[Christian]

I hope this news, courtesy of Mark Joseph, is worthy of its own thread.

The inclusion of “O Little Town of Bethlehem," written by an Episcopal priest named Phillips Brooks in 1867 after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, is likely to fuel speculation about Dylan's religious beliefs that have swirled ever since he publicly converted to Christianity in 1979, recorded explicitly religious material on three subsequent albums and for a time refused to play his old songs. Religious references on subsequent recordings became less overt after 1981's "Shot of Love."

The other three songs, “Must Be Santa” by Hal Moore and Bill Fredricks, “Here Comes Santa Claus” by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” by Buck Ram, Kim Gannon and Walter Kent were all written between 1943 and 1960.

In 2003 Dylan participated in a tribute album “Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan” by various Gospel artists and sang a duet with Gospel singer Mavis Staples on a remake of his 1979 song "Change My Way of Thinking," adding a new stanza to the song, "Jesus is coming, coming back to gather his jewels."

[Andy Whitman]

I hope this news, courtesy of Mark Joseph, is worthy of its own thread.

The inclusion of “O Little Town of Bethlehem," written by an Episcopal priest named Phillips Brooks in 1867 after a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, is likely to fuel speculation about Dylan's religious beliefs that have swirled ever since he publicly converted to Christianity in 1979, recorded explicitly religious material on three subsequent albums and for a time refused to play his old songs. Religious references on subsequent recordings became less overt after 1981's "Shot of Love."

The other three songs, “Must Be Santa” by Hal Moore and Bill Fredricks, “Here Comes Santa Claus” by Gene Autry and Oakley Haldeman and “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” by Buck Ram, Kim Gannon and Walter Kent were all written between 1943 and 1960.

In 2003 Dylan participated in a tribute album “Gotta Serve Somebody: The Gospel Songs of Bob Dylan” by various Gospel artists and sang a duet with Gospel singer Mavis Staples on a remake of his 1979 song "Change My Way of Thinking," adding a new stanza to the song, "Jesus is coming, coming back to gather his jewels."

I love Bob Dylan, but this might be the most frightening musical news I've read this year, rivaling only Firesign Theater's old album Bob at the Met for sheer wrongheadedness. And that was an intentional parody.

[morgan1098]

I can not imagine Bob Dylan singing "Must Be Santa" and "Here Comes Santa Claus." I simply can't do it.

[NBooth]

Here's the news release.

Bob Dylan will release a brand new album of holiday songs, Christmas In The Heart, on Tuesday, October 13, it was announced today by Columbia Records. All of the artist’s U.S. royalties from sales of these recordings will be donated to Feeding America, guaranteeing that more than four million meals will be provided to more than 1.4 million people in need in this country during this year’s holiday season. Bob Dylan is also donating all of his future U.S. royalties from this album to Feeding America in perpetuity.

Well, if it's for a good cause....

[morgan1098]

[Josh Hurst]

Neil McCormick tweets that Dylan had his band listen to Andy Williams for inspiration for these recordings.

[Andy Whitman]

Neil McCormick tweets that Dylan had his band listen to Andy Williams for inspiration for these recordings.

There's no positive way to view this. If the experiment is successful and Dylan's band apes the schlockmeister approach of Andy Williams, then the album will suck. And if they are unsuccessful, it's still Bob Dylan singing "Here Comes Santa Claus." This one's already far ahead of the field in the Worst Dylan Album/What in the Hell Was He Thinking? sweepstakes.

This post has been edited by Andy Whitman: 26 August 2009 - 11:59 AM

[NBooth]

Agreed. It's a pity, too, because the potential latent in a collision between the infamous Dylan misanthrope/world-weariness/cynicism and the most gut-wrenchingly sugary genre of music* known to humanity is stupendous. If anyone could bring the gloom to the Christmas season, Dylan could. As it is, well, sounds like another debacle after a solid run of three (or two-and-a-half, depending on your perspective)**

That said, I'll probably be getting it anyway.

[EDIT: I should add that the prospect of Dylan recording "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" is a chance that redeems many sorrows, although I would prefer not to hear it with full-strings Andy Williams treatment--spare guitar and voice would be best--but there you have it. And Dylan's latest vocalizations should give "I'll be Home for Christmas" an interesting sound, even if it's not a recording for the ages.]
____
*I maintain that there have never been more than three (at a maximum) actually good recordings of any Christmas/Winter Solstice songs in history. And the fact that I include the David Bowie/Bing Crosby duet for sheer camp value knocks it down to two.

**HOWEVER, if anything approaches the sheer awful genius of "Wiggle Wiggle" I will rule the album instantly redeemed. See above note on camp value.

This post has been edited by NBooth: 26 August 2009 - 03:19 PM

[draper]

The ubiquitous Bob is trying to tell everybody where to go.

Hey! old Honolula San Francisco Ashtabula.......turn right at the ligh and straight on til morning.

Maybe they can program some Christmas jingles into the mix?

This post has been edited by draper: 27 August 2009 - 11:48 AM

[Persona]

If anyone could bring the gloom to the Christmas season, Dylan could.

My personal favorite choice for a new Christmas album is GWAR. (Come on people, just give it twenty-six seconds and think about it. Seriously, wouldn't it be awesome?!?)

[Christian]

Related contest at The Week.

This week's question: Move over, Andy Williams. Bob Dylan has announced he is recording an album of Christmas songs, including "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and "Here Comes Santa Claus." Let's bet he throws in an original ditty, too. What will be the title of the first Bob Dylan Christmas carol?

[johnpeterson1982]

Hard to tell if Dylan does or does not believe in Jesus from his comments, but he still does songs from his “Christian” albums,

regards
____________________________________________________________________________________________

John

[Darryl A. Armstrong]

Wow, ya'll are a tough crowd. I'm completely willing to hold off judgement until I at least hear the album.

[Andy Whitman]

Wow, ya'll are a tough crowd. I'm completely willing to hold off judgement until I at least hear the album.

Dylan Sings Puccini. Would you need to wait? As long as there is a song there called "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," and there is, and a guy named Bob Dylan sings it, this can only turn out badly. I'm hoping it's all an elaborate in-joke, and that Dylan realizes how ludicrous this looks. But I still don't want to hear it.

This post has been edited by Andy Whitman: 03 September 2009 - 12:10 PM

[Nick Alexander]

I'm a wait-and-see-er myself. Dylan's uppended low expectations before, considering the number of times he's shifted gears. (Dylan on ELECTRIC?!? Dylan does COUNTRY?!? Dylan playing GOSPEL?!?...)

Besides, it can't get any worse than that AWFUL AWFUL AWFUL (but trumpeted here as "exceptional") Sufjan Stevens' Christmas box set.

This post has been edited by Nick Alexander: 03 September 2009 - 01:19 PM

[NBooth]

Any song with "Santa Clause" in it is pretty bad, no matter who sings it. IMHO.

Here's the track listing.

1. Here Comes Santa Clause
2. Do You Hear what I Hear?
3. Winter Wonderland
4. Hark the Herald Angels Sing
5. I'll Be Home For Christmas
6. Little Drummer Boy
7.The Christmas Blues
8. O' Come, All Ye Faithful
9. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
10. Must be Santa
11. Silver Bells
12. The First Noel
13. Christmas Island
14. The Christmas Song
15. O' Little Town of Bethlehem

I'm actually interested in hearing the true-blue carols and (since, unlike Andy, I kinda like the Dylan-as-Bing-Crosby songs) I think "Have Yourself" and "I'll be Home" have...potential.

The rest? I expect something pretty much on a par with this:



A curiosity at best, methinks. All the same, I am willing to be surprised. I will certainly be buying the album. If for no other reason, my irrational hatred of most Christmas music drives me onward.

[Christian]

Related contest at The Week.

This week's question: Move over, Andy Williams. Bob Dylan has announced he is recording an album of Christmas songs, including "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and "Here Comes Santa Claus." Let's bet he throws in an original ditty, too. What will be the title of the first Bob Dylan Christmas carol?

Winners and honorable mentions

[NBooth]

Sound samples are up at Amazon.co.uk

He certainly sounds...enthusiastic.

Ironically...the most fun songs look like the "Santa" songs I derided earlier, and the most just-plain awful are the hymns. This is, of course, based on thirty-second clips.

[EDIT: Just to be clear: it's all bad, bad, bad. Based on thirty-second clips. "Fun" with this stuff has very little to do with quality.]

This post has been edited by NBooth: 17 September 2009 - 06:27 AM

[morgan1098]

Wow, those clips are painful. The musical accompaniment is just as bland and straightforward as any Christmas album by Celine Dion or Michael Buble. Actually it reminds me a lot of Chris Isaak's Christmas album, which I love, but I do not share the same feelings about these clips.

I did sort of enjoy the snippet of "Must be Santa," because it's such a goofy song. My college roommates and I actually made up "dirty" and highly sexual lyrics to this song back in the day, so I can't hear it now without laughing out loud.

[Josh Hurst]

Chris Willman has heard it. Well, part of it. And his review is... very positive.