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Drummer Boy
a review by Tim
If I remember correctly the first time I heard this single was the first time I heard Jars of Clay. It was shortly before Christmas of 1995 and when I heard it I really wasn't impressed at all. But to be fair I was distracted and I really couldn't hear it well at the party I was at. It would be some time before I would listen again. The same goes for buying or even liking it.
Drummer Boy is definitely unique as far as singles go. It is classified as a single but all the songs on it aren’t available anywhere else for the most part, so it’s kind of like a mini album instead of a single. On its initial release the original Essential Records version had 4 songs on it. They are Little Drummer Boy, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, He (Acoustic), and Drummer Boy (Grind Mix). Sometime later on the Silvertone version it still had 4 songs but it was slightly different. It still had both Drummer Boys versions but Wicker Baskets (a new song) and a Blind remix replaced He and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. The album artwork of both singles also differs slightly on the back. I am not sure why two versions were needed or released.
Drummer Boy is definitely a hard item to review. There really is no right or wrong way to do a classic Christmas song. You just need to make sure it sounds good to you when you’re done with it. After that it will pretty much be a hit or miss to those listening. On that note my favorite song off this single is Little Drummer Boy. There are 2 reasons for that. The first one is Little Drummer Boy is probably my favorite Christmas song ever written. The second is the Jars's take on the song. There is something about the way they put it all together. I don’t know if it’s the vocals, the percussion, the guitars, or some combination but I like the way it sounds. It might be extreme but I consider the Jars version the best rendition of this song ever. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is probably my least favorite one off the single. There isn't anything the matter with it. It just happens to be one of my least favorite songs and not even the Jars can save it.
He, Wicker Baskets, and the Blind remix are all good songs. But they generally don't really fit with the Christmas theme. The reason He was initially included was because proceeds from sales of the first single went to a child abuse foundation. And even though Wicker Baskets does have a festive feel to it, it wasn’t recorded at the same time as the other songs of the first release. It just doesn’t seem to fit the mold. For the life of me I can’t figure out why the Blind remix was put on the second release. There must have some reason but it escapes me.
If I remember correctly the first time I heard this single was the first time I heard Jars of Clay. It was shortly before Christmas of 1995 and when I heard it I really wasn't impressed at all. But to be fair I was distracted and I really couldn't hear it well at the party I was at. It would be some time before I would listen again. The same goes for buying or even liking it.
Drummer Boy is definitely unique as far as singles go. It is classified as a single but all the songs on it aren’t available anywhere else for the most part, so it’s kind of like a mini album instead of a single. On its initial release the original Essential Records version had 4 songs on it. They are Little Drummer Boy, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, He (Acoustic), and Drummer Boy (Grind Mix). Sometime later on the Silvertone version it still had 4 songs but it was slightly different. It still had both Drummer Boys versions but Wicker Baskets (a new song) and a Blind remix replaced He and God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. The album artwork of both singles also differs slightly on the back. I am not sure why two versions were needed or released.
Drummer Boy is definitely a hard item to review. There really is no right or wrong way to do a classic Christmas song. You just need to make sure it sounds good to you when you’re done with it. After that it will pretty much be a hit or miss to those listening. On that note my favorite song off this single is Little Drummer Boy. There are 2 reasons for that. The first one is Little Drummer Boy is probably my favorite Christmas song ever written. The second is the Jars's take on the song. There is something about the way they put it all together. I don’t know if it’s the vocals, the percussion, the guitars, or some combination but I like the way it sounds. It might be extreme but I consider the Jars version the best rendition of this song ever. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is probably my least favorite one off the single. There isn't anything the matter with it. It just happens to be one of my least favorite songs and not even the Jars can save it.
He, Wicker Baskets, and the Blind remix are all good songs. But they generally don't really fit with the Christmas theme. The reason He was initially included was because proceeds from sales of the first single went to a child abuse foundation. And even though Wicker Baskets does have a festive feel to it, it wasn’t recorded at the same time as the other songs of the first release. It just doesn’t seem to fit the mold. For the life of me I can’t figure out why the Blind remix was put on the second release. There must have some reason but it escapes me.
