Lucy Culott

It's that time of year again. Christmas! Ricky and Lucy tell Little Ricky all about Santa claus, each in their own unique way. Then Little Ricky is sent to bed and then Fred and Ethel come with the Christmas tree. Lucy has Fred saw off several branches while the gang recall the time Lucy announced to Ricky she was "expectant" with Little Ricky. They also recall the time Lucy forced herself to be in Ricky's barbershop quartet. Back to the present, Fred has overtrimmed the tree and is sent out to buy another one. He soon returns with another tree and is overjoyed, because due to the time of day, he got the tree at half price. The gang then recalls the night Lucy announced the baby was ready to come and everybody frantically races off to the hospital–forgetting Lucy. Well, Christmas morning soon arrives and Ricky, Lucy, Ethel and Fred are each dressed as Santa Claus. Suddenly, in comes a 5th Santa. It was Fred! It turns out the 4th Santa was in fact THE Santa Claus. He disappears as the Ricardos and Mertzes stare in disbelief. Which soon turns to belief.

The fourth and final installment in a complete edition of Debussy songs might not seem to be a chartbuster, but that's just what this release by British soprano Lucy Crowe has become, and it deserves every bit of its success. In fact, you might even pick this one over the other three if you're looking to sample Crowe's approach: the program is exceptionally well put together, and it begins with Debussy's first published song, Tragédie, of 1881. There are several other early songs, giving insight into the young Debussy's romantic life as well as hints of the musical language to come and some real experiments (you could sample the Rondel chinois). From there, the program proceeds to later music but is not strictly chronological: instead Crowe leads you onto a path of extremely quiet songs wherein Debussy challenges the soprano to reside in her upper register, and Crowe meets the challenges beautifully. The tension is remarkable, with just a single piano solo and a pair of songs to Debussy's own texts (Nuits blanches, or Sleepless Nights) with baritone Christopher Maltman to break it. The music broadens out with some later songs, ending with Debussy's swan song, Noël des enfants qui n'ont plus de maisons, of 1915. The contributions of pianist Malcolm Martineau are substantial; he produces some truly eerie sounds in the quieter pieces. Highly recommended and often haunting.

Saucy blues-rockers Juicy Lucy formed in 1969 from the ashes of cult-favorite garage band the Misunderstood, reuniting vocalist Ray Owen, steel guitarist Glenn "Ross" Campbell, and keyboardist Chris Mercer; with the additions of guitarist Neil Hubbard, bassist Keith Ellis, and drummer Pete Dobson, the group immediately notched a U.K. Top 20 hit with their reading of the Bo Diddley perennial "Who Do You Love," with their self-titled debut LP falling just shy of the Top 40. Ex-Zoot Money singer Paul Williams, guitarist Mick Moody, and drummer Rod Coombes replaced Owen (who exited for a solo career), Hubbard, and Dobson for 1970's Lie Back and Enjoy It, with bassist Jim Leverton assuming Ellis' duties for the follow-up, 1971's Get a Whiff a This.

Saucy blues-rockers Juicy Lucy formed in 1969 from the ashes of cult favorite garage band the Misunderstood, reuniting vocalist Ray Owen, steel guitarist Glenn "Ross" Campbell, and keyboardist Chris Mercer, with the additions of guitarist Neil Hubbard, bassist Keith Ellis, and drummer Pete Dobson. The group immediately notched a U.K. Top 20 hit with their reading of the Bo Diddley perennial "Who Do You Love," with their self-titled debut LP falling just shy of the Top 40. Ex-Zoot Money singer Paul Williams, guitarist Mick Moody, and drummer Rod Coombes replaced Owen (who exited for a solo career), Hubbard, and Dobson for 1970's Lie Back and Enjoy It, with bassist Jim Leverton assuming Ellis' duties for the follow-up, 1971's Get a Whiff a This.