CHICAGO 25 and ALLY MCBEAL — A VERY ALLY CHRISTMAS

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 Ally McBeal – A Very Ally Christmas

Label:Epic Records Group – 501017 2
Format:CD, Compilation
Country:United States
Released:2000
Genre:Rock, Funk / Soul, Pop
Style:Pop Rock, Soul

I listen to a lot of Christmas music each year. I start after Thanksgiving and listen to one or two Christmas CDs each day until Christmas. It seems like every group or singer thinks they can do a Christmas album well. Some do, some don’t. Here’s an example of a good Christmas CD…and a bad Christmas CD.

I’ve been a Vonda Shepard fan for years. Vonda came to the attention of the masses when she provided much of the music for the TV program that ran from 1997 to 2002, Ally McBeal. David E. Kelley (no relation) usually concluded an episode by the characters meeting in local bar where singer Vonda Shepard regularly performed (though occasionally handing over the microphone to the characters).

Listening to Ally McBeal – A Very Ally Christmas by the unusual mix of songs…and the singers who sing them. For example, Robert Downey, Jr. delivers a moving rendition of Joni Mitchell’s “River.” Macy Grey does a nice job with “Winter Wonderland.” And Jane Krakowski handles the classic “I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” with verve! Vonda Shepard performs all the songs she sings on this album well, but my favorite is “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve.” GRADE: B+

Tracklist:

1Vonda Shepard–This Christmas
Backing Vocals – Jeff Young (2), Vonda ShepardBass – Jim HansonDrums – Andy KammanGuitar – Val McCallumPiano, Keyboards – Jeff Young (2)Written-By – Donnie Hathaway*, Nadine McKinnorBacking Vocals – Jeff Young (2), Vonda ShepardBass – Jim HansonDrums – Andy KammanGuitar – Val McCallumPiano, Keyboards – Jeff Young (2)
Written-By – Donnie Hathaway*, Nadine McKinnor		3:51
2Vonda Shepard–The Man With The Bag
Arranged By [Horn] – Jerry HeyBass – Jim HansonDrums – Fritz Lewak*Guitar – Bruce WatsonPiano – Jeff Young (2)Saxophone – Larry WilliamsTrombone – Bill Reichenbach (2)Trumpet – Gary Grant, Jerry Hey
Written-By – Dudley A. Brooks*, Hal Stanley, Irving Taylor		2:34
3Vonda Shepard–Please Come Home For Christmas
Bass – Jim HansonDrums – Andy KammanGuitar – Val McCallumOrgan [B-3], Organ [Wurlitzer] – Neil LarsenPiano – Vonda ShepardSynthesizer – Jeff Young (2)
Written-By – Charles Brown, Gene Redd		3:06
4Vonda Shepard–Silver Bells
Backing Vocals – Davey Faragher, Jeff Young (2)Bass – Davey FaragherBells [Sleigh] – Pete ThomasCelesta – Vonda ShepardDrums, Percussion – Andy KammanGuitar – Bruce WatsonPedal Steel Guitar – Greg LeiszPiano – Jeff Young (2)
Written-By – Jay Livingston, Raymond Evans		1:42
5Vonda Shepard–Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow
Acoustic Guitar – Val McCallumArranged By [String] – Jerry HeyCello – Stephen Erdody*Concertmaster [Violin] – Ralph D. Morrison III*Pedal Steel Guitar – Greg LeiszPiano – Vonda ShepardViola – Roland KatoViolin – Rachel R. Purkin
*Written-By – Sammy Cahn, Jule Styne		2:15
6Macy Gray–Winter Wonderland
Backing Vocals – Dawn Beckman, Sy SmithBass – Greg RichlingChamberlin – Patrick WarrenDrums – Matt ChamberlainProducer – Andrew SlaterRecorded By, Mixed By – Dave WayTurntables [and DJ] – Kiili Beckwith*
Written-By – Dick Smith (3), Felix Bernard		2:54
7Jane Krakowski–Run, Rudolph, Run
Backing Vocals – Brandon Adams, Melanie Taylor, Renée Goldsberry*, Terron BrooksBass – Davey FaragherDrums – Andy KammanGuitar – Bruce WatsonPiano – Jeff Young (2)
Written-By – Johnny Marks, Marvin Brodie		2:14
8Lisa Nicole Carson–Santa Claus Got Stuck In My Chimney
Bass – Jim HansonDrums – Andy KammanGuitar – Val McCallumPercussion – Vonda ShepardPiano – Jeff Young (2)
Written-By – Billy Moore, Jr., William D. Hardy		1:27
9Jane Krakowski–I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus
Backing Vocals – Renée Goldsberry*, Sy Smith, Vatrina King*Bass – Jim HansonDrums – Andy KammanGuitar – Val McCallumPiano – Jeff Young (2)
Written-By – Tommie Connor		2:30
10Calista Flockhart–Santa Baby
Backing Vocals – Carmen Carter, Lynn Davis, Vatrina King*Bass – Davey FaragherDrums – Rob LaddGuitar – Val McCallumPiano – Jeff Young (2)Saxophone – Dan Higgins
Written-By – Joan Javits, Philip Springer, Tony Springer		2:11
11Vonda Shepard–Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
Arranged By [String] – Jerry HeyCello – Stephen Erdody*Concertmaster [Violin] – Ralph D. Morrison III*Guitar – Michael LandauPiano – Jeff Young (2)Viola – Roland KatoViolin – Rachel R. Purkin*
Written-By – Hugh Martin, Ralph Blane		2:33
12Robert Downey Jr.–River
Arranged By [String] – Jerry HeyBacking Vocals – Vonda ShepardCello – Stephen Erdody*Concertmaster [Violin] – Ralph D. Morrison III*Guitar – Bruce WatsonPiano – Neil LarsenViola – Roland KatoViolin – Rachel R. Purkin*
Written-By – Joni Mitchell		4:07
13Robert Downey Jr. & Vonda Shepard–White Christmas
Arranged By [String] – Jerry HeyCello – Stephen Erdody*Concertmaster [Violin] – Ralph D. Morrison III*Guitar – Val McCallumPiano – Neil LarsenViola – Roland KatoViolin – Rachel R. Purkin*
Written-By – Irving Berlin		2:41
14Vonda Shepard–What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve
Arranged By [Strings] – Jerry HeyBass – Davey FaragherCello – Cecilia Tsan, Stephen Erdody*Concertmaster [Violin] – Ralph D. Morrison III*Drums – Pete ThomasGuitar – Val McCallumPiano – Neil LarsenViola – Roland Kato, Victoria Miskolczy*Violin – Jacqueline Brand*, Josefina Vergara, Karen Jones (2), Katia Popov, Margaret R. Wooten
*Written-By – Frank Loesser		3:25

While I can recommend Ally McBeal – A Very Ally Christmas, I cannot recommend Chicago 25. I like Chicago’s music and own several of their CDs. But Chicago captures none of the Christmas spirit with their versions of Christmas classics. Right off the bat, “Little Drummer Boy,”–not one of my favorite Christmas songs–sounds more like a funeral dirge. It’s also painful to listen to “Feliz Navidad.” Not a song that requires the typical Chicago brass section. Skip Chicago and stick with Vonda Shepard! GRADE: D

Tracklist 

Little Drummer Boy4:05
God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen3:23
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas4:03
The Christmas Song3:40
O Come All Ye Faithful4:47
Child’s Prayer3:24
Feliz Navidad4:18
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town3:57
Christmas Time Is Here3:49
Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!3:30
What Child Is This?4:41
White Christmas2:29
Silent Night3:18
One Little Candle1:27

27 thoughts on “CHICAGO 25 and ALLY MCBEAL — A VERY ALLY CHRISTMAS”

  1. wolf

    Well, I’m not a fan of Xmas music – it’s enough to listen to it when shopping right now and look at the displays of xmas stuff. Often just sugar and other unhealthy substances …
    Chicago doing Xmas songs? That sounds really crazy to me, and I’m a big, big fan of theirs!
    Bought their first LP when they still called themselves Chicago Transit Authority.
    A bit OZ:
    A friend of mine used to play saxophone in a tribute group – they also had a horn section in addition to the standard guitars etc.
    They called themselves Ernest and the Hemingways – the founder and lead singer was a lawyer named Ernest. We went to many of their live concerts – but now they (and we …) are too old.
    By accident I also found a Russian !!! band that plays Chicago songs in the old Chicago style – crazy!
    Leonid and friends have already toured the USA :
    https://velocitize.com/2020/07/27/youre-the-inspiration-russian-chicago-tribute-band-lights-up-social-media/

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  2. wolf

    A bit OT after reading “I saw momma kissing Santa Claos” again:
    If you goggle scarymommy.com/dirty-christmas-jokes you’ll find a few gems.
    But you’ve been warned!

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  3. Steve Oerkfitz

    Not a fan of Vonda Shepard or Ally McBeal. And especially not a fan of Chicago who I place high up in my pantheon of bad rock music alongside Styx, REO Speedwagon and Christopher Cross.
    Also not a fan of Christmas music. It doesn’t help that I worked for a few years in retail and had to listen to endless loops of Christmas songs every year. The most hated being Feliz Navidad.

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    1. george Post author

      Steve, trust me: if you listened to the Chicago version of “Felix Navidad” you would go mad! Worst rendition of that song that I’ve ever heard!

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    1. george Post author

      Bob, the radio stations in Western NY start playing Christmas music–some 24/7–starting the day after Halloween until New Year’s Day!

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  5. Rick Robinson

    I have too many Christmas music CDs, but we don’t even take out the carton anymore. While I disagree with Steve on Chicago, especially their early albums, not all bands are meant for Christmas albums. On the other one, I never saw the show, heard the singer on it or much liked multiple-artist holiday albums, so that’s a big no for me.

    Christmas music? Bach!

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  6. Fred Blosser

    There’s a TV ad for a new Steve Perry Xmas album. Let’s not all rush out at once. ALLY McBEAL was insufferable, like every other David Kelley show I’ve ever seen.

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    1. george Post author

      Fred, David E. Kelley (no relation!) somehow managed to tap into a lucrative audience with BOSTON LEGAL, ALLY MCBEAL, and other TV shows.

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  7. Jeff Smith

    I too have a box of Christmas cds. I love listening to them. Every year I would burn a cd of some favorite tracks, so I have a nice collection of those — though I haven’t been making them lately because of having so many Christmas cds to deal with. This year I bought a very inexpensive 5-disc set from Deutsche Grammophon that I’ve been really enjoying. I start listening to Christmas music in early December.

    Now I have a Bluesound Vault, which is a device you load hundreds of cds into and then play them from another device, in my case the iPad (I can also use my Windows laptop). This is brand new and I haven’t settled into how I want to best use it yet, but for Christmas music it so far has the DG box and five other cds loaded into it, which is sufficient for now.

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      1. Jeff Smith

        It’s a little box with a slit in the side where you slide the cd in. It’s wired into my internet router and my stereo receiver. It’s expensive, but I have a friend who didn’t want to be the only one who owned one…

        It can copy things into pretty much any digital format you want. I’m using FLAC, and A/B-ing its performance against the original cd I couldn’t tell any difference.

  8. Jeff Meyerson

    The only Christmas music I listen to regularly is the Phil Spector CD with Darlene Love, The Ronettes, etc. I don’t mind some Christmas music, but there are songs I can’t stand – The Little Drummer Boy, Have a Holly, Jolly Christmas, Wonderful Christmas Time (sorry, Deb), to name three, plus anything by Bing Crosby (who I abominate). I like stuff like Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, Run Rudolph Run, The Christmas Song, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, etc. There are WAY too many bad covers of songs that might have been good to start (Eartha Kitt doing “Santa Baby” good, Madonna doing it – barf) plus others that always sucked and haven’t improved on remakes (lie the McCartney mentioned already or the Burl Ives).

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      1. Jeff Smith

        I’m an atheist who happens to enjoy Christmas. I don’t have to call it Winter Solstice or anything, I even like the parts about Jesus. Pagan or Christian, it’s all mythology to me.

    2. george Post author

      Jeff, my list of disliked Christmas songs is shorter than yours. But we both find “The Little Drummer Boy” painful to listen to.

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  9. Jeff Meyerson

    George, Jackie is a big Vonda Shepard fan too. She bought her two Ally McBeal tie-in CDs, and coincidentally, listened to them recently.

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