I Am Santa Claus

Last updated
I Am Santa Claus
Bob Rivers - I Am Santa Claus cover.jpg
Studio album by
Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio
ReleasedNovember 2, 1993
RecordedBob's Garage Inc, North Bend WA, KISW Radio Seattle WA, 1993
Genre Christmas, Comedy
Length40:34
Label Atlantic
Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio chronology
Twisted Christmas
(1987)		I Am Santa Claus
(1993)		 More Twisted Christmas
(1997)

I Am Santa Claus is the second Christmas album by Bob Rivers & Twisted Radio. It was released in November 1993 by Atlantic Records (WEA 82548), five years after Twisted Christmas , and four years before More Twisted Christmas . [1] [2]

Contents

Track listing

  1. "There's Another Santa Claus" - 2:01
  2. "Walkin' 'Round in Women's Underwear" [3] [4] - 1:55
  3. "I Am Santa Claus" - 3:22
    • (sung to tune of "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath, except the last ten notes on the prominent guitar riff are replaced with five notes from Jingle Bells.) [5]
    • A music video was made for the title track, in which Rivers, playing a father of two, inexplicably transforms into a heavy-metal Santa Claus riding in a reindeer-pulled limousine on Christmas Eve. In a meta-cameo, Ozzy Osbourne, in a black-and-white universe watching the video on a television, angrily turns the TV off, transforming metal-Santa (in the middle of a concert) back into Rivers. [6]
  4. "Manger 6" - 0:44
  5. "O Little Town of Bethlehem" - 2:09
  6. "I Came Upon a Roadkill Deer" - 3:01
  7. "Teddy the Red-Nosed Senator" - 1:25
  8. "Grahbe Yahbalz" - 1:08
  9. "A Letter to Santa" - 2:41
  10. "Jingle Hells Bells" - 2:38
  11. "The Kids" - 2:18
  12. "The Magical Kingdom of Claus" - 5:53
    • (mini-musical parody of The Wizard of Oz , in which the Emerald City/North Pole is replaced with a commercialized shopping mall-type environment, briefly parodies the song "If I Only Had a Brain")
  13. "The 'What's It to Ya' Chorus - 2:37
  14. "Didn't I Get This Last Year?" - 3:22
  15. "The Under the Tree World of Jacques Cousteau" - 3:02
    • (spoken word piece, narrated by a Cousteau impersonator)
  16. "O Christmas Tree" - 2:33

Critical reaction

J. D. Considine wrote in the Baltimore Sun that "Rivers' idea of 'funny' generally seems the work of a guy who's read too many issues of Mad magazine, but there are some good bits here." [8] Helen Bryant of The Dallas Morning News wrote "Irving Berlin, it's not" [1] while the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette called the album "this year's hip offering."

Chart performance

By late December 2003, the album had already sold more than 100,000 copies. [9] I Am Santa Claus entered the Billboard Top Albums chart at #180 [9] before peaking at #106.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 Bryant, Helen (December 21, 1993). "Irving Berlin it's not". The Dallas Morning News . Retrieved February 26, 2010. At the top of the charts on this year's Christmas Hit Parade we find a harmonious ditty to the tune of Walkin'in a Winter Wonderland. It's called Walkin' Round in Women's Underwear.
  2. ↑ "Santa's got a brand new bag". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette . December 3, 1993. p. 4. Retrieved February 26, 2010. This year's hip offering is Bob Rivers and Twisted Radio's I Am Santa Claus (three stars).
  3. ↑ Powers, Rebecca (December 13, 1994). "'Tis Season for Carol Parodies". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 3, 2012. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  4. ↑ Lisi, Michael (December 10, 2000). "The novelty never wears off for some clever songs written for the season". The Daily Gazette . p. G01. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  5. ↑ Delinski, Bernie (December 24, 1993). "From twisted to traditional, Christmas music sells big". TimesDaily . p. 3B. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  6. ↑ I Am Santa Claus official music video, from The Bob Rivers Show official YouTube account, December 12, 2007
  7. 1 2 3 4 Parisien, Roch. "Review: I Am Santa Claus". All Music Guide. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  8. ↑ Considine, J.D. (December 15, 1993). "Some chestnuts deserve to burn on an open fire". Baltimore Sun. p. 1C. Retrieved February 26, 2010.
  9. 1 2 Reader, Stephanie (December 22, 1993). "Raunchy rock, rap stations clear the air - sorta". The News Tribune . Tacoma, WA. p. E2. Retrieved February 26, 2010. His new Atlantic release, "I Am Santa Claus," has sold more than 100000 copies and has broken into the Billboard Top Albums chart (at No. 180).
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