The Salsoul Orchestra – Christmas Jollies I + II The Extra Jolly Edition
SoulMusic/The Second Disc
3CD/DL
Out now
3CD that rounds up The Salsoul Orchestra’s two seasonal LPs from 1976 and 1981, plus Tom Moulton’s 1992 remix of the first album. Ian Canty writes…
Vince Montana Junior was a member of MFSB, the crack backing outfit that provided the basis for the famous “Philly Sound” of the mid-1970s. In this role he played vibes and percussion behind such luminaries as The O’Jays, Billy Paul, Harold Melvin and many more. After he and some of the other MFSB players fell out with Philadelphia International Records, they switched to the Salsoul label and formed into Vince’s idea of a Disco big band. Thus renewed, they took on the title The Salsoul Orchestra. After they had settled in on their new imprint Montana masterminded Christmas Jollies in 1978, with a eye firmly aimed in the direction of the lucrative Yuletide market stateside.
I have to be honest and say the first couple of tracks on Christmas Jollies don’t really work for me. The Little Drummer Boy and Sleigh Ride both have decent Funk/Soul backing tracks, with the MFSB roots of the musicians you are pretty much guaranteed that. But I found the choral vocal stylings which sat on the top both unwieldy and anonymous. Next Silent Night gets a short, straight reading and there is a lovely Jazz/Funk swing to Merry Christmas All. Denise Montana’s singing is much more distinctive than what has gone before and crucially this adds a lot to the piece.
An exotic rhythm sets Christmas Time up well to triumph as a cool dance tune, but unfortunately There’s Someone Who’s Knocking is truly naff, upping the cutesy element way too far by utilising a children’s chorus to the extent you may experience toothache after listening. The second side of Christmas Jollies features just two numbers, with the chosen tracks Christmas Medley and New Year’s Medley presumably covering all the festive options. Christmas Medley picks up a solid Funk basis which powers it along and after a couple of drinks I imagine it could do the trick of getting a party going back in the 70s.
New Year’s Medley is more of the same really. Apart from the maudlin standard Auld Lang Syne itself, not many of the songs pressed into service here had much to do with New Year celebrations at all, which leads one to the conclusion this is padding. Even so, Christmas Jollies sold well in the US and there is no denying that it is impeccably performed throughout. But listening to it today, this album is heavy on the cheese to be lenient. On this disc there are also bonuses including a 7 inch single We Wish You A Merry Christmas where some creamy brass solos crop up and further mixes of The Little Drummer Boy, Christmas Time, Christmas Medley and New Year’s Medley. After all that, I couldn’t even tolerate the concept of mince pies.
Three years later producer Patrick Adams revived the project for Christmas Jollies II. On the plus side Jocelyn Brown, who is probably best know in the UK for her 1984 hit single Somebody Else’s Guy, was on hand to sing the LP’s luscious opener You’re All I Want For Christmas. This is a really step up from the first album for me, as it is quality Soul Music doesn’t overdo the Xmas motif. Although the following Deck The Halls is more manner of the first record, The Salsoul Orchestra apply a more subtle approach here and Marian Rolle’s vocal has plenty of earthy character about it.
Joy To The World isn’t quite as impressive, but has a smart Funk backing and energy and then The Salsoul Christmas Suite riffs instrumentally through a few ballet tunes with that old Yule standby The Nutcracker figuring. A dramatic God Rest You Merry Gentlemen is rendered relatively faithfully on a Funky backing with an elongated flute section and Joyful Spirit ends the record. The second side of the vinyl of Christmas Jollies II is inferior to its flip, but even so I found it much better than the first LP by dint of including some cracking dance tunes. On this disc it is joined by 7 inch single versions of Deck The Halls and The Salsoul Christmas Suite.
Showing that I know nothing, this second set was seen as a failure commercially in the United States and all went quiet until Tom Moulton remixed the first album’s numbers in 1992. This makes up the final disc of the set. Moulton seems to bring up the bass on Christmas Medley to compete with the rather bland vocalising, but somehow conspires to makes New Year’s Medley even more duff. Christmas Time does get a bit of a boost in this form though and at least New Year’s/Americana Suite’s title is more accurate, even if it eschews any Dance influences.
The final track, a DANK (nothing to do with KYTV’s Daily Adult Nude Channel I think) remix of The Little Drummer Boy, is a House effort that plays merry hell with the source material thankfully. On the whole I found Moulton’s mix more palatable than the original record.
Christmas Jollies I + II The Extra Jolly Edition is a lot of seasonal fluff to take in one sitting. If you do that, don’t be surprised if you get a slightly sickly feeling, strangely similar to what one receives on Boxing Day after indulging in too much of everything. I suppose one has to take into account I was listening to this set in early November, not Xmas Eve after one too many snowballs. Taken individually, after the novelty of having a Disco backing to carols/old standards has worn off, I found Christmas Jollies fairly hard going. However Christmas Jollies II is much more like it, the pick of the bunch for me and the bonus disc should satisfy hardcore fans. If you don’t open this set until after December 21st, there’s some fun to be had here.
If you so wish, you can get a copy of The Salsoul Orchestra – Christmas Jollies I + II The Extra Jolly Edition here
slicing through the static 