Oy to the World: A Klezmer Christmas

Klezmonauts

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 12, 1999)
• Original Release Date: November 24, 1998
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Satire
• ASIN: B00000FXN2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (17 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #72,496 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Happy 10th AnnivOYsary! Oy, my aching sides!, November 2, 2003

By	Joseph Ekaitis "author of Collinsfort Village" (Southern California) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

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 oytotheworld.com 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!

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

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

By	[e-mail] (Memphis, Tennessee) - See all my reviews

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!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Laugh-out-loud funny - but also artfully done!, November 14, 1998

By A Customer

This is a wonderful, if too brief, assortment of Klezmer arrangements of Christmas songs - the ideas, performances and production are fabulous, but it's disappointing to have less than a half-hour's worth of material to hear!! Still, LITTLE DRUMMER BOY is priceless, and alone worth the price of admission!