A cool contemporary Christmas set from our friends at Irma Records – served up in a sweet jazzy style that features lots of sweet updates of older Holiday tunes, plus some great 80s numbers too! The approach is more jazz vocal than the "lounge" in the title might make you think – and the whole thing has that great blend of vintage and modern that we love in some of the best Irma projects – with a nice dose of bossa rhythms thrown in to sweeten up some of the best tracks. Tunes are all familiar, but the versions are all nice and fresh – and titles include "This Christmas" by Dario Daneluz, "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" by Sara Pick, "Happy Xmas" by Andrea Nardinocchi, "Last Christmas" by Dario Daneluz, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" by Ely Bruna, "Do They Know It's Christmas" by Drika Scherlin, and "We Are The World" by Papik. ~ Dusty Groove
One of the coolest Christmas compilations we've seen in years – a package that's filled with rare funk and soul singles from the 60s and 70s – all of which have a Holiday theme! Almost all the tunes on the set are original numbers – which means that the songs are totally fresh, and not just reworked versions of Christmas standards – and all the tracks come from tiny independent labels, which means there's an extra gritty edge to the whole thing – hardly the sort of sleepy Christmas record you might know from your youth! The funky 45 label Tramp put the whole thing together, with the same energy they usually bring to 7" vinyl – and titles include "Black Christmas" by Rose Graham, "Christmas Day" by Detroit Jr, "You Won't Have To Wait Till Xmas" by Lee Rogers, "Santa's Got A Brand New Bag" by Gary Walker, "Holiday Baby" by Fat Daddy, "Xmas Done Got Funky" by Jimmy Jules & The Nuclear Sound System, "Christmas Groove" by Vernon Garrett, "Soul Christmas" by Count Sidney & His Dukes, and "Stone Soul Christmas" by Binky Griptite. ~ Dusty Groove
A really beautiful Christmas album from Rhonda Thomas – a singer we already love during the other seasons of the year – but one who's really won us over with this unique Holiday set! The record's easily one of the best Christmas records we've heard in years – and Rhonda does way more than just rehash Holiday classics – and instead reworks tunes with a vitally fresh sort of energy – proud, righteous, and solidly soulful – at a level that puts the record right up there with classic Christmas soul efforts from the likes of Donny Hathaway and Luther Vandross – the kind of record you'll be pulling out year after year in December – for decades to come! ~ Dusty Groove
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