1. Miss Santa Claus
2. This Mus Be Christmas
3. Jack Frost
4. Ice Ice Baby
5. My Wish
6. Cuddle Up
7. Sleigh Rider
8. Wintertime
9. Get Festive
ARTIST WEB SITE
ARTIST WEB STORE
AMAZON (US)--NOT AVAILABLE
2. This Mus Be Christmas
3. Jack Frost
4. Ice Ice Baby
5. My Wish
6. Cuddle Up
7. Sleigh Rider
8. Wintertime
9. Get Festive
ARTIST WEB SITE
ARTIST WEB STORE
AMAZON (US)--NOT AVAILABLE
1. Miss Santa Claus
2. This Mus Be Christmas
3. Jack Frost
4. Ice Ice Baby
5. My Wish
6. Cuddle Up
7. Sleigh Rider
8. Wintertime
9. Get Festive
ARTIST WEB SITE
ARTIST WEB STORE
Si Cranstoun
The stuff I miss far outweighs the stuff I find and one reason the search always goes on is to ensure that, eventually, I catch up with really awesome confections like "Get Festive" that I missed initially. And, seriously, I cannot recommend this CD highly enough. I mean, WOW. Just WOW. I can scarcely think of fans of any genre this wouldn't appeal to.
The Dualers are/were brothers Tyber and Si Cranstoun. Based in the UK, their father was a Ska promoter, so putting together their own Ska band seemed a natural thing to do. The brothers scuffled and even charted a couple of tunes. In 2010, Si embarked on a solo career to move in a more Soul/R&B direction leaving Tyber to front The Dualers. And you can probably hear the beginnings of that split in "Get Festive". The Dualers release is from 2007 (that's the one I bought) and I have little doubt that the 2010 release of "Get Festive" credited to Si Cranstoun is the exact same record repackaged, since it's pretty clear that this is and always was Si's album.
While Ska rhythms certainly corse through many of these tracks, Si's voice is so incredibly soulful and the arrangements so well and carefully done that "Get Festive" is far more an homage to the history of Soul music than anything else. Comparisons to Jackie Wilson are impossible to avoid, given Si's voice, energy and moves. He breezes easily through a multitude of retro Soul stylings, Doo Wop, early Blues, R&B, Northern Soul. And, on the album's ballad, "Cuddle Up", you might swear at times Si's channeling Nat King Cole. All 9 tracks were written by Si--not a cover of Bing or Mariah or Wham in sight--and most are more than worthy of being, themselves, covered often for generations to come.
If you're a Ska fan, you'll probably like this album well enough. But if you have any affinity at all for classic Soul--especially from the 40s, 50s and 60s--you're going to L-O-V-E love this one. And, let me tell you, this sounds extremely cool on an extremely hot July afternoon, too. Highlights include the upbeat "Sleigh Rider", the infectious "Miss Santa Claus" and the previously mentioned "Cuddle Up". But there's not a slacker on the program. Two of the tracks from "Get Festive" are available domestically from Amazon MP3 for 89 cents each--"Miss Santa Claus" and "This Mus Be Christmas"--but I heartily recommend you just get the full CD.
The Dualers are/were brothers Tyber and Si Cranstoun. Based in the UK, their father was a Ska promoter, so putting together their own Ska band seemed a natural thing to do. The brothers scuffled and even charted a couple of tunes. In 2010, Si embarked on a solo career to move in a more Soul/R&B direction leaving Tyber to front The Dualers. And you can probably hear the beginnings of that split in "Get Festive". The Dualers release is from 2007 (that's the one I bought) and I have little doubt that the 2010 release of "Get Festive" credited to Si Cranstoun is the exact same record repackaged, since it's pretty clear that this is and always was Si's album.
While Ska rhythms certainly corse through many of these tracks, Si's voice is so incredibly soulful and the arrangements so well and carefully done that "Get Festive" is far more an homage to the history of Soul music than anything else. Comparisons to Jackie Wilson are impossible to avoid, given Si's voice, energy and moves. He breezes easily through a multitude of retro Soul stylings, Doo Wop, early Blues, R&B, Northern Soul. And, on the album's ballad, "Cuddle Up", you might swear at times Si's channeling Nat King Cole. All 9 tracks were written by Si--not a cover of Bing or Mariah or Wham in sight--and most are more than worthy of being, themselves, covered often for generations to come.
If you're a Ska fan, you'll probably like this album well enough. But if you have any affinity at all for classic Soul--especially from the 40s, 50s and 60s--you're going to L-O-V-E love this one. And, let me tell you, this sounds extremely cool on an extremely hot July afternoon, too. Highlights include the upbeat "Sleigh Rider", the infectious "Miss Santa Claus" and the previously mentioned "Cuddle Up". But there's not a slacker on the program. Two of the tracks from "Get Festive" are available domestically from Amazon MP3 for 89 cents each--"Miss Santa Claus" and "This Mus Be Christmas"--but I heartily recommend you just get the full CD.
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