The Monarchs were, and still are, a Pop / Rock / Doo Wop group in Louisville, Kentucky.  They formed in 1961 and had a bunch of local hits in the mid-1960s and had a national hit in 1964 with Look Homeward Angel, going as high as # 47 on Billboard’s Singles chart.

I currently live in Louisville, and they are considered the most successful local group.  There were a lot of local bands in Louisville at the time The Monarchs were in their best days.  Many of those same bands, or at least some members, are still playing music around Louisville.  I think they would agree that The Monarchs are kings of the ‘ville.

It was exciting to me when I saw that The Monarchs had released a Christmas CD in 2012.  As much as I collect Christmas music, collecting local Christmas music is high on the list.  This CD is well produced, and covers a variety of genres, as their live act is known to do as well.

The cover is pleasant.  It features Santa and his reindeer zooming off into the clouds in a sleigh that looks like a 1957 Bel Air, along with painted flames around the front wheel wells.  License plate : 57 SLED.  There are white banners that run across the top and bottom of the cover.  The Monarch’s name is at the top and New Christmas Oldies runs across the bottom.

The back of the CD is made to look like a snowy field in deep winter with an overcast sky in shades of grays.  The name of the band and the CD are near the top in big red letters.  Below is a numerical track listing featuring time signatures.  There is very little copyright information, just a SaxKing record logo.

The front cover comes out and opens along a single fold-out.  There is no coloring to the background.  Both sides have a white background.  On the left side is a numerical track listing with writer credits and time signatures.  “The Monarchs” is placed at the top.  The right side has notes of thanks and recording and producer credits.  There is a special thanks to St. Margaret Mary 7^th grade Encore Choir for their help on I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day.

The back of the front cover features a smaller image of the front cover at the top.  Below are the band members’ names and the instruments they play.

About half of the 10 songs are traditional Christmas carols and the others are 20^th century secular Christmas songs, but still no Rudolph, Frosty or Mommy Kissing Santa Claus.  And two of those remaining songs are original Christmas songs, written by Paul Turner of The Monarchs.

I was excited to get this hoping it would be kind of like Doo Wop with a 1950s street corner sound to it.  It does not.  The Monarchs have moved along with the times.  When I first played it, I was disappointed.  It sounds like new Christmas music with very contemporary arrangements and instruments as well as the style of the vocals.  Truth be told, I don’t really like Contemporary Christmas Music.

The CD begins with a Doo Wop styled song, You’re My Christmas Present.  It was written by Jimmy Beaumont, who was the lead singer in The Skyliners, and it was originally recorded in a Doo Wop style.  But this is a far cry from 1950s Doo Wop.  It is well produced with a full band, and the vocal style is there.  The lead vocals have a slow, steady rhythm and the rest of The Monarchs are here to provide 4-part harmonies.

The 2nd song changes drastically from the first and is a way to let the listener know that this CD won’t be just one style of music, rather it is a mix of many genre influences.  Go Tell It On The Mountain is an old African American spiritual from the 19^th century.  It opens with drums and organ giving it a Reggae sounding style at first.  The rhythms are syncopated and when the vocals start, they are more traditional.  It is interesting how they mixed the contemporary vocals with a Caribbean influenced arrangement of the music.  Very well done.  One of the better songs on here.

The 3^rd song, I Heard The Bells On Christmas Day, is once again, different than the other two that came before it.  The production is huge but doesn’t use a lot of instruments to achieve this.  A strong piano begins the song, then after about three bars, the lone vocals begin.  During the refrain, the Encore Choir of St. Margaret Mary, a local Catholic grade school, joins the vocalist.  Together the voices combine as the song progresses.  All the while the band has really geared up.  They’ve joined the piano and it is a full orchestra of music and voices.  I am very familiar with the song.  You probably know it from the title, but The Monarchs have totally rewritten the arrangement.  It is not like any other I’ve heard.

The 4^th song is a cover of Jon Bon Jovi’s I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas.  The Monarchs stay true to Bon Jovi’s arrangement.  The two versions sound remarkably similar.

The first original Christmas song we hear is Santa’s Very Merry Band Of Good Cheer.  It is a rocking Christmas song featuring group vocals during the refrains.  The song features a 1950s style guitar and saxophone combined with Classic Rock influences.  It tells of Santa putting together a rock band in an effort to spread Christmas cheer all through the year.  It’s a strange Christmas song if you go by the lyrics alone, but the music is good, the band is tight, and overall, it’s a rocking song.  Just a bit unusual.

The 6th song, Oh Holy Night, is traditional in all respects.  The Monarchs join together for the refrains, and this is a standout song on this CD.

Now, the 7^th song surprised me.  I thought maybe I had my playlist mixed up because the Christmas medley of Little Drummer Boy / Peace On Earth, (made famous in 1977 by Bing Crosby and David Bowie teaming up on national TV), started playing.  No, there was nothing wrong with my playlist.

Yes, it’s The Monarchs.  Once again, they stick to the original version almost note for note, including the blending of the vocals.  I don’t know which two Monarchs are singing this song, but one sounds remarkably like David Bowie and the other sounds remarkably like Bing Crosby.  I am impressed.  This is a great cover version of what has become a Christmas Classic.  I don’t know how it could be any better.  If you know the song I’m talking about, then I think you would be impressed with it too.

The Monarchs never stop mixing it up.  Impressive again is Ave Maria, the 8^th song.  Not too many “local bands” attempt this song.  It’s a very sacred song.  The vocals need to be reverent, and the arrangement needs to be passive.  The Monarchs do a great job with all three.  The gentleman singing this is really giving it his best, and it’s really good.  The music is subtle, mostly organ, simple drumming and synthesizers.

The 9^th song features a 1960s style Surf guitar combined with saxophone to present a fantastic arrangement of Carol Of The Bells.  The group pulled out all the stops with this one.  It is a rollicking Surf guitar anthem of Carol Of The Bells.  It features impressive guitar work, and the drummer stays right on time.  The production value of this is enormous.

This CD, (it’s getting better with every song), closes out with the other original Christmas song, also written by Paul Turner, which is Just Another Christmas.  The song opens with the full band and the drummer echoing the drum pattern found in The Little Drummer Boy.  After a few bars, things quieten down and the vocals begin, and the piano becomes the main instrument, accompanied by strings (but I’m guessing it’s a synthesizer because no string credits are given).  The singer tells of his hope that people who have lost the message of Christmas will discover that the Lord is Love and this year won’t be just another Christmas.  This is a pretty well written song; the story is good; the rhymes are clever, and the message is soulful.

I must give The Monarchs credit.  They did more than just crank out a Christmas CD to make some money to buy the kids’ presents.  There are some unique arrangements of traditional Christmas carols here.  And there are two originals that are well thought out and well produced.  The more I play it, the more I like it. 

Once I get past the notion that this is a local band that’s been around for 65 years and I accept this for what it is, which is a 21^st century Contemporary Christmas CD, I realize that’s it’s a really good 21^st century Contemporary Christmas CD.  This has ALL the production values of a national release on a big label.

This won’t appeal to everyone. I think the audience will be mixed.  I think it will appeal to a younger group; I think it will appeal to a local (Louisville) crowd and I think it will appeal to an older group if they appreciate Contemporary arrangements of traditional Christmas songs (my brother Pat).  You won’t hear it on the radio, and you probably won’t find it in your friends’ Christmas collection, but if it shows up in your stocking, don’t be disappointed.  The more you hear it, the more you will appreciate its originality and uniqueness.

I give this CD :

****