Review and More

Our Review

This remarkable compilation is a holiday blast-from-the-past! Where Will You Be Christmas Day? presents 24 recordings from 1917-1959, beautifully restored gems that will turn any holiday event into something special. The music is impossible to pin down and is remarkably well balanced. As Dick Spottswood, a prime moving force behind this project, says in the liner notes, the album designates "equal time for sacred and secular, for Christ and Santa Claus, and for respectable and rowdy." The music springs from different cultures, different styles, and different eras; the only unifying aspect is the historical value of these amazing works.

Not surprisingly, recordings from the early 20th century have pretty rough production values; that being said, the Dust-to-Digital folks (based in Atlanta) have done a tremendous job of bringing these ancient holiday pieces back to life. There is so much to love on this disc! I especially enjoyed Lead Belly's buoyant "Christmas Is A-Coming" (recorded with 12-string guitar; 1940s), and Bessie Smith's brassy "At the Christmas Ball" (1925). Most cuts have vocals, but the instrumentals are also excellent; Norman Edmonds' "Breaking Up Christmas" (1959) was a special delight. This album has it all--gospel singers, rip-roarin' blues, terrific fiddlin', classic Southern treasures, and international numbers, too. Most tracks are unfamiliar, but all possess a compelling, historical gloss.

Where Will You Be Christmas Day? definitely deserves a listen. Although this CD's unique nature makes it an unlikely candidate for repeat plays through the season, its rich historical lesson gives it a very special listening value.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2005)

More

From the liner notes:

This collection reflects sentiments of earlier times, when the holiday involved more than indoor trees and endless trips to the mall. Our playlist includes Southern fiddles, banjos and choirs, jazz bands and blues singers, and festive music from Puerto Rico, Italy, Ukraine, and Trinidad. In the spirit of fairness, we've tried to designate equal time for sacred and secular, for Christ and Santa Claus, and for respectable and rowdy.

Have a Merry Christmas!
--Dick Spottswood, 2004

Compiled and produced by: Steven Lance Ledbetter, Dick Spottswood
Texts by: Julia Peterkin, Dick Spottswood
Original 78s: Joe Bussard, Frank Mare, Dick Spottswood
Audio Transfers: Christopher King, Jack Towers
Audio Restoration and CD Mastering: Robert Vosgien, Capitol Mastering

From the Web site:

Based on his popular radio show in Washington, D.C., our series is initiated with a Christmas Gift, a compact disc full of rare yuletide gems.

Where Will You Be Christmas Day? shows many sides of Christmas -- from Jesus born in the manger to Leroy Carr spending the holiday in jail. Some of the artists featured include Alabama Sacred Harp Singers, Butterbeans and Susie, Fiddlin' John Carson, Cotton Top Mountain Sanctified Singers, Lightnin' Hopkins, Los Jibaros, Kansas City Kitty, Lead Belly, Lord Executor, Maddox Brothers and Rose, and Bessie Smith. Together they provide a compelling contrast to the commercialized Christmas we know today.

Various artists

Where Will You Be Christmas Day?

Order from Amazon

Track List