Roger Whittaker – The Roger Whittaker Christmas Album A Time for Peace

Roger Whittaker and Nana Mouskouri always seemed to me to be two sides of the same coin, except one played a 12 string guitar and was a hell of a whistler. It's funny how you grow up with certain artists but have no idea who they are. Roger Whittaker was simply someone I knew about, but knew nothing about. So when I found his Christmas album I didn't hesitate I just picked it up and added it to my pile.

I'm still listening to Christmas music, but in the run up to Epiphany I'm getting to the bottom of this year's pile, and I have to admit with all that's been going on I've spent less time in the basement ignoring my chores and listening to records.

Still I did squirrel aside some time to try and take this one in. Eschewing the trend of merely recycling "Jingle Bells" and the other Christmas staples, Roger collects some of the lesser known Christmas songs, as well as a number of originals. As to the whistling, I have to admit old Roger didn't pucker and purse his lips nearly enough for me, but then again I suppose it's a balance between too much or too little, and here it wasn't enough. Oh well, it's a guarantee that you can pretty much displease a lot of people most of the time.

Now, I will admit that this was an acquired taste, and while it was pretty good at times, particularly the opening track "Hallelujah It's Christmas" there were other odd selections that kind of defied categorization. The first was "Darcy The Dragon" a song that I still can't quite figure out. It was the second of the two oddballs that truly took the cake for me: "The Governor's Dream" was the stuff of wonderment. It's like a progressive rock song fitted into the happy balladeer style only Roger could deliver.

I see a stable, nearly dark
O holy, O holy
An infant sleeps, the watchdogs bark
O holy, O holy
Rise up, for he is come
Rise up, rise up, for he is come
For he is come
Who sings? Who sings?
Who shouts? Who shouts?
Who prays?
Come out! Come out, come out, I say!

It's played for dramatic effect, and by goodness the cheese doth run deep here. So much so that my wife who had come into the room stopped and asked me what I was listening to. I told her and she just shook her head and said, "This is so bad. It's really cheesy."

To which I nodded sagely and agreed, adding, "But it's such good cheese." She shook her head and left me to continue listening to the album.

Now, I know that I commented earlier about the whistling, and I suppose that "Guten Abend, Gute Nacht" which was Roger and his trusty 12 string warbling the entire song really was all whistling all the time. Perhaps it was enough after all.

The arrangements are what you'd expect from a mid '70s record, and Roger was in that weird space that catered to an older demographic and what was current or hip didn't really factor into the equation. This was more the safe middle ground that was the stuff of variety shows. Still, listening to the album there were a few times I found myself thinking, "Man it would be cool to hear him cover "A Spaceman Came Travelling" by Chris de Burgh. It would actually fit here.

For all that though this was fun. A bit campy, probably unintentionally so - hence the references to cheese. I enjoyed it for what it was, and who knows maybe I'll find a Christmas album by Nana Mouskouri.