SATURDAY'S CHILDREN - CHRISTMAS SOUNDS b/w DECK FIVE

(originally posted on 12/12/10)

I'm not one to pick favorites of anything, but this 45, along with The Staple Singers staggeringly beautiful Twenty Fifth Day Of December are my favorite holiday records.

I didn't say much about the a-side on my original post, but the real story is in the grooves. It's a wonderful song, played and sang with exceptional talent by this excellent group that deserved mass fame. 

Here's what I wrote about it 7 years ago:

One area that wasn't explored very deeply by US garage bands was the Christmas record; however, Chicago's Saturday's Children were way too sophisticated to be called a garage band.

Here, the band (deeply influenced by the Beatles) melds "Deck The Halls" with Dave Brubeck's jazz standard "Take Five' and turns it into a jazzy, quasi-psychedelic number that I almost guarantee will bring on some holiday cheer. This group had an incredible knack for harmonies, and tackle the tricky 5/4 time signature with ease making for the most hypnotic Christmas record I've ever heard. The other side is an exceptional holiday original showcasing their excellent group harmonies and songwriting skill.

I don't know what was in the water and air in Chicago & Detroit during the 60s, but whatever it was it propelled soul and rock music into the stratosphere, with massive amounts of high quality records being released.

from 1966...