"Surely the funkiest Christmas album I've heard yet..."
- Bonnie Raitt
"Christmas Gumbo is a project that I would've loved to have been a part of. I'm sure it's
going to be an enduring musical event!"
- Michael McDonald
"Funky Christmas Flavors - New Orleans Style"
-Steve Winwood
In a Wide Holiday Groove, From Sinatra to a Remixed 'Messiah'
By THE NEW YORK TIMES
Published: November 26, 2004
Tradition or novelty, devotion or irony, spree or cozy family gathering, sacrament or kitsch — there are as many approaches to Christmas music as there are attitudes toward the holiday itself. Every year, some musicians remake the seasonal standards with deep humility or high concepts, while others come up with new songs that reshuffle the perennials of snow, Santa, family and mistletoe. Sleighbells in the mix are optional.
"CHRISTMAS GUMBO" (Flambeau/Bayside Entertainment). Christmas is only about two months before Mardi Gras, and this album of new Christmas songs from Louisiana makes the gap even smaller. "Christmas Gumbo" covers Louisiana styles from jazz to Cajun music to rhythm-and-blues, and it gathers many of the best-known New Orleans and Cajun stalwarts: Allen Toussaint, Beausoleil, Bo Dollis, Ingrid Lucia and two Neville Brothers. While Aaron Neville does offer a sincere Christmas prayer, most of the other tracks — including Art Neville's title song, a recipe set to a New Orleans mambo — treat Christmas as one more excuse for a good time, with plenty of local color. Where else would Santa get fat on red beans and rice? JON PARELES
The Denver Post
12/05/2004
"Christmas Gumbo," Various Artists (Flambeau Records): Looking for a change from the same ole same ole? Take a listen to "Christmas Gumbo," which showcases 15 Louisiana artists performing a variety of music from zydeco to blues to R&B to funk to Cajun-tinged country. Of course you couldn't have a Louisiana record without a Neville or two showing up. Here it's Aaron Neville creating chills with "Christmas Prayer" and Art Neville lightening things up on the title track. This is a don't-miss CD.
The Boston Herald: The 12 discs of Christmas
By Larry Katz, Friday, December 3, 2004
………..I've found 12 favorites for 2004:
1. ``Christmas Gumbo,'' (Flambeau). Celebrate the holiday Louisiana style with 15 newly recorded tracks, many by luminaries such as Art and Aaron Neville, Allen Toussaint, Irma Thomas and Beausoleil. With songs such as ``Shakana Santa Shake It'' by Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias and ``Pimp My Sleigh'' by Galactic's Houseman, this is blessedly not the same ol' Christmas fare. Shake it, Santa, indeed.
Seattle Times November 25, 2004
"Christmas Gumbo: Fifteen Spicy New Holiday Songs" has a funky New Orleans flavor, with contributions from Allen Toussaint, Art Neville, Irma Thomas, Beausoleil and other Big Easy stars. Young newcomer Marc Broussard starts it off with a dance down Bourbon Street called "On Santa's Way Home." Ingrid Lucia's version of Louis Armstrong's "Zat You Santa Claus?" is pert and sassy. Sonny Landreth plays some great guitar on "Got to Get You Under My Tree." Marva Wright's "Stocking Full of Love" is a beaut of a ballad. Aaron Neville's angelic voice makes "Christmas Prayer" moving. And the Hackberry Rambler's squeezebox-driven "The Only Thing Missing" is a Christmas folk delight.
USA TODAY December 1, 2004
Christmas Gumbo. Songwriters Greg Barnhill and Will Robinson spice up the holidays New Orleans-style with 14 original songs performed by such Louisiana legends as Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas and Allen Toussaint.
The Mercury News (San Jose, CA)
Various artists, ``Christmas Gumbo'' /(Flambeau) /-- If you'd rather be
in New Orleans for the holidays, this is the perfect party album for
you. The Crescent City serves up a rich stew of musical styles from the
Cajun of the Hackberry Ramblers to the rap of Galactic's Houseman
(``Pimp My Sleigh''). You get offerings from such favorites as Allen
Toussaint, BeauSoleil, Art and Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, Wayne Toups,
the Subdudes and Sonny Landreth with the Dixie Cups.
New batch of CDs try to jingle into hearts
The Detroit News – 11/26/04
Various artists, "Christmas Gumbo" (Flambeau Records)
Honestly, you don't really hate Christmas music. What you hate is the same old Christmas played over and over again. A disc like this proves the point, with songs culled from artists representing almost every subgenre of New Orleans music. Included are R&B greats Irma Thomas and Marva Wright, rockers the Subdudes, soulful popster Aaron Neville, 70-year-old (that's no typo) Cajun band the Hackberry Ramblers and much more. Highlights include Ingrid Lucia's Billie Holiday-like sauciness on "'Zat You, Santa Claus?" the Subdude's "Peace in the World" and Allen Toussaint's very amusing "The Day It Snows on Christmas (in New Orleans)." GRADE: A- -- SW
The Chicago Sun-Times
December 5, 2004 – Jeff Johnson
VARIOUS ARTISTS, "CHRISTMAS GUMBO" (FLAMBEAU) *** 1/2
You couldn't ask for 15 better New Orleans artists to appear on a Christmas compilation than Flambeau has assembled for "Christmas Gumbo." Every Crescent City style is represented, including R&B, zydeco, funk, soul and even rap (Houseman's "Pimp My Ride"). The disc scores high for originality, too, with compositions that haven't grown stale under the tree.
New Orleans' first family of funk, the Neville Brothers, is a dominant force here. Other big-name acts include Sonny Landreth, Allen Toussaint, Bo Dollis, Irma Thomas and Wayne Toups. While such collections are by nature artistically limiting, this one's about as good as it gets.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
by Chris Willman
GRADE: B+
“…Eclectic as [Dianne] Reeves might get, she never does indulge in any greasy Cajun stomps. For that, you’ll need Christmas Gumbo (Flambeau), a set of all-new, all-soulful material that a talented pair of Louisiana-bred singer-producers penned for the N’Awlins-linked likes of Irma Thomas, the Subdudes, Beausoleil, and a Neville brother or two.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
12-11-04 - Jon Bream
Various artists, "Christmas Gumbo" (Flambeau) It's the various flavors of New Orleans on a spicy batch of originals. Sonny Landreth gets soulfully seductive on "Got to Get You Under My Tree," Beausoleil parties bayou-style on "Papa St. Nick" and Irma Thomas warms things up on "Christmas Without the Creole," a deeply soulful blues that is the high point. Allen Toussaint, various Nevilles, the Subdudes and others contribute to this tasty Crescent City treat. (J.B.)
The Philadelphia Inquirer
12/19/04 – Nick Cristiano
Various artists
Christmas Gumbo
(Flambeau/33rd Street ****)
It's a cliche, to be sure, but it's hard to avoid calling Christmas Gumbo one spicy collection. The album presents new holiday songs served up in pungent, down-home styles - R&B, Cajun and zydeco among them - by a wide array of Louisiana artists.
Venerable names are here: Irma Thomas, Allen Toussaint, and the Hackberry Ramblers deliver soulful, blue-tinged ballads; Aaron Neville recites the beatific "Christmas Prayer"; and Art Neville stirs up the funk on the title cut.
Marc Broussard, Sonny Landreth, Bo Dollis and Beausoleil are among those who really kick out the jams, and Houseman from Galactic offers the most contemporary touch with the hilarious funk-rap "Pimp My Sleigh."
The bonus cut, Ingrid Lucia's playful take on Louis Armstrong's "Zat You, Santa Claus?", is the only one of the terrific songs on this new Christmas classic not written by album producers Greg Barnhill and Will Robinson.
Orlando Sentinel
Jingling all the way through CD stacks
Published December 10, 2004
• Various artists, Christmas Gumbo (Flambeau Records): There's a Big Easy feel to Sonny Landreth's sassy "Got to Get You Under My Tree" that flows through the rest of this funky collection. If Trout Fishing for America let its hair down, it might sound something like this: The genuine stuff.
Washington Post
In Santa's Bag, Songs That'll Sleigh You
By Richard Harrington - Sunday, December 12, 2004
"Christmas Gumbo." A good-natured seasonal potpourri of New Orleans music featuring mostly original songs. The menu includes R&B legends Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas and Marva Wright, Cajun tunes by the venerable Hackberry Ramblers and Beausoleil, and the second-line rhythms of Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias, as well as rockers the Subdudes and swamp bluesman Sonny Landreth. Allen Toussaint contributes the amusing "The Day It Snows on Christmas (in New Orleans)," but loudest laughs go to former Galactic vocalist Theryl "Houseman" DeClouet, whose "Pimp My Sleigh" takes MTV's "Pimp My Ride" to an unnatural conclusion.
Des Moines Register
By KYLE MUNSON, JOE LAWLER, AND KEVIN COX - November 29, 2004
Various artists, "Christmas Gumbo"
These funky, shuffling, accordion-driven romps will add spicy kick to your eggnog. "Pimp My Sleigh" is the snickering highlight, but there are also great performances by Aaron Neville, BeauSoleil and others.
GUITAR PLAYER MAGAZINE
by Jimmy Leslie
Various Artists - Christmas Gumbo
If you want your Christmas party to feel more like Mardi Gras, Christmas Gumbo—a compilation of spicy original Cajun carols performed by a who’s who of the Bayou scene—is your ticket to the Big Easy. Sonny Landreth rips and slides with a sticky-sweet tone on “Got to Get You Under My Tree,” while the Subdudes’ Tommy Malone sings his soul out over a beautiful bed of acoustic guitar on “Peace in the World.” Ex-Galactic frontman Theryl “Houseman” deClouet is bolstered by Funky Meters’ guitarist Brian Stoltz’s super-slinky, wah-drenched guitar lines on “Pimp My Sleigh”—a sizzling funk-fest of a track that feels as far away from “Silent Night” as New Orleans is from the North Pole.
Houston Press
by: John Nova Lomax
If the new compilation Christmas Gumbo (33rd Street, $16.98) is anything to go by, Houston's equally steamy neighbor state of Louisiana apparently has a healthy disregard for Yankee winter weather. Art Neville gives you the eponymous gumbo recipe, the majestic Irma Thomas unfurls a wonderful salute to Gulf Coast Yules on "Christmas Without the Creole," and Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias warn Santa about the dangers of obesity in New Orleans. But Theryl "Houseman" de Clouet takes the cake here with an instant classic. "Gonna pimp my sleigh," he growls over some top-notch second-line Crescent City funk, "make a funky ride / red and green lights / blinkin' on the underside / looking like the baddest sled on the scene / everybody gonna see me comin' up Canal Street." "Houseman" appears a little confused about the concept of a sleigh, as he refers to "chrome spinning on all the wheels," but hey, if he's gonna have a sleigh in New Orleans, he better hope he won't have to drag it across a snowy field.
San Antonio News Express
--Jim Beal Jr.
…The newest song of the evening, Neville's "Christmas Prayer," from a
compilation CD called "Christmas Gumbo," was a heartfelt plea of the
kind that soulfully moves souls.
Stamford, CT Advocate
Christmas Gumbo," various artists (Flambeau Records)
Louisiana -- and New Orleans in particular -- can turn anything into a celebration. So, it should come as no surprise that a sense of joy pervades "Christmas Gumbo," a collection of original tunes by artists more accustomed to providing the soundtrack to Mardi Gras, fais do dos or street parades than Dec. 25. It's an excellent disc. Fifteen artists contribute songs, and there's some incredible musical royalty here. Because Louisiana doesn't equate Christmas with snow or being cold, the focus here is the season as state of mind.
R&B architect Allen Toussaint provides wonderful hometown imagery on "The Day it Snows on Christmas," equating the chances for that kind of weather to paraders losing the beat, Cajuns moving to Arkansas, the beans and rice being flavorless, and the Saints winning The Super Bowl. Like Toussaint, Art Neville is musical royalty in New Orleans and his uptempo title track recalls his first single, "Mardi Gras Mambo," from almost 50 years ago. Slide guitarist Sonny Landreth gets bawdy with some help from the Dixie Cups on "Got to Get You Under My Tree."
BeauSoleil, led by fiddler and musicologist Michael Doucet, is the premier Cajun band in America, and "Papa St. Nick" is worthy of any barn-burning dance. On the other end of the Louisiana cultural sphere is Big Chief Bo Dollis -- of the Wild Magnolia Mardi Gras Indian tribe -- leading a rousing street parade.
Although most of the disc is celebratory, there's a handful of sober moments. The subdudes get reflective and timely with "Peace in the World," with an incredibly soulful vocal performance by Tommy Malone; New Orleans' greatest voice, Aaron Neville, uses his angelic vocalizing to offer his "Christmas Prayer"; and the similarly blessed Irma Thomas is contemplative on "Christmas With the Creole."
"Christmas Gumbo" is as culturally removed from New England as can be. Still, it's a joyous Celebration and a reminder of how much great music comes from Louisiana. More impressive is that all of these great tunes are new.
Louisiana musicians stir up spicy Christmas Gumbo
The Baton Rouge Advocate – 12/10/04 by John Wirt
...Christmas Gumbo stars classic New Orleans R&B artists Art and Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas, the Dixie Cups and Allen Toussaint; on-the-rise Lafayette singer-songwriter, Marc Broussard; Cajun bands BeauSoleil and the Hackberry Ramblers; zydecajun man Wayne Toups; Lafayette slide-guitar champ Sonny Landreth; New Orleans roots-rock group the subdudes; Mardi Gras Indians troupe Bo Dollis and the Wild Magnolias; New Orleans crooner Jeremy Davenport and more.
…The happy Caribbean sound of Art Neville's "Christmas Gumbo" recalls his '50s hit "Mardi Gras Mambo." The subdudes' "Peace In The World," a rootsy blend of folk and soul, is another serious track. Marva Wright and Irma Thomas sing gospel-flavored songs.
…The Dixie Cups of "Chapel of Love" and "Iko Iko" fame sing backup for Sonny Landreth in "Got To Get You Under My Tree."
Music Row: Dec 12 2004
ART NEVILLE/Christmas Gumbo
Writer: Greg Barnhill/Will Robinson; Producer: Greg Barnhill/Will Robinson; Publisher: Yellow Wilderness/Yellow City/Warning Danger, SESAC/BMI; Flambeau (track) (www.flambeaurecords.com)
—Wayne Toups, Allen Toussaint, Beausoleil, Irma Thomas, Aaron Neville, The Hackberry Ramblers, Sonny Landreth (with the Dixie Cups!) and eight other Louisiana acts have been rounded up for this super Cajun Christmas collection produced by Music City’s Barnhill and Robinson. Art Neville has its rump-shaking title tune. – Robert K. Oermann
The Tennessean (Nashville, TN)
12/10/2004 – Peter Cooper
Various Artists, Christmas Gumbo (Flambeau)
Conceived, written (except for the bonus track, Zat You, Santa Claus?) and produced by Nashville locals Greg Barnhill and Will Robinson, this 15-track disc collection includes contributions from Sonny Landreth, Aaron Neville, Irma Thomas and Beausoleil, all playing New Orleans-flavored music. The players are exemplary, the music is funky and there's a neat spirit underlying the whole affair. It's good work that doesn't sound like work at all. — PC
Christmas Gumbo, various artists (Bayside/Flambeau)
Mistletunes
Party town New Orleans is always a good place to go for your holiday grooves, and this 2004 compilation carries on the tradition. Songwriter/producers Greg Barnhill and Will Robinson (not the "Lost In Space" kid) had the idea to write a whole CD's worth of fresh Christmas tunes and then recruit some hometown talent to perform them. So we get Beausoleil and their trademark zydeco on "Papa St. Nick," the legend Allen Toussaint doing a Fats Domino groove on "The Day It Snows On Christmas," Art Neville of the famous Brothers on the title song, brother Aaron showing off his balladeer chops on "Christmas Prayer," Irma Thomas taking it slow on "Christmas Without the Creole," and the Subdudes singing about "Peace in the World." John Hiatt fans will recognize Sonny Landreth's guitar chops, if not his voice, on "Got To Get You Under My Tree," with the help of the Dixie Cups on background vocals. And just in case you thought there was anything dated about a New Orleans Christmas, Houseman funks things up on "Pimp My Sleigh," taking off on the car customizing trend. The final cut is the only tune not written by Barnhill and Robinson, Ingrid Lucia's version of "Zat You, Santa Claus?" Serious holiday party music here, folks.
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