THE 25TH DAY OF DECEMBER  -  THE STAPLE SINGERS

YEAR:  1962
LABEL:  Riverside
TRACK LISTING:  The Last Month of the Year,  The Virgin Mary Had One Son,  Go Tell It On the Mountain,  Joy To the World,  Holy Unto the Lord,  The Savior Is Born,  Sweet Little Jesus Boy,  No Room At the Inn,  There Was A Star,  O Little Town of Bethlehem,  Wasn't That A Mighty Day,  Silent Night
IMPRESSIONS:  Hey, you know it's Christmas time?  You'd never know it from this blog recently.  However, I thought I should post at least a couple Christmas albums this time of year.  And I frankly can't think of many better ones than this 1962 Staple Singers outting.  You may or may not know that I consider Mavis Staples one of the greatest voices of the 20th century (and beyond) and this album is a spectacular example of the lady at her prime.  In fact, Pops, Yvonne and Pervis are also at the top of their form as the simple, unfussy song arrangements don't get in the way of the Staples' performance making this one of the most enjoyable Christmas albums you're likely to hear.  The organ playing of Maceo Woods is placed far enough back in the mix as not to overpower the vocals while Al Duncan's drumming is sympathetic as well.  Pops Staple's trademark "spooky" reverb guitar playing is the perfect counterpoint to Mavis' glorious voice and the whole thing ends up a classic album.
MY FAVOURITE TRACKS:  Oh come on!  All of 'em!
GUEST ARTISTS:  Maceo Woods (organ), Al Duncan (drums)
FACT SHEET:  It's difficult to number the Staple Singers albums so I won't attempt it.  The album was recorded at Chicago's Universal Studios in 1962.