At the end of a hugely successful year, American soulstress ROBIN McKELLE is about to release her very first Christmas recordings. The three track EP called ‘Merry Christmas Vol 1’ will be available from November 14th and if you want some proper soulful Christmas music you need look no further.
Backed by the tighter than tight FLYTONES, Robin eschews the usual Seasonal gimmicks and glitz to offer down home versions of Charles Brown’s ‘Merry Christmas Baby’, Donny Hathaway’s ‘This Christmas’ and a version of William Bell’s ‘Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday’.
The three tunes were recorded in Paris and mixed and mastered in Memphis. The horns on the recordings are augmented by Marc Franklin and Kirk Smothers and the legendary soul man Percy Wiggins adds backing vocals.
‘Merry Christmas Baby’ drives along at a great pace… rough and rustic, it’s proper old school soul. The treatment of Donny’s ‘This Christmas’ is a little smoother and Robin excels. Listen up to the great piano break too. The surprise package is the inclusion of the Stax classic ‘Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday’. Robin’s version is nearer to the Sweet Inspirations’ wonderful cover than William Bell’s original and would have sat well on her Memphis album.
Looking (far) ahead the good news is that there’s clearly going to be a Volume 2 next year… but in the meantime enjoy this year’s offering! Find out more @ www.robinmckelle.com
