For me itâs not the season until I hear A Christmas Gift For You from Phil Spector, namely for the Ronettes songs and Darlene Loveâs âChristmas (Baby Please Come Home).â I fully admit to loving rock and roll Christmas music. Nothing fills me with the joy of the season quite like hearing Ronnie Spector making Frosty melt, so Iâm down to listen to whatever holiday music she makes.
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Having said that, Ronnie Spectorâs Best Christmas Ever is a bit thin on quality material, which is a shame since itâs a five-song EP. There isnât much room for subpar material on a twenty minute record, and sheâs released better EPs before, She Talks to Rainbows and Somethingâs Gonna Happen, so itâs not like itâs impossible. The problem is that Spectorâs clearly hammy it up on material thatâs beneath her.
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âMy Christmas Wishâ is a cutesy retro pop/rock opener, and itâs perfect for her showgirl chutzpah. Then we get to the next two songs: âItâs the Time (Happy Holidays)â and âLight One Candle.â The first is a Latin pop number that doesnât vibe with Spectorâs voice, and only stands out for an adorable spoken word moment where she shares a precious childhood memory. No, I wonât repeat it because you need to discover that for yourself. âLight One Candleâ is exactly the kind of heavily sentimental, overly drippy song that makes people dislike Christmas music.
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The last two songs are much better. âBest Christmas Everâ is cheesy pop/rock that swings like 50s pastiche. Itâs fun, itâs junk food for your ear, itâs kinda perfect for her. Then we end with âItâs Christmas Once Again.â Once again, Spector provides an autobiographical spoken word memory, and the surrounding song is tailor-made for her vocal style. The original bad girl of rock has always had a soft, gooey center, and this song plays into that.
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Ronnie Spectorâs Best Christmas Ever ends up being about average. Her voice sounds right at home on alternative rock, so imagine if sheâd covered something like the Ramonesâ âMerry Christmas (I Donât Want to Fight Tonight)â or the Kinksâ âFather Christmas.â Then again, thereâs a plethora of 50s and 60s Christmas tunes she couldâve done: âLittle Saint Nick,â âBlue Christmas,â âRun, Run Rudolph,â âJingle Bell Rock.â Hell, I saw her perform âHappy Xmas (War Is Over)â as part of her encore and a studio version of that would be cool. Oh, what might have been.
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DOWNLOAD: âItâs Christmas Once Againâ