This is the third instalment in a musical take on an advent calendar. Each day through Christmas eve, I'll be picking an album or song I like. You can follow the thread here.
It's not often that a Christmas album seems audacious, but that's how I recall reacting when I bought Sufjan Stevens' Songs for Christmas three years ago. It comes in a box, and consists of five separate CDs, each in its own sleeve. The project began as an EP that Stevens recorded for his friends in 2001; he made three others that way, before recording the fifth to serve as the complement for the commercially released album.
What an eclectic mix to be found on the album (all of which, incidentally, can be streamed for free on Stevens's website until Christmas). As usual, Stevens goes for the unusual with his arrangements, using a wide mix of instruments, including banjos, vibraphones, horns, whistles and pianos. Some of the songs have an improvised feel - he recorded most of them quickly, sometimes with friends and colalborators - while others are polished. There's also a blend of the sacred and the secular, which might have caught some alt-rock fans a bit off guard. Stevens is dead sincere with song choices that are more often found with choirs. The results, though, can be amazing: an instrumental, keyboard-driven version of Once in Royal David's City is hypnotically lovely, even for just two minutes of music. (There's a more conventional and sung version of the tune on another disc.)
Stevens also shows a sense of humour. Just the title of Get Behind Me, Santa is enough for a smile. A favourite in our house is the peculiarly titled Come On! Let's Boogey to the Elf Dance!, which can be heard below, via a (very literal) slideshow a fan created. It's a song written from a child's perspective - the real kind, not necessarily the idealized version adults often craft.
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