skip to content
home > albums > l > this page

Support www.hipchristmas.com! Amazon Shop at Amazon, Apple Music, and more...

On This PageOn This Page

A Lump Of CoalFirst Warning Records started out in 1989 as a fully independent, New York City label distributed through indie powerhouse Rough Trade. By 1991, the year they released their Christmas compilation, A Lump Of Coal, First Warning had inked a distribution deal with BMG, one of six major labels - and a corporate behemoth. Nevertheless, First Warning's imprimatur lent A Lump Of Coal the appearance of indie rock credibility - an important thing in the early 90's, when "alternative" still meant something substantial. But, First Warning leveraged their new association to incorporate tracks by bands signed to other BMG-affiliated labels like RCA (Wedding Present, Primitives, Hoodoo Gurus), Arista (Crash Test Dummies), Frontier (Young Fresh Fellows), Imago (Henry Rollins), Zoo (The Odds), and Beggar's Banquet (Carnival Art). That leaves just three bands signed directly to First Warning - Drunken Boat, Divine Weeks, and Clockhammer - none of them well-known at the time and all of them long-forgotten today.

All the same, the resulting album was pretty decent snapshot of early 90's alternative rock, with both barrels aimed squarely at the holidays. A Lump Of Coal isn't nearly as stingy as the title might suggest, collecting a half-dozen diamonds-in-the-rough along with the usual sarcasm and fury, signifying nothing. Interestingly, though, the album consists solely of covers songs - most of them traditional carols. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it's a stark contrast with mostly-original indie rock holiday compilations released around the same time such as Just In Time For Christmas (IRS, 1990), It's Finally Christmas! (Tim/Kerr, 1994), and Happy Birthday, Baby Jesus (Sympathy For The Record Industry, 1995).

Listening to accomplished alternative rock bands like the Primitives, the Odds, and Young Fresh Fellows sing Christmas carols is not a problem, even if they don't do anything terribly creative with them. The Hoodoo Gurus' instrumental "Little Drummer Boy" is perhaps the best of the bunch, with its driving beat and Martin-Denny-meets-Dick-Dale vibe. Most striking, however, is the Crash Test Dummies' "The First Noel," which features a wonderful basso profundo lead vocal from Brad Roberts, counterbalanced by Ellen Reid's angelic, multitracked harmonies. In retrospect, the song captures a spirit almost entirely absent from the Dummies' lackluster 2002 Christmas album, Jingle All The Way.

A Lump Of CoalThe remains tracks on A Lump Of Coal are all fairly generic alternative rock, ranging from the Wedding Present's shambolic, if serviceable, interpretation of Elton John's "Step Into Christmas" to Drunken Boat's virtually unrecognizable mangling of Miles Davis' "Blue X-Mas (To Whom It May Concern)." None of them are particularly memorable, and they're just piss takes in a genre postively rotten with piss takes.

The album concludes with Henry Rollins' "'Twas The Night Before Christmas," and it rather neatly sums up the problem with A Lump Of Coal, challenging our preconceptions while catering to them. Rollins, of course, was the lead vocalist for 80's hardcore punk icons Black Flag for the bulk of their existence, and he'd since launched a prolific, far-reaching solo career. And, "'Twas The Night Before Christmas" certainly grabs your attention, mostly thanks to a kitchen sink of sound effects, from cocktail party chatter to gunfire. But, Rollins' recitation of Clement Moore's famous poem is strictly by the books. The track closes with a literal bomb, and you're left wondering - like a post-modern Peggy Lee - is that all there is?

Pointless Ephemera

It's worth noting that all of the tracks on A Lump Of Coal were newly recorded for the album, though a few - including those by the Hoodoo Gurus and Wedding Present - later showed up as b-sides, bonus tracks and/or compilation cuts. Also, A Lump Of Coal is often pictured online with two different covers, both pictured above. In its compact disc edition, at least, it depends on how you fold the little booklet....

All of the lesser-known bands on A Lump Of Coal would stay that way, and most broke up within a few years. But, after Carnival Art's demise in 1993, bass player Brian Bell switched to guitar and joined Weezer, playing on their 1994 major label debut and becoming a mainstay of the band. And, Clockhammer drummer Ken Coomer joined Uncle Tupelo for their last album, Anodyne (1993), then became a founding member of Wilco in 1994, playing with the band through 2001.

A Lump Of Coal: A Collection Of Holiday SongsPostscript

First Warning would only last another year before going the way of all flesh, and A Lump Of Coal - issued on compact disc, vinyl, and cassette - quickly fell out of print. Consequently, it's never been available for download or streaming. But, a different label, Funzalo Records, picked up the mantle and reissued it twice as a digital album, with dramatically different track listings each time.

The 2012 edition (now deleted) featured slightly altered cover art (adding the subtitle "A Collection Of Holiday Songs") and an almost entirely different track listing. Only the tracks by bands signed directly to First Warning survived. The new tracks included a bunch by Sirsy, a band from Albany, New York, featuring singer Melanie Krahmer, and a couple by Robin Lane - who previously fronted the tremendous Boston new wave band, the Chartbusters. Sadly, Lane's tracks are far from impressive - two dreary original songs sounding suspiciously like an acoustic demo tape.

The 2019 edition employed the same cover art but a significantly altered track listing. This time, all the Sirsy and Robin Lane tracks disappeared, but a totally new song by Jules Shear popped up. Shear previously fronted the tremendous Los Angeles new wave band, the Polar Bears, and subsequently maintained a long career as a singer and songwriter. His "Late Again For Christmas" is a definite change of pace - but it holds up pretty well. It's a sad but tuneful ballad, with Shear accompanied only by a Fender Rhodes piano, plus a little organ solo.

Albums Albums

SongsEssential Songs

  • The First Noel (Crash Test Dummies, 1991)
  • Kings Of Orient (The Odds, 1991)
  • Late Again For Christmas (Jules Shear, 2019)
  • Little Drummer Boy (Up The Khyber) (Hoodoo Gurus, 1991)
  • O Little Town Of Bethlehem (Young Fresh Fellows, 1991)
  • Silent Night (The Primitives, 1991)
  • 'Twas The Night Before Christmas (Henry Rollins, 1991)

Further ListeningFurther Listening

[top of page]