This is my favourite and most beloved Christmas time record ever. I came across those two years ago when I heard for the very first time guitarist Hasse Poulsen and his crazy band. To be perfectly honest it is the only existing Christmas recording that one can listen all year long without a smidgen of boredom.
Recording contains such a classics like: Berlin’s White Christmas, George Michael’s Last Christmas to just mention the most recognisable ones. Or Silent Night by Frantz Xavier Grubber: dated 1818. There is also Martin Luther’s Vom Himmel Noch dated 1535 and even older French 15 Century In est ne le divin Enfant Carroll theme. Did you know that?
But obviously, given the fact that the entire band posses’ an immaculate sense of humour and truly vivid personality, their own “Carrols” are honestly the ones which are most ear catching. Like The Xmas Jerk, Happy Saturnalia and Jingles and Bells. Here is where listeners approach quite unique Christmas experience.
Band itself constantly balances between rock’n’roll vitality ala proms in 60’ies and a feeling of most dirty and ordinary ballroom from 30’ties that you can only imagine yourself. One of those where you can easily get stabbed…..or get “something else”, from the girl of the obvious profession.
This sense of psychedelic trip through the life with this blessed music in the background going through most crazy sonor transformations gives you the right feeling of life. Which is not always straight and easy as we know. Or the Christmas which is not always quiet and full of love or spent with the family.
This mood swapping runs you through your all your memories from an early childhood, through your school-days to your today’s maturity with parenthood (if you have such). Where this is your turn now to host Christmas. It reminds you the stories you left behind and those chances you never picked up. The stories with no end. Your sins and petty. Coming home drunk late and all the wrong choices you made. Things you would love to change if you only could move the time back.
But the best of all is that it makes you smile, whatever the reason is: a sweet or sorrow. It also makes you never regretting anything you did and understanding that the life has his own way to go – not always logic.
The mix of both nobleness and sublimity coming from the traditional meaning of those tunes forever anchored in our human mentality, together with the healthy satire and a salt of earth are simply stunning here. That makes this recording so unique and one of its kind. Taste it and you will never regret it. No other Christmas will ever be the same after.