Of all the easy listening discs I discuss herein, none listens quite so easily as Merry Christmas, an orchestral suite from the Great One, Jackie Gleason. Most famous for his role as Ralph Kramden in TV's The Honeymooners, Gleason was, more than anything, a character, and a man's man. But he was inarguably an tremendous actor and a physical comedian par excellence. And, he wrote music. Gleason's made-up arrangements (he was not a trained musician) fall into a category once called "beautiful music," perhaps to delineate it from the cacophonous rock then starting to dominate the airwaves. Also tagged as "semi-classical" (think Mantovani or Horst Jankowki), Gleason's records were specifically designed to serve as background music. To hear more, see The Romantic Moods of Jackie Gleason.

Jackie was at his best when he veered into exotic territory - a la Martin Denny or Les Baxter. Sadly, that's more not than often, and on Merry Christmas (1956) Gleason resides a bit too close to pure schlock for my tastes. He lays on thick his trademark strings and wordless choruses, adding electric celeste (played by a guy named Hercules!) for flavor. But, the arrangements adhere to a mood (and tempo) for which "relaxed" is an insufficient modifier, transforming the album into musical wallpaper. Thus, Merry Christmas is recommended only for little old ladies or very, very serious lounge music enthusiasts. Every one else should seek out John Fahey or Vince Guaraldi - holiday music that's not too difficult, but not so easy.

Merry Christmas was the first of two Christmas albums Jackie Gleason recorded for Capitol Records. It has been reissued twice, first by indie label Razor & Tie (with new artwork), then by Capitol themselves (with original cover, above). The second LP, 'Tis The Season (also reissued by Capitol), came much later (1967), and it slipped the bonds of substance altogether, becoming so diaphanous as to disappear.

Awash in anonymous strings and anchored by plodding tempos, at least 'Tis The Season avoids the obvious holiday repertoire, assaying obscure songs like "Christmas Moon" and romantic numbers like "That's What I Want For Christmas." But, it's soloists like Buddy Morrow (trombone) and Pee Wee Erwin (trumpet) that lend 'Tis The Season most of its character. Charlie Ventura's saxophone, for instance, gives weight to the otherwise ephemeral "Christmas Moon." But, if Merry Christmas is musical wallpaper, then 'Tis The Season barely qualifies as paste.

Another Capitol album, All I Want For Christmas, followed in 1969, simply repackaging the previous two albums. This set has never been reissued digitally, but it's worth tracking down for the buxom, blonde Santa on the cover... (take a peek). Anyway, all the existing CD reissues have fallen out-of-print and now fetch fairly immoderate fees. A more thrifty choice would be Snowfall (2001), a 10-song "special market" (i.e. cheap) CD taken almost entirely from Merry Christmas while ignoring the lone Gleason composition ("Christmas In Paris") and less obvious selections (such as "Christmas Moon") on either original LP. [top of page]