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Actually, the album's lineage stretches back to 1985, when Jewel Records compiled an LP also titled Merry Christmas Baby (never reissued on CD). Then, in 1991, the company (this time under their Paula imprint) packaged the same material on a CD with another handful of holiday tracks, releasing it as (yet again) Merry Christmas Baby. This digital edition casts a wider net, picking up a variety of recordings both old and new - mostly obscure and eccentric, some of dubious quality, others quite cool. Most notable are Johnny & Jon's unbelievable "Christmas In Vietnam" (read more) and the super bad, extra funky "Black Christmas" by the mysterious Hot Rock Mays. [close]
By the way, "The Bells" sounds supiciously similar to an even more obscure, earlier holiday platter, the Motivations' lovely "Christmas Spirit" (1970). Perhaps there's a relationship there? We'll probably never know.... In the end, however, either the Fuel or Paula discs will yield rewards for soul freaks and Christmas geeks, though neither is entirely perfect. The Fuel disc is mastered a little better, more thoughtfully (if incompletely) annotated, and easier to find (distributed by Varese Sarabande through Universal). But, it focuses on the earlier, more traditional material (to the exclusion of later standouts like "Black Christmas"), and it includes a mere baker's dozen tracks. The Paula package swells to nearly double that size - 23 tracks, some of them indisputably essential. You be the judge, I bought both.... Consumers Note. Jewel/Paula released a third variation of Merry Christmas Baby in 1996 - same title, new cover, fewer songs - this time under their Ronn imprint. For their part, Fuel also repackaged their Merry Christmas Baby (2005) - same songs, similar cover, but new title (Greatest Christmas Hits). Plus, there's an entirely different series of rhythm & blues Christmas albums called Merry Christmas Baby culled from the catalog of the Swing Time, King, and Hollywood family of labels (read more) - albums which also prominently feature Charles Brown. Confused yet? I sure am. [top of page]
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© 1999-2013 Randall Anthony, www.hipchristmas.com and www.randysrodeo.com
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