The Players
Over 30 favorite traditional Christmas carols arranged for acoustic instruments by an amalgam of Britain's best-known "street musicians". In the summer of 1988, these performers were gathered together by Phil Manzanera and Andy Mackay to record a collection of traditional Christmas carols. These completely instrumental performances, led by Mackay on a variety of reeds, offer a fresh and spontanous approach to the canon of Christmas classics. Despite the fact that CHRISTMAS was recorded in the thick of summer, The Players managed to find the Christmas spirit within them. The 33 carols here incorporating a broad assortment of instruments including the Appalachian dulcimer, banjo, mandolin, button accordion, oboe, fiddle, cello and jew's harp; all evoking the spirit of a rural Victorian Christmas. CHRISTMAS was the first domestic release for Manzanera's production company, Expression Records.