1961- "X-Mas Twist" (two edits)

.....This song was mentioned last year, but I have found two different edits and mixes since that post was written. I've just reread the original post and while most of the text could be rewritten many of the basic facts remain the same. I should start by giving the details of the original releases:

• -N/A- "WHITE HOUSE TWIST" (Brian Holland, Berry Gordy, Barney Ales)
• 02:44 b/w "X-MAS TWIST" (Berry Gordy, Barney Ales)
• performed by The Twistin' Kings [aka Funk Brothers]
• original source: 7" Motown M1022 (US) 11/27/61
• and my source: VA2CD THE ULTIMATE MOTOWN CHRISTMAS COLLECTION Motown/Universal B0013383-02 (US) 2009

.....That was followed by the full album LP TWISTIN' THE WORLD AROUND Motown MLP 601[mono] (US) 11/29/61 and later Motown MT-601 (US) [stereo]:

• [A1] OLD FOLKS TWIST
• [A2] WHITE HOUSE TWIST
• [A3] TWISTIN' THE WORLD AROUND
• [A4] TWIST A LA B.G.
• [A5] FLYING CIRCLE TWIST
• [B1] MEXICAN TWIST
• [B2] CONGO TWIST PART 1
• [B3] CONGO TWIST PART 2
• [B4] CHRISTMAS TWIST [same as X-MAS TWIST]
• [B5] TWISTING ALES STYLE

.....There was a second, non-Christmas single:

• -N/A- "CONGO TWIST PART 1" (Berry Gordy, Barney Ales, Loucye Gordy Wakefield)
• -N/A- b/w "CONGO TWIST PART 2" (Berry Gordy, Barney Ales, Loucye Gordy Wakefield)
• performed by The Twistin' Kings [aka Funk Brothers]
• original source: 7" Motown M1023 (US) 12/18/61

.....All of the album tracks were recorded from November 18th to 22nd and produced by Berry Gordy except for the "CONGO TWIST", which was produced by Gordy and Barney Ales. The six songs not appearing on singles were written by Gordy and Ales.

.....The next two paragraphs are reworked slightly from last year's post...

.....Compared to much of the rest of the label's Christmas material, it was a bit of a throwback. It more closely resembled the jazz and swing singles and 78's of the 1930's and early 1950's than the Miracles or the Supremes. If it seems odd that the Funk Brothers here don't quite sound like most Motown singles, bear in mind that this was a rush job ordered by label owner Berry Gordy to cash in on a dance craze. If there are any Motown fans out there who don't recognize the name Barney Ales, it's because he was the VP of Sales. The fact that he's got a writing credit on every song gives you some indication that the objectives here were not to create a lasting product. Oh, and one of the songs on the album is actually called "Twisting Ales Style", as though the audience would know what that meant.

.....For more (and more authoritative) information on the Funk Brothers, I would recommend the book (and subsequent documentary film) "Standing In The Shadows of Motown". Relevant to this song, I can only say that the line-ups for most Motown recordings of this period are almost never 100% confirmable. The Funk Brothers weren't exactly a band, per se, but a pool of musicians. At any given time during Motown's residency in Detroit (roughly until 1972 when most operations moved to California, creating 'Mo-west') there were 8-12 musicians in the pool. Producers would form ad hoc groups by selecting 3-6 of them, sometimes recording several vocalists over the same Funk Brothers instrumental track and letting Gordy pick his favorite to be released as an A-side. Sometimes the other vocal takes would later be used as B-sides or album tracks. The only personnel for this song that I could confirm (courtesy of Discogs) would be:

• Vocals (and possibly saxophone) by Thomas "Beans" Bowles
• Piano by Joe Hunter
• Saxophone by Ron Wakefield

.....but there are probably others. For more details I'll refer you to the excellent blog Motown Junkies,

which specializes in the label's singles. The following link:.....

http://motownjunkies.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/138/

.....should lead you to the page for "X-MAS TWIST", at the bottom of which you'll find a link to the page for the A-side. Enjoy.

.....What I couldn't discuss last year was the much longer unedited version which I found in a cache of Christmas music I came across in storage this past fall. I found it on VACD A MOTOWN CHRISTMAS VOLUME 2 Motown/Universal 440 016 364-2 (US) 11/06/01. The back of the jewel case simply refers to it as the "complete version". The liner notes describe it as the "previously unreleased unedited stereo version" and note that it was edited and in mono when it appeared on the 1961 album. Unedited, it runs 7:12 and opens with a solo organ (a single finger, it sounds like) playing a few lifeless bars from the chorus of "JINGLE BELLS". It then launches directly into the original number, which is the point at which the edited single begins. The stereo mix has a slightly cleaner sound than I've noticed on other sources, but knowing that it was recorded and released in roughly a week by veteran session men I would expect that it was created in low-fidelity live-in-the-studio circumstances and that the source tapes don't leave much room for improvement. Once it runs the length of the single it continues vamping for four and a half minutes. There's an organ solo and a guitar solo but no new verses.

.....The one CD source I was aware of last year was VA6CD THE COMPLETE MOTOWN SINGLES VOLUME 1: 1959-1961 Hip-O-Select B0003631-02 (US) Jan/2005, which I still do not own. It contains the single edit.

.....The second version I could find is also the single edit (2:44), found on VA2CD THE ULTIMATE MOTOWN CHRISTMAS COLLECTION Motown/Universal B0013383-02 (US) 2009. It has no liner notes to speak of other than perfunctory songwriting and producer credits. The sound is only slightly harsher than the stereo version but since the stereo version is almost three times longer with no additional verses, I would have to say that the single edit may be more practical when planning a compilation.