MUSICAL GIFTS FOR MANY TASTES

November 30, 2014 at 12:05a.m.

11Nevertheless, this year think about maybe going a different route and finding that someone special something special from the holiday music gift guide selection, which boasts not only familiar names but also a few obscure ideas and some holiday music to boot.

Classic rock

Blondie “Ghosts of Download/Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux” (Five Music) CD

Blondie celebrates its 40th year as a band with a package release that includes CDs “Ghosts of Download” and “Greatest Hits Deluxe Redux.” The former has new material, while the latter is basically just another greatest hits effort.

Eric Carmen “The Essential Eric Carmen” (Arista) CD

Northeast Ohio’s own Eric Carmen’s 45-year career is celebrated with the 30-track retrospective “The Essential Eric Carmen.” The package covers his power pop beginnings with The Raspberries (“Go All The Way” and “I Wanna Be With You”), as well as a solo career (“All By Myself,” “Never Gonna Fall In Love Again,” “Hungry Eyes” and “Make Me Lose Control”). The collection also includes new track, “Brand New Year.”

Jimi Hendrix “Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Wight” (Legacy Recordings) Blu-ray

Among his many iconic concerts (Monterey Pop Festival, Woodstock) over his short career, Jimi Hendrix went out on top with his 1970 appearance at the Isle of Wight. Now comes Blu-ray release “Blue Wild Angel: Jimi Hendrix Live at the Isle of Wight,” which includes favorites “Spanish Castle Magic,” “Red House” and “Foxy Lady,” as well as memorable performances of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower” and a unique medley of “God Save the Queen” and “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The bonus footage alone makes this a must have.

Jimi Hendrix “The Cry of Love” and “Rainbow Bridge” (Experience Hendrix) LP/CD

Diehard fans of Jimi Hendrix will revel in the reissues of “The Cry of Love” and “Rainbow Bridge,” both of which were posthumously released after his September 1970 death. The former features “Angel” and “Freedom” (with guest Steve Winwood), while the latter showcases the guitar genius exploring new sounds with “Dolly Dagger” and ‘Room Full of Mirrors.”

Michael Stanley “The Solo Years – 1995 to 2014” (Line Level) CD

Nearly 30 years ago, the Michael Stanley Band called it quits; however, it’s leader never stopped making music. Now Northeast Ohio’s favorite son has released a three-CD best-of set covering the last two decades of music divided between the energetic tunes on “The Rousers,” the ballads “The Weepies” and the fan favorite “Crispy’s Critters.”

Queen “Queen Forever” (Hollywood Records) CD

More than two decades after Freddie Mercury’s death, Queen fans will be thrilled to hear three unreleased tracks along with the group’s hits on “Queen Forever.” Naturally, it’s the new tunes that are of interest, including the high-profile Queen and Michael Jackson song “There Must Be More to Life Than This.” There’s also “Let Me In Your Heart Again” and “Love Kills.” Invariably, the unreleased tunes will rock you.

Queen “Queen: Live at the Rainbow ’74” (Hollywood Records) CD/DVD

It’s quite the banner year for Queen fans with a couple of new releases including “Queen: Live at the Rainbow ’74,” which finds the then young band just as its exploding onto the rock scene. The new CD/DVD features two Rainbow concerts that took place six months apart 40 years ago with a raucous “Now I’m Here,” catchy “Killer Queen” and energetic “Stone Cold Crazy” standing out.

Toto “35th Anniversary – Live in Poland” (Eagle Records) CD/DVD

Known for hits “Rosanna,” “Africa” and “Hold the Line,” Toto recently gave its fans live concert recording “35th Anniversary – Live in Poland.” Much like the group’s career, which included hits and misses in the ’70s and ’80s, there’s not much here fans are really missing. Perhaps the behind-the-scenes footage should remain behind the scenes. Still, on a side note, “Africa” is one heck of a catchy tune.

Various Artists “The Midnight Special Collector’s Edition” (Time Life) DVD

Anyone who grew up in the ’70s and had insomnia remembers late-night rock concert shows “Don Kirshner’s Rock Concert” and “The Midnight Special.” Fans of the latter will love the 11-disc “Collector’s Edition” that features live performances of everyone from Aerosmith and Fleetwood Mac to the Bee Gees, Earth, Wind & Fire, John Denver and KC and the Sunshine Band.

ZZ Top “The Very Baddest of ZZ Top” (Warner Bros.) CD

If you have an uncle who still calls up classic rock radio stations requesting ZZ Top songs, here’s the perfect gift to keep him happy all year long. The double disc effort features 40 songs spanning the band’s 45-year career. In addition to radio hits (“Tush,” “Sharp Dressed Man”) the collection includes killer album tracks such as “Pearl Necklace,” “Just Got Paid” and “Jesus Just Left Chicago.” There’s also a head-scratching cover of “As Time Goes By” from “Casablanca.”

ZZ Top “Live At Montreux 2013” (Eagle Rock) DVD

With that same uncle in mind, ZZ Top packs all of its hits – “La Grange,” “Gimme All Your Lovin’,” “Pincushion,” “Sharp Dressed Man,” “Waitin’ for the Bus,” “Legs,” “Tube Snake Boogie” and “Tush” – into one show for its latest concert DVD “Live At Montreux 2013.” If you had to choose between the two ZZ Top offerings, “The Very Baddest of ZZ Top” is probably the better choice.

COMEDY

Bill Burr “Live From Andrew’s House” (Third Man) LP

Diehard fans of hilarious funnyman Bill Burr would be interested in the special LP release “Live From Andrew’s House,” which captures the comic’s legendary 2011 show at Carnegie Hall. Because the comedian did release his comedy album “You People Are All the Same” later in 2011, he didn’t want to confuse fans by putting out the Carnegie Hall show as well. That said, for fans of Burr or comedy, it’s interesting to hear him work out material that would be on his critically-acclaimed “You People Are All the Same.”

HOLIDAY

Darius Rucker “Home For the Holidays” (Universal Nashville) CD

Hootie and the Blowfish singer Darius Rucker continues his unexpected yet platinum dalliance as a successful country music singer with the Christmas album “Home for the Holidays.” The obligatory classics are fine, with “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” featuring special guest Sheryl Crow standing out, but it’s his original tunes “Candy Cane Christmas” and “What God Wants for Christmas” that define Rucker’s keen songwriting talents.

Farmer Jason “Christmas on the Farm” (self-release) CD

Founding member of Jason & the Scorchers, Farmer Jason, known as the godfather of Americana, has released a family-based holiday album “Christmas on the Farm.” The fun affair has holiday standards like “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” and “Away in a Manger,” but it’s the original rockabilly tunes such as “Eat Your Fruitcake” that provide the spark.

Home Free “Full of Cheer” (Columbia Records) CD

After winning season four of “The Sing Off,” a cappella act Home Free has released Christmas record “Full of Cheer,” which is full of material showing off the vocal group’s unique style. The album boasts a country music mindset and magical harmonies on reworked classics “O Holy Night,” “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” “Do You Hear What I Hear” and “Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer.” Don’t miss out on the album’s title track, which should be played on the radio for years to come.

Human Nature “The Christmas Album” (RED Distribution) CD

Australian vocal pop group Human Nature is known for its smooth voices and heavy groove. That’s the vibe found on the act’s seasonal effort “The Christmas Album,” which has not only standards such as “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” “White Christmas” and “Sleigh Ride” but obscure yet equally appealing covers of The Jackson 5’s “Give Love on Christmas Day” and Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas.”

Idina Menzel “Holiday Wishes” (Warner Bros.) CD

After last year’s success of “Frozen,” in which she sung anthem-for-the-ages “Let It Go,” Tony Award-nominated Idina Menzel is back with her Christmas album “Holiday Wishes.” The powerful vocalist nails favorites like “All I Want For Christmas Is You” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” but it’s bonus track “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” that perfectly accompanies the “Let it Go” mindset.

Pentatonix “That’s Christmas To Me” (RCA) CD

Pentatonix is back with its second seasonal album “That’s Christmas To Me,” which includes the quintet’s unique arrangement of Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal,” “Let It Go” from “Frozen” and a memorable mashup with guest singer Tori Kelly. Invariably, this CD is perfect for any fan of vocal harmonies with the “The Sing-Off” winning act delivering memorable performances.

Trace Adkins “The Christmas Show” (Caliburn Records) DVD

In recent years, country star Trace Adkins has been touring his holiday album “The King’s Gift,” which eschewed ubiquitous seasonal songs for Celtic carols. Now comes the live concert recording “The Christmas Show” on DVD with guest vocalist Alyth McCormack on “I Saw Three Ships.” This isn’t a quintessential country music holiday album as much as it is a world music celebration.

Various artists “Christmas at Downton Abbey” (Warner Bros.) CD

It’s not unusual for a television network to promote one of its shows via cross platforms. However, just like its royal characters steeped in character and tradition, “Downton Abbey” appeared to be a show above such novelty. Yet here we are with “Christmas at Downton Abbey” featuring hymns and classic carols sung by the cast. Highlights include Elizabeth McGovern singing “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” and performing a duet of “The First Noel” with Julian Ovenden. Then again, the Granthams are starting their own farm. Maybe this is just another revenue source to keep their heads above water.

Various Artists “Christmas With Nashville” (Big Machine) CD

Considering previous releases from the ABC-TV soap-driven “Nashville” have proven successful, producers decided to play up the holidays with the brand-new “Christmas With Nashville.” Sure, it’s a quintessential-sounding holiday album but standout tracks include Clare Bowen’s “Santa Baby,” Hayden Panettiere’s “White Christmas” and Connie Britton’s “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”

Various artists “Heavy Metal Christmas” (Spinefarm Records) CD

There’s something for everyone from Santa this year, including the “Heavy Metal Christmas” CD that to its credit does go the extra mile to cater to the speed metal crowd. This is Finland’s annual, all-star symphonic Christmas rock project, which for the first time will feature Finnish and international Christmas classics recorded in the English language. The album – no joke, and not a novelty – is perfect for the serious metal fan.

INDUSTRIAL/HARD ROCK/METAL

Anthrax “Chile On Hell” (Megaforce) DVD

Thrash metal legends really upped the ante with its new concert DVD “Chile On Hell,” which was filmed in South America with Joey Belladonna (vocals), Scott Ian (guitar), Charlie Benante (drums), Frank Bello (bass) and Jon Donais (lead guitar). The group pulls from its entire catalogue including fan-favorites “I Am The Law,” “Indians,” “Madhouse” and “Caught In A Mosh.”

Dio “This is Your Life” (Rhino) CD

To some casual music fans, Ronnie James Dio is known for time spent in Rainbow and Black Sabbath, as well as a solo artist. In the metal world, the diminutive singer, who died in 2010, influenced a generation. Those artists paid tribute to the frontman with the start-studded “This is Your Life” featuring Anthrax, Motorhead, Scorpions, Rob Halford, and Metallica covering the legend.

Ministry “Last Tangle in Paris” (13th Planet) CD/DVD

Everyone’s favorite industrial metal act from the ‘90s is back with new CD/DVD “Last Tangle in Paris,” which includes fan favorites “Psalm 69,” “N.W.O.” and “Just One Fix.” However, it’s the special bonus featuring a Ministry tour retrospective double audio album with live performances dating back to 2006 that makes this worth the effort.

MOTOWN

Various Artists “Motown 25” (StarVista) DVD

If you know someone who loved “Motown, the Musical,” then here’s the perfect accompanying gift – “Motown 25.” The three-DVD set includes the 1983 Motown 25th anniversary show, which is the setting for the Broadway show. The star-studded night features performances by Marvin Gaye, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and more, as well as plenty of bonus material.

POP

Il Divo “Live In Japan” (Syco/Columbia Records) CD/DVD

Cheap Trick famously defined its Budokan album with the words “This is the first song on our new album.” You can bet there’s no cheap trick here, with operatic pop vocal act Il Divo following up its 2013 effort “A Musical Affair” with concert CD/DVD “Live In Japan” filmed at Tokyo’s famous Budokan Theatre. The quartet is joined by Tony Award-winning Lea Salonga for memorable duets on “Can You Feel the Love Tonight,” “Memory,” “Music of the Night” and “Time To Say Goodbye.”

ROCK

Julian Lennon “Everything Changes” (Music from Another Room, Ltd.) CD

Every family has a contrarian, which means somewhere someone’s holidays include never-ending debates over which Lennon – John or his son Julian – is more talented. Nevertheless, Julian Lennon’s new four-CD box set “Everything Changes” can finally put that argument to rest. On a side note, who remembers his 1984 hit ““Too Late for Goodbyes?”

R.E.M. “REMTV” (Warner Bros.) DVD

Three years retired, R.E.M. has created must-have six-DVD set “REMTV,” which includes some of the alternative rock band’s most memorable and iconic television and concert performances. Aside from the obligatory “MTV unplugged” in 1991 (including outtakes), other highlights include its 2007 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction and a slew of live concerts. For the sad R.E.M. fan, this proves it’s not the end of the world as they know it.

TELEVISION

Merv Griffin “The Merv Griffin Show: 1962 – 1986” (MPI) DVD

With a laidback style all his own, Merv Griffin defined the afternoon talk show host for nearly a quarter of a century. Now the somewhat forgotten host’s career is receiving full treatment with a 12-disc set featuring 44 of his most memorable episodes with jaw-dropping guests ranging from Rosa Parks and Martin Luther King Jr. to John Wayne, Bette Davis and Ingrid Bergman.