2. NoiseMaker - Dance of the Reindeer Handlers
3. Bug and Little bug - Silent Night
4. Eve and the BluesBusters - The Joy of Christmas Eve
5. Andries D EKER - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
6. Slowpaw Steve T and the Middlesex Itinerant Hobo Gospel Choir - God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen Boogie
7. Chris Dickens - You'll Shoot Your Eye Out !
8. Cause the Blue Rat - Hark the Harold Angels Sing
9. Mr C - I Know I'm Getting Cole for Christmas
10. Glenn Watt - O Come, All Ye Faithful
11. Phill Hill Billy - The Day I Met Santa Claus
12. Reeds Taylor - Away in a Manger
13. Rich - A Winter's noon
14. Uncle John - Uncle John's Christmas Song
15. Bug - Ho Ho Ho
16. Anonymous Pick - Meansleeves (Greensleeves revisited)
17. James O Lunsford - Ma Ma's Christmas Pie
18. Wes & Kathy Carl - Christmas Island
19. Jim Morris - It Won't Feel Like Christmas
20. Mr C - The Little Drummer Boy
21. Phill Hill Billy - Christmas Billy Rock
22. Cause the Blue Rat - The Holly and the Ivy
23. Matthew Borczon - Letter from a Soldier on Christmas Day
24. Rich - There might be Santa Claus
25. James O Lunsford - Merry Christmas CBN
26. Patrick Curley - Hallelujah Chorus
27. Bottleneck John - Oh Holy Night
28. Cigar Man Mike - Three Kings Instrumental
29. Ice Bob - Happy Birthday Jesus
30. Skeesix - Good King Wences Rock
31. W M Petersen the Sailor - I Sailed Three Ships
32. Henry Stratovarius Lowman - O Come O Come Emmanuel
33. Waldo - Noel Ramble
34. Ice Bob - White Christmas
35. David Kennedy - Just One Present
Behold, the 2014 collection from Cigar Box Nation. Cigar Box Nation is a web site and forum for and about those folks who enjoy making instruments from cigar boxes. Before I heard of Cigar Box Nation, I assumed all cigar box instruments were pretty much the same--just some strings across an old cigar box (thoroughly acoustic in nature). Au contraire mon frere. Cigar Box instruments can be as simple or as complex as any other instrument--as simple or complex as the maker wishes (within the confines of his or her instrument creating ability). And, yes, there are electric cigar box guitars. You betcha.
So the people at Cigar Box Nation share tips on building the instruments and then they share the music they make with them. Some of these people are professional musicians and some are hobbyists. And that's what makes the annual "Cigar Box Nation Christmas Album" such a stone cold blast. You never know what's coming next.
For the obvious reasons, contributors to the Christmas album are expected to write an original song or play one in the Public Domain. No Mariah Carey covers, here, thank God. What you will get is plenty of Americana, Blues, and Good Ol' Rock N Roll. Sometimes, you'll even get Jazz, Ambient, or some other genres you wouldn't expect. There's Lo Fi and fully produced. Its a veritable pinata of musical Christmas surprises.
So I did something I almost never get to do with these humungous colletions; I actually listened to it all. It's a Blues heavy set, so you know already I think it's their best yet. Highlights for me included the Boogie Blues "Merry Christmas Baby" from Patrick Curley (not the Charles Brown song), obviously Chris Dickens' "You'll Shoot Your Eye Out", Noisemaker's Old Timey/Folk instrumental "Dance Of The Reindeer", Mr. C's slow Blues "I Know I'm Getting Cole For Christmas", Bug's Novelty Blues "Ho Ho Ho", Uncle John's Country Blues "Christmas Song", Anonymous Pick's Hard Rock "Meansleeves", Jim Morris' Old Timey/Country "It Won't Feel Like Christmas", Ice Bob's Gospel Blues "Happy Birthday Jesus", and Skeesix' Mashup of "Good King Wenceslas" and "In A Gadda Da Vida", "Good King Wences Rock". As you can see there's quite a lot to like.
Get your free download of "Cigar Box Nation Christmas Album 2014" at Cigar Box Nation.