Crazy for Christmas
Surfdog
Dan Hicks has had his second wind for 10 years now, after going on a 25-year recording hiatus with the exception of 1994’s live “Shootin’ Straight.” His 2000 comeback, “Beatin’ the Heat,” featured several big-name guests and was well-received, as were 2001’s “Alive and Lickin’,” 2004’s “Selected Shorts” and 2009’s “Tangled Tales.”
Like his other 21st-century albums, “Crazy” includes covers of old standards and draws from Hicks’ apparently deep well of never-recorded originals. There also are a few tunes (“Somebody Stole My Santa Claus Suit,” “Santa’s Workshop” and “Under the Mistletoe”) that he wrote for an intermittent jug band made up of himself and like-minded San Francisco Bay Area musicians.
“I have been performing Christmas shows for over 20 years,” Hicks told Good New Music, “first with my hometown Mill Valley, Calif., musician buddies The Christmas Jug Band and later with my own band. Dan Hicks and the Hot Licks’ “Holidaze in Hicksville” tour has hit the road nationally for the last six or seven years.
“These songs were all written over many years and more recently edited a bit and rearranged (for ‘Crazy’),” he added. For those wondering, Hicks revealed that “Somebody Stole My Santa Claus Suit” isn’t based on a true story: “Dreamt that one up all by myself!”
His famously dry humor is abundant throughout the album, as are the Hot Licks’ trademark Quintette du Hot Club de France-style violin/guitar ensembles (by Malibu Slim — aka a fiddler named Charlie — and fingerstylist Lawrence Juber) and Andrews Sisters-style background vocals (by the Lickettes).
Other players include Gypsy swing guitarist Gonzalo Bergara, drummer Gregg Bissonette, string bassist Ken Wild and pianist John Rosenberg. Dave Bell, who played on Hicks’ last two albums and is lead guitarist for the touring band, provides the guitar solo on “Run Run Rudolph.”
Hicks reworked his 1971 classic “Where’s the Money?” and ’40s standard “”Choo Choo Ch’Boogie,” transforming them with insanely funny new lyrics into “Christmas Mornin’ ” and “Santa Gotta Choo Choo.”
Other highlights include Steve Allen’s “Cool Yule”; a hilarious, all-scat version of the traditional “Carol of the Bells,” complete with guest-Chipmunk vocals; and “Santa’s Workshop,” featuring Juber on dobro and the Lickettes on kazoos.
Tracks
1. Christmas Mornin’
2. Santa Gotta Choo Choo
3. Somebody Stole My Santa Claus Suit
4. Carol Of The Bells
5. Run Run Rudolph
6. Santa’s Workshop
7. Old Fashioned Christmas
8. Cool Yule
9. I’ve Got Christmas By The Tail
10. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
11. Here Comes Santa Claus
12. Under The Mistletoe
Total time: 41:49
External links
artist’s website
amazon.com
iTunes Store
