As Lowe assembled his band and began thinking about how to add a new twist to the seasonal songbook, he made one rule. “We tried to make it a sleigh bell-free zone,” he says. “Really, what we wanted to do first was find songs either which people hadn’t heard millions of times before, but which were really good songs that we could get our teeth into and change them around,” Lowe continues. “Or if we were going to cover songs that were well-known, we wanted to do ones that we could put a brand new suit of clothes on.
The joys of Christmas infuse the dozen songs on Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection For All The Family (the title is a nod to a famous UK manufacturer of holiday sweets, while the cover image was conceived by Lowe’s wife, designer Peta Waddington).
The result is a blend of traditional hymns, forgotten gems and Lowe originals that conjure up all the nostalgia, good cheer and warmth of the season. You might say it’s the kind of record that gives vulgar, tawdry commercialism a good name.
Here or abroad, anyone who likes their Christmas soundtracks with plenty of heart and humour, and a sprinkle of understated charm, will enjoy Quality Street for the newly minted classic that it is.
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