This is a song that needs no introduction and, I'd have been tempted to say, needs no more cover versions. But the involvement of Robert Wyatt calls for a hasty rethink.
According to Wyatt, the lyrics to this standard also bear reinterpretation. As an atheist, he does not treat it as a celebration of God's handiwork; instead, he asserts that it "is not sarcastic, ironic or even just sentimental. It's social realism; not the WHOLE truth, but nevertheless The truth"..
The single was digitally released just before Christmas and Wyatt gets into the festive spirit dressed as a fairly convincing Santa on the cover.
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The collaboration with Gilad Atzmon on alto sax and violinist Ros Stephen has also spawned the album For The Ghosts Within and the threesome are joined here by the rest of Stephen's own Sigamos String Quartet along with Richard Price on bass.
The lush, reverant arrangement and Wyatt's inimitable voice make this an elevating experience.
A case of familiarity breeding content.
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