Brian Wilson - What I Really Want For Christmas (2005) RESTORED

A new Brian Wilson record is always cause for celebration, even if it turns out to be an album of Christmas music, his third such venture in 40 years. What I Really Want for Christmas features Wilson and the crack band he employed on Smile putting their spin on 10 traditional favorites, plus new versions of the Beach Boys' "Little Saint Nick" and "The Man With All the Toys" and two originals cowritten with Bernie Taupin and Jimmy Webb. Though they don't rise to the level of his best work (admittedly the tallest of orders), the title track and "Christmasey" prove Wilson can still turn out a catchy melody when he wants to, and the disc as a whole shows his arranging chops are as strong as ever, if no longer as innovative. Like Smile, What I Really Want for Christmas sometimes suffers in comparison to the Beach Boys – Wilson dedicates it to his "beloved brothers Carl and Dennis who I miss singing carols with" (as do we) – but occasionally, as on "O Holy Night", one feels the old soul and spirit shining through. Though it may not merit a spot next to The Beach Boys' Christmas Album and A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector as a classic of the genre, it's still a joy to hear Wilson singing the songs he's loved since childhood. If this is your kind of music, this is your kind of album.

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Brian Wilson - What I Really Want For Christmas (2005) RESTORED

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The format for single-artist Christmas albums has remained static nearly since the dawn of the LP: a popular artist reprises his sound of the moment in a Christmas setting, sometimes mixing sacred material with secular, but always generating a time capsule that rarely holds up to repeated listenings. The Beach Boys recorded one of the best rock Christmas records of all time, and contributed an even rarer thing than a good holiday album – a new composition to add to the canon in "Little Saint Nick". Brian Wilson's first solo Christmas album (although he did attempt a second Beach Boys edition in the mid-'70s) was recorded with the same group that made his 2004 SMiLE LP, and it shows the influence of that record. The two new songs are intriguing because each pairs Wilson with a great rock lyricist. The first, "What I Really Want for Christmas", finds Bernie Taupin thrusting some fine sentiments into a very SMiLE-like melody. The other is the odd title "Christmasey", written with Jimmy Webb, a bright song with a kinetic power that makes it the highlight of the record. Surprisingly, Wilson doesn't shy away from the sacred material – in fact, nearly half of the songs are hymns – and sings multiple verses of "Hark the Herald Angels" and "O Holy Night" like he's reading straight from the hymnbook (except for the excellent new vocal arrangement he writes for the beginning and outro of the former). Wilson's oddly emphatic vocals don't quite suit the Christmas concept, but the arrangements and treatments are very good; the long instrument list and sound will be familiar to Beach Boys fans who have long since memorized the credits on Pet Sounds and SMiLE. Only two choices are puzzling: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" definitely doesn't benefit from a backbeat, and things get a bit confused on "The Man with All the Toys" when the band essays a single line from "O Come All Ye Faithful" ("let every heart prepare him room") and the listener starts wondering whether they're still talking about Santa Claus. One nice fillip for Beach Boys fans is how Wilson consciously swipes the beginning of the Ronettes' "Be My Baby" (long recognized as his favorite song) for the bonus track "On Christmas Day".

~ John Bush, all media guide

Tracklist:

01. The Man With All The Toys (Brian Wilson, Mike Love)
02. What I Really Want For Christmas (Wilson, Bernie Taupin)
03. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
04. O Holy Night
05. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
06. Hark The Herald Angels Sing (Mendelssohn, Wesley)
07. It Came Upon A Midnight Clear
08. The First Noel
09. Christmasey (Wilson, Jimmy Webb)
10. Little Saint Nick (Brian Wilson, Mike Love)
11. Deck The Halls
12. Auld Lang Syne
13. On Christmas Day (Wilson)
14. Joy To The World
15. Silent Night


Tracks 13–15 are bonus tracks, 13 and 15 having originally appeared on Wilson's website during 2000 and 2001.
Track 14 was co-produced by an uncredited Joe Thomas.

All tracks Traditional except where indicated
all songs Produced & Arranged by Brian Wilson
additional strings and horn arrangements by Paul Von Mertens
Engineered, Recorded & Mixed by Mark Linett
Recorded at April/May 2005 at Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, CA
Mixed at Your Place or Mine Recording, Glendale, California

Repack. Thanks to the Original Releaser!

Brian Wilson - vocals, piano
Jeffrey Foskett - vocals, guitar, sleigh bells
Darian Sahanaja - vocals, piano, organ, vibes, glockenspiel
Nicky Walusko - vocals, guitar | John Yoakum - baritone sax, oboe
Probyn Gregory - vocals, guitar, french horn, flugelhorn, trumpet
Paul Van Mertens - sax, flute, harmonica
Bob Lizik - bass | Jim Hines - drums
Nelson Bragg Jr. - vocals, percussion
Taylor Mills - vocals | Peter Kent - violin
Robbie Hiotti - trombone, bass trombone
Sharon Jackson - violin | Karen Bakunin - viola
Erika Kirkpatrick - cello | Carol Robbins - harp

Release Date: October 18, 2005
Label: Arista
Catalog No.: 82876 71809 2