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Our Review

Brave Combo, indeed! This amazingly intelligent, super-creative, and extremely eclectic group is a contemporary polka band that has been entertaining crowds for over 25 years. On Holidays, Brave Combo takes its listeners through an entire year in less than an hour. "Auld Lang Syne" provides the nostalgic intro to 18 absolutely excellent original tracks, from "New Year's Polka" to "Mambo in a Brand New Year." Everything in-between is a chronological trip through American holidays (17 holidays, loosely construed!), including President's Day, Groundhog Day, Mardi Gras, and Halloween.

Polka, you say? Don't let the term scare off you polka-phobes! Brave Combo is all about excellent music--and especially about superb songwriting. Also, this offering contains music that reaches way, way beyond polka stylings, touching almost every imaginable genre. Brave Combo is world music on steroids with a polka heart, and Holidays is a novelty album that is definitely serious about its musicianship and professionalism. Just wonderful!

This very fun album brims with highlights. For example, "Groundhog, Groundhog" is a hoot with its laugh-out-loud lyrics ("You're the mystical mammal today") and memorable refrain; it's kicky and clever, bringing The Barenaked Ladies to mind. "Hail to the Chief/Minstrel Boy" is a stately, stylish instrumental with wah-wah touches, and "April Fool" is a swingin' ode to an obnoxious prankster. "Postcard from New Orleans" will put you in the Mardi Gras parade, and "A Little Bit Irish" is an endearing bit of Celtic frivolity.

Since this site is ChristmasReviews.com, Brave Combo's Christmas ditty holds special interest. "Coal and Switches" examines the holiday's dark side, with Santa explaining to a miscreant what his bag will bring on Christmas Eve (and it's not a pretty picture--"Old Santa's mad 'cause he knows you've been bad").

So much originality packed into one CD! The lengthy liner notes spell out what Brave Combo had in mind for each delightful creation. Holidays is not the sort of CD that you'll play specifically for the Christmas season; instead, it has a unique, universal appeal--covering all the bases for every season!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2005)

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From the liner notes:

Produced by Steve Tyrell
Co-Produced by Bob Mann and Stephanie Tyrell
Mixed by Bill Schnee

Randy Kerber, Eliot Douglass: piano, vibes
Bob Mann: guitar
Bob Magnusson, Chuck Berghoffer: bass
John Guerin: drums & sleigh bells
Clark Terry: trumpet solos, additional lead vocals
Plas Johnson: saxophones, saxophone solo (11)
"Toots" Thielemans: harmonica solo (9)
Lou Marini: flute & clarinet
Tina Tyrell, Lauryn Tyrell, Clark Terry, Steve Tyrell, Marlena Jeter, Dorian Holly: background vocals

Horn Section
Lew Soloff and Bob Milliken--trumpet
Lou Marini & Roger Rosenberg--saxophones
Birch Johnson, Mike Davis & Michael Boshen--trombone
Larry Abel, Robin Pitre & Larry Spivack--copyists

String Section
Antoine Silverman, Natalie Cenovia Cummins, Eric Hammelman, Maxim Moston, Ronald W. Lawrence, Lorenza Ponce, Anja Wood, Jill Jaffe

Arranged by Bob Mann

Brave Combo

Holidays!

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Track List