The Staple Singers: “The Twenty-Fifth Day Of December” (1962/2021) Vinyl Review

Each year for the Black Friday version of Record Store Day, a few Christmas albums are released. This year sees a special vinyl re-issue of The Staple Singers’ 1962 holiday album, The Twenty-Fifth Day Of December, with an all-analog mastering from the original tapes, pressed on 180-gram black vinyl. There is a lot of Christmas music released each year, yet often gospel music seems to get forgotten in the clamor. Well, here is an excellent addition for your holiday collection, music that is so good it can be played throughout the year.

Side 1

The album opens with “The Last Month Of The Year,” their vocals having a smooth quality. They’re not belting out the lyrics, but just delivering them with confidence and passion and ease, backed by some nice work on guitar by Roebuck Staples, along with Maceo Woods on organ and Al Duncan on drums. That’s followed by “The Virgin Mary Had One Son,” a slow, bluesy gospel number that might make believers of us all. It features a tremendous vocal performance by Mavis Staples. I also love Roebuck Staples’ work on guitar. This track is one of the album’s best. It’s followed by another cool track, a somewhat relaxed rendition of “Go Tell It On The Mountain.” Again, they aren’t trying to push religion on any of us, just telling it as they see it, and letting us choose for ourselves. I do sometimes wonder if music like this had been played in our church when I was growing up whether I would have stuck with religion a little longer. It is that good.

On “Joy To The World,” they rock a bit, with Maceo Woods’ organ grooving and taking a prominent spot, even leading an instrumental section. And it’s over all too soon. Then we get a song composed by Roebuck Staples, “Holy Unto The Lord,” a glorious, bluesy number of praise. “Peace on Earth/Well, good will toward men/Singing holy unto the lord.” Yeah, those still sound like good ideas, though they feel unlikely, don’t they? Except, that is, when music like this is playing. The first side concludes with “The Savior Is Born,” a song with more energy, and a certain joy to their delivery. It’s easy to imagine these guys singing on the side of the roads of old, guiding folks to the manger with their songs. They return to the idea of peace on Earth in this one: “The angels, they began to sing/Peace on Earth, good will to men.”

Side 2

The second side opens with a soothing, beautiful rendition of “Sweet Little Jesus Boy.” It’s a song about the birth of Jesus. “They didn’t know who you were/Didn’t know you’d come to save us/To take our sins away.” The voices, of course, are the focus, but there are some nice touches on organ beneath their vocal work. Then the guitar work at the beginning of “No Room At The Inn” seems to announce the song as a blues number, but within a moment, their gospel vocals come in. It’s a song about how there was no room available at the inn for Mary. Well, you’ve got to make hotel reservations early during the holiday season. Still, a manger is a step above a Motel 6. “There Was A Star” has a brighter, cheerful sound, and is another original number, the backing vocals echoing most of the lines. “There was a star (there was a star)/To show the way (to show the way)/Straight to the place (straight to the place)/Where Jesus lay (where Jesus lay).”

Then we get into traditional holiday fare with “Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem.” These guys deliver a good, slow version, the vocals again being the focus, with the organ mostly kept low in the mix, except at a couple of key moments. This is a perfect track for those late hours of Christmas Eve. It’s followed by “Wasn’t That A Mighty Day,” which has more of a folk vibe. This is one I wasn’t all that familiar with. I’m not sure why it doesn’t get more play, because it’s an enjoyable song. The album concludes with one of the holiday’s best traditional songs, “Silent Night.” And they deliver a beautiful, moving and bluesy rendition. It’s a fairly straightforward version, though with some good work on organ.

Record Track List

Side 1

1. The Last Month Of The Year
2. The Virgin Mary Had One Son
3. Go Tell It On The Mountain
4. Joy To The World
5. Holy Unto The Lord
6. The Savior Is Born

Side 2

1. Sweet Little Jesus Boy
2. No Room At The Inn
3. There Was A Star
4. Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem
5. Wasn’t That A Mighty Day
6. Silent Night

This special re-issue of The Twenty-Fifth Day Of December is scheduled to be released on November 26, 2021 through Craft Recordings. It is limited to 3,125 copies.