Pure Soul! Charles Bradley, backed by the ever-soulful Menahan Street Band invites you to have a good time: “We having a party. „Every Day is a Christmas“ - Daptone's latest holiday 45 is one of those songs that grows on me every time I listen to it. Could listen to that lo-fi youtube rip for hours. „Seems“ to be some killer and ultra rare Popcorn. Of course the original 7inch would also do it. I want this Christmas song as a quality rip for Christmas. Many thanks to my friend Ratje Toe for sharing this song with me! And last but not least: Jewel Lombardo - Christmas Melody. I don't know much about the music from Surinam – but the Christmas song „Njoeng Jari“ from Mighty Botai is just beautiful! Lovely Caribbean sunshine & easiness. Love the lyrics – but find it musically rather boring. A song I would have loved to include on this years compilation is Macka B's Christmas Cancelled. Ride on Sugar and rest in peace in the knowledge that your sounds, lyrics & message will continue to spread around the world. Another nice song – again a Reggae tune - is „Christmas Time“ - a dubby good Christmas greeting from the recently departed but NEVER forgotten Lincoln Barrington ‘Sugar’ Minott with an off-key children choir. I am gonna share some of my older „Beatz & Carrots“ compilations here on the blog soon – you can find the extended version on one of the compilations). Couldn't find much info on the Scooby Doo song on the Internet – but would love to buy the original 12inch or 45 (I have it as an extended 6 minute something long mix.

But what killer tunes! Luckily „The Iron Phoenix - Natty Dread Christmas“ recently got repressed as a nice quality 7inch on the UK Observer label. What a surprise when I heard these two songs for the first time – both of them „rare as a hen's tooth“ - and you don't find them on the usual Trojan Christmas Compilations. This year Santa (Satan?!) is definitely wearing his dancing boots! Actually two of my all-time favourite Reggae Christmas songs are on this compilation: „The Iron Phoenix - Natty Dread Christmas“ and „Scooby Doo - Christmas Time“. I am quite satisfied with this years compilation - lots of good songs, very uptempo, a little bit of everything. I actually thought that I would be running out of good Christmas Grooves - the ones we like so much: sweet & funky! But surprisingly I dug out another bunch of Christmas Scorchers. This is my third Christmas compilation after 20.

Quantic tropical funk experience rar