Christmas song #19:

Darlene Love--Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)



This is it. You can't get much better than this.

Backstory: this was written by Phil Spector, which somewhat surprised me since I always assumed it was just an old standard from somewhere, since it seems so ubiquitous like most other holiday standards. But no. Apparently the song was written with the Ronettes in mind, but then when it became clear that Ronnie Barrett couldn't put in the emotion needed into the song. So they gave it to Darlene Love, who knocked it out of the park... and now the song is covered routinely, and Darlene Love probably still makes her living singing this song around Christmastime (I know that she always appears on Letterman near Christmas Eve, for example.)

I don't really know what else to say about this song, except I can't comprehend any reason why anyone could dislike this song. And if you DO dislike the song, then I'm assuming you probably had a traumatic experience in your life while this song was playing in the background. (And if so, you are probably a character from a Martin Scorsese movie... and you were probably whacked. Hope the afterlife's alright.) Honestly, it might just be the best thing Phil Spector ever touched--outside of "Be My Baby," perhaps.

You've got a typically great vocal performance front and center (Love sounds like she's going to crack at any moment, which certainly sells the desperation of the song.) And the production is as always grandiose and massive, with just the right touch that gives it that extra lift (love the piano that comes in near the end.

In essence, this belongs on any Christmas playlist. I mean, if you're looking for songs that are very representative of the holidays, you might not find much of this in this song. But it's damn good, and sometimes that should be enough.