37. Various Artists - A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector (1963)

1. White Christmas

2. Frosty the Snowman *

3. The Bells of Saint Mary's

4. Santa Claus is Coming to Town *

5. Sleigh Ride

6. Marshmallow World

7. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus

8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

9. Winter Wonderland

10. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers

11. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)

12. Here Comes Santa Claus

13. Silent Night

B

So lets get this straight - Phil Spector was a piece of shit. He sabotaged Ronnie Spector's career by keeping her hostage in his house (allegedly). He sexually assaulted his children (allegedly). He was eventually found guilty of straight-up murder (confirmed). And to top it all off, he looked like a cross between Nosferatu and a Ferenghi. But at the same time, he produced a lot of beautiful music, and his influence is absolutely astonishing. How many people can claim to have been a primary influence on artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, the Ramones, the Velvet Underground and the Jesus and Mary Chain? If not for his famous "Wall of Sound" production technique, we might never have had My Bloody Valentine.

So I guess the question should be asked here, at the earliest opportunity, because honestly it's going to come up a lot over the course of this project. And that question is: Is it possible to separate the artist from their art? It's something the whole Me Too movement, and the numerous shocking revelations over the past half decade or so, have forced a lot of people to grapple with. For my own part, I used to count Kevin Spacey as one of my very favourite actors, and now I feel squeamish about the idea of watching The Usual Suspects again.

I think (and this is just my poorly thought-out opinion) that it depends on the extent to which the artist's personality enters into the work. Phil Spector may have been a pretty crummy guy, but none of that really enters into his music. Spacey, on the other hand, made a career playing duplicitous slime balls, and so it's hard not to be reminded of his transgressions when watching his work. So I think in general I come down on the side of keeping a separation between the art and the artist for one reason - most famous people are jerks. (In fact, most people are jerks - I know I've got a few skeletons in my cupboard). It's only when the art is a reflection of or promotion of the shittiness of the artists that you should really stop engaging with it. Because if we stop engaging with art because the artists behind it were terrible people, pretty soon there won't be much art left to enjoy.

With that out of the way, on to the album. And honestly - it's nice I guess? It's honestly just a collection of Christmas songs, all very well-produced and performed I suppose. I guess its position and the reverence felt towards it has less to do with any intrinsic value than because this is one of the only cohesive artistic statements that Phil Spector made. There might have been a time, back in the early 60s, when it sounded incredibly fresh and exciting; but after sixty years of being battered with Christmas music in every conceivable genre it's just another (albeit a pretty good) collection of songs. Still, it has to bear the burden of representing all the early-60s girl group sounds on this list, and so from a perspective of providing historical context I can certainly see why it was included in the Book. 

There are a few obvious highlights, though. The version of "Frosty the Snowman" is one of the very best, and the production prefigures songs like the Beach Boys' gorgeous "Don't Worry Baby" (apparently this album was a favourite of Brian Wilson's). "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" has a chorus so ecstatic that it practically leaps out of the speakers and give you a kiss. And then of course there's the jewel in the crown of the record, and possibly of Spector's career - the wonderful original composition "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)". In contrast to every other song on the album, all of which celebrate the joy of the season, this one song is a sad reflection on how Christmas is about the people you're with, or rather not with. It's a beautiful song as well as an incredibly catchy one.

Unfortunately the album concludes with a spoken word coda by Spector read over the top of "Silent Night". So you can't really escape the creep. Unless I guess you turn the CD off one song early or delete the song from your MP3 player. 

Anyway, this is a brilliant album from a technical standpoint, prefiguring many important developments in pop and rock and epitomising the "Wall of Sound" and the girl group aesthetic that so many cherish. Unfortunately, it's also just a bunch of stupid Christmas songs recorded by an (alleged) child molester.