Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
It could be argued that one of the reasons that Christmas is so adored is the sense of the comfortable routine that people wrap themselves in, long nights inside beside a humble, but grateful fire, old familiar smells emanating from the kitchen as parents find ways to restore hope with the food they have worked hard for, the swapping of gifts, memories and tokens as songs, both of religious and spiritual meaning, and those we have come to expect, play out from radios, music channels on the television, and mixing in between the adverts like the unwelcome ghost at the Christmas dinner table.
The familiar though wears us down. It might seem like a blank of security, a measure of wellbeing, but it does not offer us the one thing that an end of year celebration should, that of exploration, of demanding the new to enthuse us. We can listen to Noddy instructing us that it is now Christmas in his broad Midland tone, but where is the point in which we find for ourselves the unique and the matchless, the pleasure in the task of finding something that makes the soul soar.
If we must indulge then let it be in our curiosity, if we must pull crackers then let them be filled with exotic, explosive, new tastes, let us find the 12 Hits Of Christmas and make merry in the novel and not on the backs of the routine.
For Tim Readman and Andy Cooke, this is the beat of the drum that does not lead to a manger, but instead to discovery, and it is a journey undertaken by following a path of their own making, the stars above all combining with fierce goodness of spirit as they persuade the listener to rejoice yes in the day, but to remind them that the act of sharing is also with the mind of the one starved of marvel, wonder and the belief that Time will always find a way to push the imagination on.
As the pair being unique songs to the listener’s attention, the cold wind that bite the heart between Christmas and the turn of the year, are soothed, and in tracks such as One More Circle, Rudolph Robot, the excellent Santa’s Sleigh Shanty, Inside The Snow Globe, and In Time Of Winter, the sense of anticipation is more acute than finding yourself pouring over a copy of the much loved winter favourite Radio Times. This is not an indifference, this is an album in which the joy is palpable, is rose cheeked and enraptured by the season.
12 Hits Of Christmas is a festive treat, with no sign of the excess and fluff that corners everything else, fun, imaginative, a desire for entertaining, a sharp eye to explore beyond the map of expectancy; this is a true Christmas gift, and it is a hit.
Ian D. Hall