This 1981 Christmas number has a lot going for it. First, the music is top notch, making a quiet start and showing a good deal of variety throughout with excellent guitar, saxophone and vocal riffs, a tight horn section and even some jazz clarinet on the fade out. Then, Patty Donahue's throaty voice is very attractive and the lyrics full of interest as they relate the year long love story that happily resolves itself at Christmas time. It reminds me of one of those stories they used to have in my sister's Jackie magazine in the seventies. While being pretty specific in detail, it manages to capture the spirit of love at Christmas and the transformation from Christmas alone to Christmas with your new love is effectively done. The Christmas references are legion and the song even manages to open with the words "Bah humbug". The manifold repetion of "Merry Christmas" is also neatly done. Great stuff!
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I believe in Father Christmas - Greg Lake
This is one of my favourite Christmas pop songs. Not originally written as a Christmas song, there is a dispute between singer and writer (Peter Sinfield) over whether it is a protest against the over commercialisation of Christmas or a song about loss of innocence. It is certainly rather cynical as it describes growing up and learning that a white Christmas, peace on earth, Santa Claus and, as far as the writer is concerned, the Israelite too, are simply untrue. With such a large amount of cynicism, the song is in danger of collapsing under its own weight so a valiant effort is made to rally by wishing everyone a brave and hopeful Christmas, free from anguish and pain. Perhaps the strength of the song, however, is its ability to capture a traditional childhood Christmas in the west with references to "that Christmas tree smell", "eyes full of tinsel and fire" and "waking in the first light of dawn". The song has appeared in various guises but the best one is probably the original Greg Lake version of 1974, where the choir, sleigh bells, orchestra and drums all make their mark behind Lake's brilliant twelve string guitar, complete with harmonics. The use of the Troika from Prokofiev is no small part of the song's genius. Remaining optimistic in the midst of the reality of life is not easy. Jettisoning false beliefs and avoiding being naive is good but without hope, what is left to keep you going? Some of us do believe in the Israelite and that makes all the difference.
2000 Miles - The Pretenders
To its credit, the 1983 Pretenders single 2000 Miles does not immediately sound like a Christmas song, although there is a choir effect and some bell like instrumentation. It does mention the word Christmas more than once, however, along with snow and children, and seems to be dealing with one of the perennial Christmas issues - being separated from a loved one over the otherwise happiest of seasons. The song does not quite give it away, but it was apparently written in memory of founder member and guitarist James Honeyman-Scott, who had died the previous June aged only 25. If this is so then the song is dealing with an even bigger perennial issue, bereavement at Christmas time. It offers no real solution but simply observes that the loved one is gone 2000 miles or whatever, which is indeed very far. Inevitably, the one left behind says "I miss you" as they think of the dead person wherever they go. Happiness goes on all around and the bereaved one even joins in to some extent but the nearest they get to seeing the one they would really like to see is in a dream. The snow works well as a metaphor as while diamonds sparkle in it, it does get colder rather than warmer in winter and there are frozen and silent nights. A slow number, full of wonderfully jangling guitars, it somehow manages to sound optimistic despite the loss.
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