JAKE SPEED & THE FREDDIES: Losantaville

Jake Speed & the Freddies

Losantaville

© 2005 Jake Speed (659696102224)

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American folk, country blues, ragtime, and bluegrass.

notes

Jake Speed & the Freddies, Cincinnati's Best Folk Band (CityBeat's CEA winner '01-'04), present the release of their Christmas album, Losantaville.

Snowballing off The Freddies' 2004 release, Huzzah! (Voted one of WNKU's 89 Best Albums of 2004, and Selected as one of the Top 25 Albums of 2004 by CityBeat), Jake Speed and the boys have dashed into the Christmas Spirit with Losantaville. The album's name (a play on Losantiville, the city of Cincinnati's original name) jingle-jangles with images of top-of-the-steps Christmas Day excitement. This collection of 6 original Freddies Christmas tunes and 4 Santa-suited carols sleds into stores this Thanksgiving. The Freddies prance around the American Roots sound with this album, sounding Jugbandy on "Christmas in Rabbit Hash," Ragtimey on "Queen City Christmas," Bluegrassy on "Santa Loves Bluegrass," and Bluesy on "Rudolf."

Losantaville is ornamented with a tree full of stars, including local Bluegrass legends, Ed Cunningham & Jeff Roberts, local singer/songwriter Kim Taylor, and cellist Damon Gray. The gifts of these musicians make Losantaville a certain stocking stuffer (preferably Red Stockings). The Freddies' renditions of Christmas classics like "Here Comes Santa Claus" and "Up on the Housetop" blow back memories of Christmas Past, while tunes like "Queen City Christmas" & "I Can't Wait for Christmas Day" create a Freddies Christmas Future. As the album clearly gallops with glee, Speed has composed two solemn numbers, "A Soldier's Christmas Lament" & "Christmas Star" that peacefully plea for Christmas miracles.

reviews

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  • This Christmas album is an interpretive response not the same old.
    author: Charles Wilson

    Some of the songs on this CD are standard Christmas songs; some, not. But in any case (and every case)the interpretive style presents the music in a new voice and new focus.

  • Merry Christmas!!
    author: Bart

    Great release from Jake and his friends. It's more ragtime and bluesgrass that we've come to expect from Jake, but this time it's all done with Christmas songs in mind. "Santa Loves Bluegrass" and "I Can't Wait for Christmas" are uptempo songs with hilarious lyrics, while "A Soldier's Christmas Lament" breaks your heart. The disc is about 50/50 original material versus older material that they have redone. Great holiday release!!

  • Best new Christmas CD of 2005!
    author: Martin Johns

    As an obsessive listener of Christmas music, Losantaville gets my vote as the best new holiday release of 2005. From the first note of Christmas In Rabbit Hash (alone, worth the price of admission), I was hooked. Few can master the art of being musically brilliant and original, fill their grooves with seasonal spirit and joy, and make you feel like a 12 year old on Christmas morning. Jake Speed manages this and more and leaves no doubt this one is straight from the heart. The sheer exuberance of Rabbit Hash and Santa Loves Bluegrass. The loving sentiments of Christmas Star. The haunting cello on A Soldiers Christmas Lament. All in all, a Christmas treat that had me saying, Please sir may I have another!

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