Review by William Ruhlmann
In 1996, at the height of the lounge music craze, Capitol Records assembled the first Ultra-Lounge Christmas Cocktails collection. The label, founded in Los Angeles in 1942 to take advantage of the emerging solo singer trend that overtook the swing big bands, had an appropriate catalog for such an album, which was duly filled with vintage recordings of holiday standards sung by such long-term Capitol signees as Peggy Lee, Lou Rawls, Dean Martin, Nancy Wilson, and Nat King Cole. The album must have been a success, since Capitol returned a year later with Ultra-Lounge Christmas Cocktails, Pt. 2, which added the likes of Lena Horne and Wayne Newton to many returning performers. Alas, lounge music passed as a popular style, and the series lapsed until, for whatever reason, Capitol revived it in 2004, packaging the two previously released albums with a third disc and issuing it as the three-CD set Ultimate Christmas Cocktails. A year later, that third disc has been separated out and released on its own for the first time. The campy aspect of lounge is apparent immediately as Sammy Davis, Jr. duets with Carmen McRae on Frank Loesser's song of weather-impacted seduction, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (not exactly a Christmas song, it's true, but no matter). Davis, apparently determined to steal the spotlight, hams things up with odd phrasing and strange voices, sounding not so much like himself much of the time as like Jerry Lewis; he would have done better to have played it straight, but then the track might not have had that "ultra-lounge" feeling. Other songs are performed less campily, though the bass singer on Billy May's "Do You Believe in Santa Claus?" is having a lot of fun sounding low notes. Capitol is to be commended for continuing to dig up these odd gems in the name of providing good-natured holiday collections.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/ultra-lounge-christmas-cocktails-pt-3-mw0000171059
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Reseña de William Ruhlmann
En 1996, en el apogeo de la moda de la música lounge, Capitol Records reunió la primera colección de cócteles navideños Ultra-Lounge. El sello, fundado en Los Ángeles en 1942 para aprovechar la tendencia emergente de cantantes solistas que superó a las grandes bandas de swing, tenía un catálogo apropiado para un álbum de este tipo, que estaba debidamente lleno de grabaciones vintage de estándares navideños cantados por firmantes de larga data de Capitol como Peggy Lee, Lou Rawls, Dean Martin, Nancy Wilson y Nat King Cole. El álbum debe haber sido un éxito, ya que Capitol regresó un año después con Ultra-Lounge Christmas Cocktails, Pt. 2, que añadió a los gustos de Lena Horne y Wayne Newton a muchos artistas que regresaron. Desgraciadamente, la música lounge pasó como un estilo popular, y la serie caducó hasta que, por alguna razón, Capitol la revivió en 2004, empaquetando los dos álbumes previamente lanzados con un tercer disco y publicándolo como el conjunto de tres CD Ultimate Christmas Cocktails. Un año después, ese tercer disco ha sido separado y lanzado por su cuenta por primera vez. El aspecto campechano de lounge se hace evidente inmediatamente cuando Sammy Davis, Jr. hace un dúo con Carmen McRae en la canción de Frank Loesser de seducción impactada por el clima, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (no es exactamente una canción de Navidad, es cierto, pero no importa). Davis, aparentemente decidido a robar el protagonismo, complica las cosas con frases extrañas y voces extrañas, sonando no tanto como él mismo, sino como Jerry Lewis; habría hecho mejor en tocarla directamente, pero entonces la canción podría no tener ese sentimiento de "ultra-lounge". Otras canciones se interpretan de forma menos acampada, aunque el bajista de "Do You Believe in Santa Claus?" de Billy May se divierte mucho sonando notas bajas. Hay que felicitar al Capitolio por seguir desenterrando estas extrañas gemas en nombre de la provisión de colecciones navideñas de buen gusto.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/ultra-lounge-christmas-cocktails-pt-3-mw0000171059
1 - Carmen McRae & Sammy Davis Jr. - Baby, It's Cold Outside - 3:13
2 - Bing Crosby - Frosty The Snowman - 2:14
3 - Lena Horne - Santa Claus Is Coming To Town - 2:44
4 - Johnny Mercer - Jingle Bells - 2:38
5 - Wayne Newton - Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! - 2:11
6 - Nancy Wilson - That's What I Want For Christmas - 2:19
7 - Dean Martin - Winter Wonderland - 1:54
8 - Billy May - Do You Believe In Santa Claus? - 2:33
9 - Peggy Lee - White Christmas - 2:09
10 - Al Martino - Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer - 2:55
11 - Ray Anthony - A Marshmallow World - 2:46
12 - Lou Rawls - Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - 3:42
13 - Julie London - I've Got My Love To Keep Me Warm - 4:13
14 - Nat King Cole - Buon Natale (Means Merry Christmas To You) - 1:36
15 - June Christy - Sorry To See You Go - 2:22
Label: Capitol Records – 72435-78503-2-2
Series: Ultra-Lounge – , Christmas Cocktails – Part Three
Released: 2004
Genre: Jazz
Style: Easy Listening
https://www.discogs.com/Various-Christmas-Cocktails-Part-Three/release/3461754
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