The Stax holiday tune “Winter Snow” was written by Isaac Hayes. Hayes recorded his own version to appear on the label’s holiday compilations It’s Christmas and It’s Christmas Time Again (it appeared again later on the Hayes career retrospective Wonderful).

But Booker T. & the MGs also recorded “Winter Snow” for release as a holiday single. This MGs’ version may be the most mournful Christmas / winter single you’ll ever hear – a blues that’s cold deep down to its bitter soul, blues that bring no tidings of comfort or joy.

Not only did Hayes write this profoundly dark melody, it sounds like he joined in the MGs’ recording as well. Their instrumental arrangement features an acoustic piano solo that nurses and broods its wounds, full of deep whole chords and dramatic pauses, as stark as barren trees silhouetted against a grey and frozen December nightscape. This sounds like Hayes playing some of his most sad and angry piano ever, and bridges the arrangement between Booker’s gospel-ly solo on organ and Cropper’s blues-y solo on guitar.

You can still wrap yourself in this chilly “Winter Snow” on The Complete Stax-Volt Soul Singles Volume I.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2007 at 8:13 am and is filed under Music. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.