Ten years ago, Kylie Minogue released her first Christmas album, "Kylie Christmas", a collection of classic and original holiday tunes. Now Aussie pop superstar has just released an update of the album, "Fully Wrapped" which features selections from the original album plus three new tracks.
With "Office Party", Minogue details wanting to a wild, sexy holiday experience like you might have during a celebration at your place of employment. "Hot in December" is a techno-throbbing Christmas love song that will get you ready to get on the dance floor. And the warm and cozy ballad, "This Time of Year" will perfectly get you into the holiday spirit.
This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of "Horses", the debut album by punk poetess, Patti Smith. This progressive collection of edgy rock, unexpectedly utilizing pop music standards at its core, wasn't a big seller at its time of release but has since gone on to become a highly influential work and continues to inspire to this day. To celebrate this recording, which has been preserved into the National Recording Registry in 2009 and inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2021, "Horses" has been re-released and features remastered tracks, unreleased songs and demos.
Smith, who came from a middle-class background growing up in Chicago and Philadelphia before the family settled in New Jersey, met photographer, Robert Mapplethorpe in New York. The two began a brief romantic relationship and created art together. She later became involved with the playwright, Sam Shepard and together wrote the one-act play, "Cowboy Mouth". Around this time, Smith began to further explore writing poetry. Music entered Smith's life when she began publicly reading her poetry accompanied by Lenny Kaye on electric guitar in 1971. Interested in expanding their sound, Smith and Kaye added musicians, Richard Sohl on piano, Ivan Král on bass and Jay Dee Daugherty on drums which created a band. A single was recorded and the band began playing sets at CBGB in New York City. Clive Davis, the legendary record executive who had just started his own label, Arista Records, caught them on stage. Highly impressed, Davis enthusiastically signed Smith and band to a recording contract.
With John Cale, a founding member of the rock band, the Velvet Underground on board to produce, "Horses" was briskly recorded over a few weeks in September 1975 and released in November of that year. Inspired by the work of the surrealist French poet, Arthur Rimbaud, Smith wanted to merge the introspection of poetry with the raw energy of rock and roll. Opening with the still provocative line, "Jesus died for somebody's sins but not mine" on a merging of her original song, "In Excelsis Deo" and a cover of Van Morrison's "Gloria", the album (which features a riveting photograph of an androgynous Smith by Mapplethorpe on the cover) succeeded by combining the unbridled, improvised quality of a live performance while bringing on more polished production needed for a professional recording. And while "Horses" didn't receive much radio play, critics raved about the album, praising the collection for its intriguing new direction for rock and roll and the welcome introduction of an exciting new artist.
Smith would go on to record three more albums, even scoring a top-twenty pop hit with "Because The Night" co-written by Bruce Springsteen in 1978, before putting her career on hold to raise her family in Michigan throughout most of the 1980's. In 1988, Smith returned to music with the album, "Dream of Life" and has continued her career ever since. She would go on to create other recordings, tours, written two best-selling books and had her photography displayed in a museum exhibition.
Olivia Dean has had a very good year. The twenty-six year old British pop singer made a huge impact over the last twelve months with a collection of worldwide hits; "Nice To each Other", "Man I Need", "So Easy (To Fall In Love)" and recently dazzled with her live performance on "Saturday Night Live". To cap off this impressive run, attention has been brought to her version of the Nat "King" Cole holiday classic, "The Christmas Song". Originally recorded by Dean back in 2021, the young vocalist beautifully captures the spirit of this lovely song. Here she is performing the song live at Westminster Abbey with a full orchestra.
BRYAN ADAMS
The Canadian rocker, Bryan Adams has just released an original holiday single, "California Christmas". Adams (who co-wrote the song with his long-time music partner, Jim Vallance) is surrounded by a group of fellow Canadian artists, Alessia Cara, Barenaked Ladies, Alan Doyle and The Sheepdogs to help him record this rocking X-mas tune live. "California Christmas" clearly expresses a desire to have a sunny and warm holiday season that is unique to the West Coast.
MEGHAN TRAINOR
"Gifts For Me" is a new Christmas song from pop artist, Meghan Trainor. This amusing single was inspired by Trainor not being exactly thrilled with some of the Christmas gifts she had received from her husband, actor Daryl Sabara. So she figured it will better to just buy gifts for herself, especially since she'll know that they'll be perfect (and won't have to be exchanged). The singer, best known for her number one hit single, "All About The Bass", had released a holiday album, "A Very Trainor Christmas" five years ago and wanted to add something special and fun for this upcoming season.
