Bob Dylan has paved the way for future sonic tonic performers Comments
When I heard last month that Bob Dylan had done a Christmas album, I couldn’t believe it. But Cory Frye confirmed this news last week with his review of 10 new “sonic tonics” for Christmas, including Dylan’s.
After reading Cory’s delightful “Rocking around the Christmas tree” in The Entertainer, I went out and bought Dylan’s “Christmas in the Heart.”
I’ve never been a big Dylan fan, but I like this album despite — and maybe because of — Bob’s raspy vocal imperfections. At this point in his life, Dylan sounds a bit like one of my favorite all-time performers, Louis Armstrong. Cory put it best: “He may have the voice of boiled cigarettes … but Bob Dylan remains a living national treasure.”
Nancy didn’t take a kindly to “Christmas in the Heart.” Dylan “massacred” the Christmas classics, she fumed. Feeling guilty, I returned to the store the next day and bought another new CD — Andrea Bocelli’s “My Christmas” — that I thought she would enjoy. More than simply enjoy it, we love this one. It’s now the No. 1 Christmas album in our house. I like it more than my previously top-ranked “One Wish” by Whitney Houston, which I have on my iPod.
Bocelli delivers the best versions of “White Christmas,” “The Christmas Song” (with Natalie Cole) and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (with the Adderly School Kids Choir) that I’ve heard.
I’m also happy to report that Nancy has warmed up a bit to “Christmas in the Heart” since she first heard it. We even danced in the kitchen last night to Dylan’s version of “The Christmas Song.” But like eating too many holiday sweets, we’ve listened to “Christmas in the Heart” and “My Christmas” so much in the past week that we’ve just about had our fill of them. By this evening, we’ll be ready to pack away all of our Christmas albums until next November.
One more thought about Bob Dylan. He deserves thanks for opening doors for future sonic tonic performers. If Dylan can make a Christmas album, countless others can do the same. I would like to see Norah Jones and Alicia Keys enter the market. Led Zeppelin could produce a hot-selling “Stairway to Christmas.” My greatest wish is that Carlos Santana get into the holiday spirit. If he starts planning in the months ahead, we could have “Jingo Bells” next Christmas.
I leave you with You Tube videos of Bob Dylan’s zany “Must Be Santa” and Andrea Bocelli’s “White Christmas.”
Merry Christmas!
