10/10/2025
The 2nd vinyl pressing of our "Christmas" album has arrived! We are giving away (3) copies, details below...
This Limited Edition run of 500 units is split into 250 Red w/ Green splatter, and 250 Green w/ Red splatter. If you order (2) copies, we will do our best to ensure you receive one of each while inventory is available.
On sale here ---->
https://soulemonde.com/soule-store
~~~~~~~~~ GIVEAWAY DETAILS ~~~~~~~~~
In the comments below, tag a vinyl lover who should check out this gorgeous pressing. Share and your entry gains much visibility. Include a lovely Ray and/or Russ memory for bonus points! On 11/1, we will notify (3) winners to receive a 2nd pressing copy of "Christmas" on vinyl!!!
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*** SHIPPING ***
Orders placed in October will ship between 11/1 and 11/15. It is likely your order will ship before then, but please order ASAP to guarantee safe arrival well before the Holiday rush.
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A letter from RP -
In 2017 Russ and I went into the studio on a lark to record a Christmas song, a small musical gift for the season, “The Little Drummer Boy.” The delight we took in reinventing this simple melody made it clear we needed to record more, and the album in front of you is the result.
Christmas songs, as for many folks, hold a unique place in our hearts. They’re songs we’ve grown up on, freighted with an innocent sentimentality and spirit I find irresistible. And with that said...
“Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” the John Lennon classic, is as pertinent as ever in these times.” Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairies,” from Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite, is to me the epitome of Christmas music, and a superb composition in its own right. In “Carol Of The Bells” we took some liberties with the form to allow for more improvisation.
The English carol” God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” always suggested to me a Ska feel, and James, Nat, and Jen on horns put it over the top. “Santa Claus Is Comin To Town” is a duo take on the great Jackson 5 cover, a blast to play!
The Pretenders “2000 Miles” features Hattie Lindert and Patience Hurlburt Lawton, our daughters, on vocals. I’m forever grateful to them for giving us such a beautiful thing. “Bog Zie Rodzie” is an old Polish Karoldy. It is a song from my childhood traditionally performed with a full chorus of voices. I have always loved the melody, the yearning in it. Simplifying the arrangement down to solo piano allowed for the kind of expressiveness the piece demands.
For Darlene Love’s “Merry Christmas Baby Please Come Home” we chose a lounge-y shuffle for the feel, featuring Jen Hartswick on trumpet.
Finally, in the spirit of the 1950’s beat poets, “December,” a reflection on those exquisite winter night tableaux in Vermont. Moonlight and bitter cold, a frozen stand of majestic maples, absolute shimmering silence where time stands still. On the longest night of the year, an unspoken promise of the world reborn.
Enjoy, and Merry Christmas.
Ray Paczkowski
