Paul Mickelson - Christmas Concert at the Console

I found this one among my dad's old records. It always surprised me by how old my father's musical tastes were. I could never reconcile his taste in records to how old he actually was. Still, I suppose that was more to do with his strict upbringing, and the near intolerance of all things secular that stemmed from his parents.

Paul Mickelson (not to be confused with Phil) got his start in the '50s playing organ for Billy Graham crusades, and would later be an executive at Word records and start his own label, Supreme Records, and a number of smaller subsidiary imprints. Christmas Concert at the Console was on Console Records, but there's no year on the jacket or record, and the only reference I can find states it was released in the '60s.

The album itself was recorded at the Console of the N.B.C. Pipe Organ in Hollywood. I actually love the cover photo, and wish there was a little more detail on the Console itself. I've always been fascinated by organs, and all the toggles, plungers, and pedals. It always seemed to me you had to have the dexterity of an octopus and the brain of a mad scientist to be able to decipher what everything did.

Organ music can be a cheesy thing and one that evokes the maudlin soundtracks of old soap operas, but there's also something specifically churchy about the organ. Before modern praise music took over, the organ was synonymous with hymns. It was a strange thing as a kid to hear organ music in rock music ... it just seemed, off, but really cool too.

Paul Mickelson's short concert contains a dozen classic hymns, and on the back cover Mr. Mickelson provides a brief commentary for each selection. This little detail is actually really nice, and considering the carols presented are so common, some of the background and details were new to me.

I originally kept this album thinking it would be fun to take the piss and make fun of how cheesy the organ arrangements were ... instead I found myself listening closely and following along with the provided song sheets. In a weird way it felt a little like a personal Christmas service.

Of course, if you only want to hear Mariah Carey songs and wonder if people in Africa know it's Christmas, this will be lost on you. I was surprised it wasn't lost on me too, as this really is well outside of my wheelhouse, but dagnabbit, it is Christmas and by gum a good old-fashioned collection of carols is just what I needed to help get me in the Christmas spirit.

Like Mel said, "Al - though it's been said many times, many ways Merry Christ - mas to you!"

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