In this ongoing
feature on Psychobabble, I’ve been taking a close look at albums of the
classic, underrated, and flawed variety, and assessing them Track by Track.
“The
biggest thanks goes to you for giving me the opportunity to relate my feelings
of Christmas through the music that I love.”
-Phil
Spector “Silent Night”
Like so many
visionaries, Phil Spector refused to grow up. Perhaps this has been the cause
of so many of his problems—his infantilizing of ex-wife Ronnie Spector, his
daddy issues, and his fatal obsession with playing with guns—but it is also the
source of his art. His favorite toys are the ones found in a recording studio
and his favorite time of the year is Christmas. In 1963, Spector attempted to
capture the essence of the holiday several months before December 25th
in the less than seasonal setting of sunny Los Angeles’ Gold Star Studios. How
would his thunderous Wall-of-Sound work with corny kiddie songs like “Rudolph
the Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman” or the hymn carol “Silent
Night” or the easy-listening standard “Winter Wonderland”? Brilliantly, of
course, though it has taken longer than Spector surely wished for this to
become common knowledge.
