Roger Williams - Christmas Time

I was searching for albums that I'd not heard of, and I found Christmas Time. The cover was wonderfully kitschy and the songs ranged from "Silent Night" to "Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire" which appealed to me. The back cover photo of Roger Williams looked sufficiently geeky to catch my interest. This was either going awesome or a train wreck.

The original version of the album came out in 1959, and this re-issue is undated, likely from the early '60s. It was manufactured by MCA in Canada. Man I don't know why it was such a problem to put a date on things.

I suppose there was a feeling this was timeless and as such didn't need a date. Perhaps in a way it is. I really didn't know what to expect, not knowing anything about Roger Williams, I didn't know if this was a vocal or instrumental collection of songs. Turns out Mr. Williams, was a pianist, and a really good one. There is certainly a nostalgic charm in hearing these old carols played on the piano backed by an orchestra. Most likely it all depends on what counts as nostalgia for you. For me, Christmas evokes old black and white movies, and the sound of an old car radio playing music on the am dial. This for me, pushes a lot of buttons. It's also quite enjoyable, and with all the hustle and frenetic activity that accompanies the lead up to Christmas being able to relax a little is a treat.

Doing a little reading on Mr. Williams, it's interesting that in his heyday he was a big deal. Before Joe Satriani was hailed as the hero for getting instrumental songs on the radio, Roger Williams was the first to have an instrumental hit number 1 back in 1955 with his song "Autumn Leaves" and then again hit the top 10 with "Born Free" in 1966. I remember watching the movie as a kid, all I remember is Elsa the lion. He would release 22 hit singles and was at one time considered one of the top instrumentalists of his day.

Time marches on, and music moved on an evolved. It's funny how everything is always centred on what is current, and sales figures and popularity of artists are measured again their peers, or The Beatles. Anything before that was a black hole marked "Here be dragons." In that black morass is Roger Williams and a host of others who were once considered a big deal.

Regardless, Christmas music is another thing altogether. Music for the holidays can be mushed together, and for me I'll listen to this along side just about anything else in my collection. This is the kind of music that plays during dinner or time sitting around the tree reading a book or hanging out with family. There's a warmth that evokes a crackling fire and a glass of rum and eggnog. Maybe it's just me, I am a maudlin sucker for the holidays, and with Christmas Time Roger Williams provided a wonderful soundtrack that captures the holidays with arrangements of the sacred and contemporary.

Merry Christmas indeed.