Welcome to episode 73 of Holly Jolly X’masu! In this episode, I’ll be talking about the Riichi Maki’s 1971 album, “New Sounds Of Christmas.”

I have several albums that were extremely difficult to acquire, but none of them really compare to this one. Thankfully, the effort was worth it, as this is a great album. I would have liked to have learned a little more about Riichi Maki, although I’m glad I was able to find at least a little information about him. Several of the artists I’ve looked up recently have far less information online.

Similar to Riichi Maki, there’s not much information available about the original picture disc, either. From what I’ve been able to translate, the back cover just talks about Christmas music and celebrations around the world without revealing much about how the record came about. My friends in Japan couldn’t reveal much more about it. It looks fantastic, though, and my daughters were awfully impressed when I got it.

I hope you enjoyed hearing about Riichi Maki and his exceptional music. Be sure to listen in next month for a pair of fun episodes. Up first is a Valentine’s Day-themed episode where I talk about the Christmas flexi-discs released by the chocolate and confectionary company, Juchheim. Then join me on the 25th when, for Black History Month, I’ll be talking about Chris Hart’s latest Christmas album. Both episodes should be a lot of fun, and you won’t want to miss them.

As always, any feedback on this episode would be appreciated. If have any suggestions, or if you’d like to recommend a song or album for a future episode, drop me a line and let me know.

Remember, I’ve added a button to my Ko-fi page. If you’d like to support me one cup of coffee at a time, a donation is only $3. I’ve also opened a Redbubble store. I only have a couple designs up, but keep an eye on it as I’ll be trying to add more. Half of any proceeds or donations received will be donated to support the people of Ukraine, while the rest will be used to purchase new Japanese Christmas music to review for future episodes. You can also find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. And if you get a chance, leave me a review on iTunes. Thanks!