12/11/06: Tiny Tim’s Christmas Album (1996)In a nice bit of showbiz timing, Tiny Tim passed away just as one of his best albums was released.
Tiny Tim’s Christmas Album was originally recorded during a 1993 stay in Sydney, Australia, in what was then a mad flurry of recording dates. Unlike many of those sessions, this Christmas album is clearly all Tiny Tim’s vision. The presence of a rock band doesn’t deter from what is easily the most heartfelt Christmas album of the ’90s.
The instrumentation includes everything from bird whistles to a children’s choir. The vast majority of tracks, however, focus on little more than Tim and his ukulele. Recorded with all the intimacy of a classic folk album, the smart setting innately salutes Tim’s rightful place as one of our last troubadours.
The record starts innocently enough, with Tim cavorting through light classics such as “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.” The breadth of Tim’s stylings begins to emerge with a wonderfully sincere reading of “White Christmas,” followed by a strange baritone take on “The Christmas Song.” Then Tim calls out the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse on an insane reading of “O Come All Ye Faithful,” which marauds into a wild medley of spiritual celebration.
But none of that prepares you for Tim’s final celebration of the holidays, as the good Christian drops his cool one last time. The album closes with a sincere and beautiful “What A Friend We Have In Jesus”—and there’s your right-wing content. We’re kind of depressed that conservatives have become defenders of the Christmas spirit. You’d think that could be a bipartisan effort. But the sad truth is that the War Against Christmas is very real. If our opponents, would only be honest, they’d admit that their problem is that celebrating Christmas=celebrating Jesus.
Tiny Tim had no such problem. He struggles to bring this simple spiritual home like he’s dragging the Rockefeller Center tree to Grandma’s house. As with everything else in his life, Tiny Tim gets there in his own inimitable style.
Speaking of style, the folks at the Rounder label seemingly understood that this would be a posthumous package for the ailing artist. The artwork for the CD is adorned with a bit of tinsel, and the informative booklet includes many photos of Tim—including one of Our Hero pointing the way to Heaven. Or, as he might have seen it, the way to Mr. Berlin.
Make it your own: Sadly,
Tiny Tim’s Christmas Album is out of print. Copies are
getting expensive. The good news is that the Rhino Handmade label put together an impressive
Tiny Tim box set earlier this year. There’s something your loved ones won’t be expecting to find under the Christmas tree.
