LadyDot Review: Snow Swing - Christmas Collection (Playlist)

LadyDot Review: Snow Swing - Electro Swing Christmas Collection

LadyDot Review: Snow Swing – Christmas Collection (Playlist)

Ho, ho, ho! Christmas compilation review of Snow Swing – Electro Swing Christmas Collection

I’ll be honest, my dear readers, that in the run-up to Christmas I usually listen to old, classic swing (oh, especially Frank Sinatra tunes!) and popular Christmas hits (my favourite song is Chris Rea’s “Driving Home for Christmas”). I wasn’t familiar with a lot of Christmas Electro Swing tunes before, so when I thought to myself this would be the perfect opportunity to catch up.

Many days of careful listening to the Snow Swing – Electro Swing Christmas Collection compilation (you can listen to it HERE on Spotify) resulted in this review, which I’m happy to publish here for you. May all these tracks make this festive time spent with your loved ones more enjoyable! :) This time I won’t describe all the songs – I’ve chosen only the best or most interesting ones for you and grouped them into different categories. I hope you like this form of review!

My Favourite Electro Swing Christmas Songs

Last year I reviewed Valerie Giglio’s Christmas EP – “Electro Jingle Swing!” (you can read that review HERE). And when I heard the first track – ‘Hi De Ho Christmastime’ – I couldn’t stop listening to it! Valerie’s brilliant vocals, the simple, catchy melody and that vibraphone solo played by virtuoso Samuel Cerra… It all comes together so wonderfully that I could listen to this track over and over again. And I have to confess something to you: yes, I listen to “Hi De Ho Christmastime” very often – even in the summer, really, haha! :)

I also like discovering new songs, and I’ll tell you honestly that the Snow Swing – Electro Swing Christmas Collection compilation has helped me a lot with that. I sincerely recommend you Dave Wave’s ‘What Will Santa Claus Say’ (you will fall in love with the melody coming from his piano and those fantastic samples, I promise!). I was also enthralled by another brilliant pianist, namely Riff Kitten, or rather his ‘The Gift’. My heart was also instantly stolen by Swing Republic and Mabel Scott – look out for the track ‘Boogie Woogie Santa’, because I have a feeling something will keep you dancing at the Christmas table! :)

The Most Covered Christmas Songs

There is no shortage of covers and remixes in Electro Swing. Artists like to rework well-known and much-loved songs, and this way we can listen to them in a new arrangement. This is also the case with Christmas songs. I noticed that in the compilation Snow Swing – Electro Swing Christmas Collection, the most frequently appearing song is the iconic ‘White Christmas’. Unfortunately, I have to admit that these versions didn’t really appeal to me, except maybe one of them. The remix by Kaskade is actually very enjoyable, realised in a swing hop style.

‘Jingle Bells’ is also not to be missed in the list of the most covered Christmas songs. In this case, I have to say that I really like these new arrangements. The great, funky-swinging version from Joe Williams and the Bombay Dub Orchestra is superb and rocks me so wonderfully with its brass section, brilliant bass guitar and synth sound.

Also definitely worth noting is ‘Jingle Bells’ from Wolfgang Lohr, the duo of Balduin and Scarlett Quinn. At first I didn’t know this was the song at all – I was confused by the distinctive intro, which is typical of Balduin (I think I hear a clarinet there, don’t you?). I thought it was just some new song of theirs. But after all, I wouldn’t miss a release, so I guessed it couldn’t be. :)

Best Christmas Electro Swing Lullaby

Oh, I like to listen to melancholic, peaceful songs sometimes at Christmas. Fortunately, the Snow Swing – Electro Swing Christmas Collection compilation has no shortage of such compositions.

Let’s take a moment to talk about ‘Christmas Lullaby’. I don’t think Ashley Slater will ever cease to amaze me with his versatility! I love this Christmas lullaby – ‘Christmas Lullaby’ spreads such a wonderful, serene aura around us. The gentle guitar, the enchanting voice, the subtle clatter of the drum cymbals and the sounds of the brass section – something wonderful! This song soothes me and I think it would instantly lull many children to sleep during the Christmas season.

P.S. Ashley, thank you so much for putting my ever-crazy and jumping dog to sleep with ‘Christmas Lullaby’. His name is Swing, by the way, haha!

Alexander Rybak & His Swinging Surprise!

I remember watching Eurovision in 2009. The song ‘Fairytale’, with which Alexander Rybak won the competition, is still one of my favourites to this day. His violin playing totally enchanted me. And I swear, I didn’t know he had recorded his versions of swing songs. Two of them are also featured on the compilation Snow Swing – Electro Swing Christmas Collection, and I think that if I hadn’t been preparing this review, I might not have known of their existence at all.

And they are simply superb! I’m talking about ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town’ and ‘The Way You Look Tonight’. The first track instantly became one of my favourite Christmas covers, and the second… Well, I can clearly hear the sound of his violin there, so amazing, so swinging, just brilliant. The solo that ends this song makes me glad to listen to the song again. And then again.

My dear, I hope these songs will make this Christmas, magical time more enjoyable for you. See you in the New Year!

Written & reviewed by LadyDot (Ja, Wizeruk) Date: 2022-12-26

Bio – LadyDot

Anna (LadyDot) was born in ’94, but always felt she came from the Golden Twenties. “Polka” in Polish means “girl from Poland”, so she’s “Polka in polka dots”. She loves vintage style and spontaneous travels around Europe. But her greatest love (apart from her husband) is of course music, especially Electro Swing.

On her own Blog www.jawizeruk.pl she writes about various music genres. She is a copywriter, so writing is her strong point. Anna likes singing (not only in the shower!) and cooking (especially Italian and Hungarian cuisine).