Here We Come A-Caroling
In the 50's, former big band trombonist-turned-arrange Ray Coniff experimented with replacing solo instrumental parts with often wordless vocal choruses and concocted the wildly successful easy listening ethos that came to symbolize pre-rock pop. This 1965 collection of Christmas favorites is a testament to the staying power of Coniff's milieu, even at the height of Beatlemania (which bizarrely inspired the arranger to set "Joy to the World" to a Liverpool beat). Backed by Coniff's typically bubbly arrangements, the impossibly joyful, pristine voices here seem to be caroling at some timeless, unlikely crossroads of hipster kitsch and nostalgic Americana. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman" even evokes the Hollywood Western ethos of former Conniff colleague Frankie Laine so convincingly that one almost expects to hear Santa cracking a whip over Rudolph's head on the fade-out.--Jerry McCulley