.

Little Steven likes to call his syndicated radio show Underground Garage a dance party, and that’s how I view the various artists holiday compilation he’s put together called Christmas A Go Go. So what better way to keep the party going, baby, than to spread it out over four posts?

On the relentlessly cheerful “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday,” Roy Wood’s Wizzard uses the Wall Of Sound approach of Phil Spector’s A Christmas Gift For You to build an entire palace. As a founding member of Electric Light Orchestra, Wood was accustomed to working with stringed instruments, and he employs a ton of them, along with horns, and a children’s choir on this showstopper. The energetic production evokes an old fashioned TV variety show.

Tina Sugandh’s beautifully sung “White Christmas” begins with the standard arrangement, but soon drifts off to India via exotic sitars and tablas. If George Harrison had wanted to include a Christmas song on Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, it would have sounded like this.

There are more than three musicians in the Chesterfield Kings, and their knack for tapping into Aftermath era Rolling Stones has earned them a place of honor among garage rock fans like Mr. Van Zandt. “Hey, Santa Claus” was probably one of the first tracks he considered when he decided to create this party-themed holiday compilation. It kicks off with a classic Chuck Berry riff before lead vocalist Greg Prevost approaches the man in red with a list of requests, including a girlfriend and a new car. Sounding like Mick Jagger, Prevost sings, “I hope you have time to stop off in your sleigh.”

Former Stray Cats vocalist-guitarist Brian Setzer launched a lucrative second career by recreating the Big Band sound of the 1940s. He struck gold again when his Brian Setzer Orchestra started recording Christmas CDs like Dig That Crazy Christmas and Boogie Woogie Christmas. “Santa’s Got A Hot Rod,” with its highly energetic swinging arrangement, call-and response vocals, and twangy guitar, is a prime example of how Setzer gets the job done. And like most of his work, it’s a lot of fun.

Coming in Part Three of Christmas A Go Go: Soupy Sales trades a pie in the face for a splash of the ocean; The Cocktail Slippers long for Santa; Joe Pesci roughs up a Gene Autry song; and another high speed take on A Christmas Carol.

Rocking Live With Royalty

A special Happy Thanksgiving wish to all who visit this site.

The Chesterfield Kings are often credited with igniting the return of garage rock. There’s a definite early Rolling Stones feel to the band’s guitar-driven music, particularly on Psychedelic Sunrise and The Mindbending Sounds Of The Chesterfield Kings, the two CDs that came out on the Wicked Cool label during the past few years.

The newly released Live Onstage ...If You Want It, produced by Ed Stasium, who has worked with The Smithereens and The Ramones, presents acoustic and electric versions of songs from those two albums. It’s available in two versions; a CD/DVD set, and a deluxe LP/CD/DVD. I haven’t had a chance to hear Live Onstage ...If You Want It yet, but here’s a reprint of a review I did of their last album, Psychedelic Sunrise, that originally appeared in the Illinois Entertainer.

The Chesterfield Kings have always dug hanging out in the garage, and through much of their new CD, Psychedelic Sunrise, sound like they’re having a Halloween party in there. The New York band sparked a garage rock revival with their full length debut over two decades ago. Founding members vocalist Greg Prevost and bassist Andy Babiuk ensure the Kings continue to mix the 1960s with a dash of punk hostility.

The Rolling Stones remain an obvious influence, especially on the rollicking “Stayed Too Long” and the spooky “Spanish Sun,” which evokes “Paint It Black” with an exotic, sitar-driven arrangement. “Elevator Ride” and “Rise and Fall” serve up nightmarish imagery, and Prevost bellows like a heavy metal god on “Dawn.” The energetic “Up And Down” recalls The Ramones, while the fuzzy guitars and irresistible melody of “Outtasite!” celebrate the days of strobe lights and go-go girls.