Oy to the World

Klezmonauts | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 12, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Libman Music
• ASIN: B00000FXN2
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #22,660 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #67 in Music > Miscellaneous > Holiday > Pop Vocal
  • #85 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Vocal Non-Opera > Noels

Track Listings

1. Deck the Halls

2. We Three Kings of Orient Are

3. Oy to the World

4. The Little Drummer Boy

5. Carol of the Bells

6. Santa Gey Gezunderheit (Santa Go in Good Health)

7. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen

8. Jingle Bells

9. Good King Wenceslas

10. Away in a Manger

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Oy to the World! is an unrepentant collection of traditional carols, hymns, and Christmas high jinks played in the rousing, Jewish klezmer tradition. Talk about worlds colliding, this set throws its considerable, klezmetric weight around, turning the real "Joy to the World" into a dramatic, jazzy piece that swings and romps. With a few witty musical asides sprinkled into select songs among the 10 tracks, the Klezmonauts' only fault is that they may be too hip for the holiday party. Guaranteed either to send goyim fleeing from the room or your Yiddish grandmother rushing into the room to see what's the matter. In any event, it's fun, funny, and as effective as a shot of Jägermeister and just as unkosher. --Martin Keller

Product Description

Oy To The World - A Klezmer Christmas by The Klezmonauts

This product is manufactured on demand using CD-R recordable media. Amazon.com's standard return policy will apply.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oy, my aching sides!, November 2, 2003

By 

Joseph Ekaitis "author of Collinsfort Village" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oy to the World (Audio CD)

Ah, Christmas music.

It's been rocked, rolled, swinged, switched-on, bluesed, jazzed, (Mannheim) Steamrollered, Top-Fortied and Elvised within an inch of a fruitcake's life and still comes back for more. What could possibly be left after The New Christy Minstrels and the Ray Conniff Singers have had their turn at the Wassail bowl?

Enter The Klezmonauts with the answer: "OY to the World! A Klezmer Christmas."

Yeah, you hoid, uh, heard me right. Klezmer, the Jewish take on the free-form instrumentation of Dixieland with a flavor that's distinctively Kosher, not Cajun.

Paul Libman heads up a band of not-so-meshuga merry makers who pull it all together with charm and an appropriately light touch. The Klezmonauts include a few names better known for their appearances on other Christmas and non-seasonal albums, like Mannheim Steamroller violinist Arnie Roth. Does Chip Davis know about this?

Lest you think "OY to the World" is just Christmas carols with a few hyperkinetic clarinet riffs, a violin, an accordion and a drummer, The Klezmonauts throw in a few surprises, like a mini tribute to Dick Dale and his surf guitar, a few bars from the theme to "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly" and an original tune about Saint Nick called "Santa Gey Gezunderheit (Santa, Go in Good Health)". I won't tell you where they pop up. Just keep an ear peeled and DON'T sip egg nog while listening. You might spray everyone else in the room.

At barely 29 minutes in length, the album might seem short but Paul Libman knows when to leave 'em wanting more. Maybe he will or maybe he won't record a sequel to this 1998 release but like a favorite movie you've bought on DVD, "OY to the World!" contains moments you anticipate in repeated listenings. For a free sample, visit [...] and download the complete MP3 recording of "Joy to the World". Then grab the rest from Amazon.com.

Shades of Mannheim Steamroller's first Christmas album, "OY to the World!" ends with a performance of "Away in a Manger" that at first seems out of place after all that frivolity but only reminds us that every type of music offers the same range of emotion, from silly and slapstick to tender and touching.

Oy, what a season!

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Beauty is in the OY of the beholder!, December 23, 1998

By 

rabbicdj (Memphis, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oy to the World (Audio CD)

Such a nice song collection; such a nice package! Great gift, great musicianship BUT NOT ENOUGH!!!! 5 stars otherwise. You charged full price, give us full value. Gevalt! Just when I was tuning in, it was over!!! MORE!!! It will be well worth everyone's investment. 28 1/2 minutes!!?? Give us a break!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Christmas from another angle gives new meaning, January 9, 2009

By 

William A. Bussiere (Palatine, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Oy to the World (Audio CD)

Save for the Messianic believers, of course Jews don't celebrate Christmas. Still in our American culture, Jews have always had a connection to it. Irving Berlin wrote "WHITE CHRISTMAS". A few years ago, Neil Diamond recorded a very well received Christmas CD. There are many such stories to tell.

Here, the idea of using the mesmerizing, yet festive style of Klezmer music is used to offer a whole new way for all of us to enjoy our Christmas favorites. "DECK THE HALLS" for example literally becomes hypnotically danceable without sounding the least bit disrespectful to the solemnity of the song or the Holiday.

There are parts where the musicians drifted into silliness. If one listens carefully, some of guitar work and accompanying drums become reminiscent of the 60's hit, "WIPEOUT" by the Safaris. While this takes away from what seemed to be the true mission of this CD, the musicians are so proficient and energetic that we can forgive the few places where they got a bit carried away.

It's been ten years since this "OY TO THE WORLD" CD was released, and I'm shocked at how few people know about it. For anyone who loves Christmas music, this is a must have to play for your Christmas parties when the season comes around again. If the Klezmonauts are reading this, it's been a decade! Think about going back into the studio because there are many more Christmas songs that await your treatment. But please stick to the mission and put your surfing and other unrelated tracks on a separate CD.