Car Boot Christmas Countdown - Day 4

It's Day 4 of the Car Boot Christmas Countdown and time for one of my very favourite seasonal records.  Bought at a summer boot sale for just 50p, I give you the magnificent Tijuana Christmas:

Torero Band - Tijuana Christmas (1968)

This beast of an album was first released on Music For Pleasure in 1968 and subsequently came out under different names and covers:

Christmas Carols Tijuana Style
(Arc Records)

The Toreador Brass - Tijuana Christmas
(Harmony)

Torero Band - Tijuana Christmas
(MFP)

Twelve carols are given the full-on Mariachi treatment by a crack team of MFP's best session musicians in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of Herb & co's brassy Christmas Album, eclipsing it in the process by swinging harder and grooving, well... more groovily.  It's a joyful, bouncy, often hilarious album whose cover exhorts you to "Dance to your favourite carols with the wonderful Sound of Brass", and by crikey, if this doesn't get you shimmying round your Christmas tree, or at least cracking a great big grin at the sheer silliness of Good King Wenceslas then you may want to check yourself for a pulse.

Here's a taste:

Torero Band - Good King Wencelas

If you'd like to own this prime slice of Christmas cheese, it's not currently available on CD or to download, but secondhand vinyl copies can always be found on ebay and discogs.

When picking out a couple of tracks for the cloudcast I dithered for ages as I love this album so much.  You'll have to listen below to hear which ones I plumped for in the end.

Tracklisting

Side 1.

1. The Holly And The Ivy.

2. Silent Night.

3. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing.

4. While Shepherds Watched.

5. O Little Town Of Bethlehem.

6. Good King Wenceslas.

Side 2.

1. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.

2. Away In A Manger.

3. The First Nowell.

4. Christians Awake.

5. Once In Royal David's City.

6. O, Come All Ye Faithful.

Tomorrow (Friday 19th Dec) will be Day 5 of the Car Boot Christmas Countdown and I've a couple of real turkeys for your consumption.  In the meantime hear me play my festive picks from this year's car boot and charity shop finds either using the player below or by following the link to mixcloud:

Car Boot Christmas 2014 by Car Boot Vinyl Diaries on Mixcloud