The Coolest Yule

The Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet's first seasonal outpouring, FOOLS FOR YULE, offers some bracing surprises in its mix of original songs and classic holiday fare.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Animated Christmas Classics

Christmas classics from the inkwell including Peace on Earth (1939), The Insects' Christmas (1913), and the first Frosty (1953).
by David McGee
 

 

 

Timeless Enya, for All Seasons

Irish enchantress Enya has offered not a Christmas album, but rather an album-length meditation on the Yuletide season, its sound, its totems, its joys, its summons to reflection and introspection.
by David McGee
 

 
 

From The Inkwell: An Animated Christmas

Four DVDs, five timeless holiday shows worthy for inclusion in any Christmas video collection. Stories well told, with humor, warmth, sensitivity. wisdom and outstanding animation. All essential titles for any serious Yuletide ...
by David McGee
 

 

 

Dig The Unconventional Yule

Being an unconventioal Yule with BIG HARP GEORGE, and a fine new blues Christmas anthology, JINGLE ALL THE WAY.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Hark the What? Ironies of a Beloved Carol

REV. MARK D. ROBERTS knows 'If you don’t want to tick people off, then don’t change the words of the hymns and carols.' As he explains, 'HARK! THE HERALD ANGELS SING' is a perfect example of this maxim.
by David McGee
 

 

 

Pt. 2: ‘God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen’ and The Dickens Connection

Ever wonder what is the Christmas carol of Dickens's 'A Christmas Carol'? Evidence points to 'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' as the carol in question. We make our case herein.
by David McGee
 

 
 

What Christmas Is As We Grow Older

In his 1851 essay, 'What Christmas Is As We Grow Older,' CHARLES DICKENS emerged from despair to summon his youthful optimism about the future course of human events.
by David McGee
 

 

 

The Ol’ Christmas Yin-Yang

GEORGE JONES & TAMMY WYNETTE cut only one Christmas single as a duo, but solo, each artist made worthwhile contributions to seasonal music. This Classic more than earns its title.
by David McGee
 

 
 

Sublime & Swingin’

A tribute to the late, great VINCE GUARALDI, and his masterpiece within a masterpiece, the score for the holiday classic TV show, A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS
by David McGee
 

 

 

What Becomes a Classic Most?

Streisand at her apex in recordings made almost three-and-a-half decades apart. Make no mistake--she’s the classic here, and a classy one at that.
by David McGee
 

 
 

The Real Christmas Miracle

JASON RINGENBERG may have taken to farming but he hasn't left his rock 'n' roll years behind him. He's back with a Yuletide gem outfitted with flourishes of punk and straight ahead rock 'n' roll that recalls his glory years fro...
by David McGee