The "stereo" The Little Drummer Boy (Premier XMS-8)
The mono The Little Drummer Boy (XM-8, but the back jacket indicating a "stereo" issue.
We'll be hearing the disc which came with the pretty awesome Santa Claus cover. This is one of those rare instances in which a junk-label Xmas jacket looks just as cool--or even cooler--than those of legit caliber. But there's a bit of incongruity between THE LITTLE DRUMMER BOY in big font, right over a picture of Santa. But buyers of cheap vinyl weren't thinking about such matters--likely, there was an "Only 99¢" sticker on the album, and the purchaser thought, "Hey, Christmas music for only 99 cents. Cool!" And another junk Xmas album left the racks, later to haunt a 21st-century thrift store. Where, at the time of this post, thrift managers somehow imagine they can get $5.99 for a mildewed Sergio Franchi disc.
After ripping this and realizing that this is but a reissue of a (presumably) earlier mono LP, I gave some thought to replacing these fake/rechanneled-stereo with the mono ones, but the summed stereo sounds just as lousy as the mono, so...
Oh, and there is selection in actual, true stereo: The excellent Synthetic Plastics Co. title track, one of the best LDB versions ever. Author and friend Brian McFadden has written about the SPC material which ended up at Premier, and the reasons why, so... just take my word: This is the superb SPC Little Drummer Boy, and in true stereo! Except I summed the channels to mono. The thing is, VinylStudio gives me the option of an entire LP in stereo or that entire LP "mixed down to mono." But I'll stick the true-stereo LDB in an upcoming various-artists extravaganza.
And then things get mediocre really fast, starting with a so-so Santa Claus Is Coming to Town, which might have succeeded with less sucky audio, and then the most lackluster budget Jingle Bells ever recorded, with polka-quality group vocals that sound slightly hungover. Next, a hilariously lethargic Deck the Halls (originally, Hall) by another group of polka-background singers who are either 1) just coming out of their hangover or 2) on the verge of passing out in the studio. We'll never know which.
Then, an inspired and very nicely arranged Twas (sic) the Night Before Christmas, which might have sounded great if it wasn't drenched in echo (the mono cut has the same liability). This genuinely decent track is followed by a succession of hymnal Xmas songs sung professionally--and in low fidelity--making for typical Side 2 cheap-vinyl filler. Things close with a decent version of I Heard the Bells originally released by SPC (on Promenade) and credited to the Caroleers--in much better fidelity. Which seems redundant, since any fidelity would be better than this.
So, save for a few selections, this really does put the "junk" in "junk-label Christmas," but let's consider the highly probable reality that the average purchaser of Christmas material was 1) looking for something inexpensive (and possibly last-minute), 2) didn't especially care about the quality of the performances, and 3) was easily hooked by an awesome cover image like this one. I know I was hooked when I came across this in the big-city Goodwill, where vinyl is still holding a 99 cents, so imagine the impact of this jacket back in... 1966? 1969? 1972?
It's not unreasonable, in my opinion, to suggest that the combined sales (or, to quote Google's AI, "sheer units") of cut-rate holiday vinyl sold as well or better than major-label LPs. It's a thought.
But the budgets had pride, and in fact they often touted their second-rate products as superior to regular-priced material from legit outfits. I doubt we'll ever run across a Have a Crappy Christmas With a Name-We-Just-Made-up Ensemble budget release.
DOWNLOAD: The Little Drummer Boy--Christmas Favorites.zip
The Little Drummer Boy (Coming in true stereo in a various-artists post)
Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
Jingle Bells
Deck the Halls With Boughs of Holly
Twas the Night Before Christmas
Silent Night
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
It Came Upon a Midnight Clear
I Heard the Bells
(The Little Drummer Boy--Christmas Songs for Children--The Caroleers--Premier XMS-8)
Lee
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