The Gift That Keeps Giving
Encyclopedia
"The Gift That Keeps Giving" is a song by Super Furry Animals
taken from their 2007 album, Hey Venus!
. It was given away as a free download single from the bands official website on Christmas Day 2007.
The song was conceived as a Christmas single as part of the band's plans to make a "pop record" in parent album Hey Venus! The title stems from sessions in 2004 for the extended live version of "The Man Don't Give a Fuck", at which the groups's engineer repeatably used the phrase. Critical response to "The Gift That Keeps Giving" was generally positive with the NME
claiming it to be one of the best songs on Hey Venus! and BBC Wales
describing the track as "brain-bendingly catchy".
A Team D.A.D.D.Y. directed music video was made to accompany the track's release as a single. The video features a spoilt child being showered with Christmas presents while poorer children are shown in tears due to their lack of gifts. Two different endings for the video were produced - in one Santa Claus
is shown crucified
on a cross while another sees Santa laid on the floor with an arrow through his head.
singer Gruff Rhys
stated that "The Gift That Keeps Giving" was written as an "AOR
Christmas single" following a visit to Japan where "they celebrate Christmas as a commercial holiday with all the decorations .. in one store they had Santa
on a cross hanging from the wall ... so the Christmas single was just an excuse to have Santa on a cross on the cover". Although the cover art did not in the end feature this scene, a crucified
Santa does appear in the accompanying music video.
Speaking to British
music magazine Artrocker
Rhys offered another explanation as to the origins of the song:
The track was recorded at Miraval Studios, France along with the rest of Hey Venus!
. The track begins with a phased
guitar melody backed only by synthesizer
, hi-hat
and occasional guitar chords. Cian Ciaran's
piano joins the mix as the song builds up with the introduction of drums
at 25 seconds. Gruff Rhys
begins singing after 39 seconds and is joined by sleighbells
which accompany the lines "all the bells started ringing" shortly before the first chorus which features harmony backing vocals (the first of many in the "falsetto-laden" track) singing the title phrase. Another verse and chorus follow before an instrumental verse at 1 minute 46 seconds featuring a trumpet
solo playing around the vocal melody. The song "crescendos tenderly" with a double chorus before entering the outro which initially includes spoken word backing vocals chanting "giving again" and is "enhanced by a horn section that the Furries seem to be able to utilise more effectively than anyone else".
rating it as one of the best on parent album Hey Venus!
; "[it doesn't so much raise] the bar, as balances it on top of Mount Snowdon
" going on to state: "From a foundation of ELO
guitar
cloud-swells, Gruff's Elvis Costello
-in-a-bubblegum-bath voice wraps around tender trombone
parps to create the band's most beautiful moment since "Demons
". BBC Wales
commented on the track's Christmas links, describing "The Gift That Keeps Giving" as a "mellow, mellifluous, slow ode to the joys of the festive season ... lyrically incredibly simple ... brain-bendingly catchy". The Guardian
meanwhile, stated that the song "might sound more California
than Christmas" but still possesses the "obligatory sleighbells ... shaken throughout". Much was made of the 'retro' nature of the track with Yahoo Music UK
claiming that the song is "a pure blue-eyed soul tune, of the sort that Dan Penn
and Spooner Oldham
used to churn out four decades ago" and The Guardian describing it as a "gorgeous, Bacharach
-tinged haze". In contrast the UCSD Guardian
described "The Gift That Keeps Giving" as "jazzy" and "lo-fi" and saw it as "a throw-back to 2000's experimental Mwng
".
Billboard
noted that "the group's penchant for sonic flourishes is used to subtle effect" on "The Gift That Keeps Giving" and went on to suggest that the track is representative of Hey Venus! as a whole. Cokemachineglow, however, thought that the song "will be cast into the void, one daring, lonely piece of the first Super Furry Animals album to not succeed as a thorough unit" and, in their single review of "The Gift That Keeps Giving", the NME suggested that the track wasn't one of the group's best.
The band's decision to employ Japanese surrealist Keiichi Tanaami
to produce the cover for Hey Venus! and its singles received some criticism, not least because the artist had already used similar designs. In a 2005 interview with German magazine Komakino, keyboard player
Cian Ciaran
stated that the artwork for "The Gift..." was unique, however, and praised the artist.
The video for "The Gift That Keeps Giving" was directed by Team D.A.D.D.Y. and revolves around a festive theme in keeping with the track's release date of Christmas
day.
The video opens with a spoilt child opening numerous Christmas presents including a toy train, a box full of kittens and a copy of Hey Venus! (which he throws over his shoulder in disgust). Towards the end of the video less privileged children are shown crying at their lack of presents before we cut back to the initial child who is surrounded by gifts while Santa Claus
is seen in front of a log fire, crucified
on a cross. An alternative ending instead features Santa lying on the floor with an arrow through his head.
Despite the apparently cynical nature of the video, BBC Wales
asserts that it is "not meant to be read in any deeper level than 'ain't Christmas brilliant?'"
Although the track was initially reported to come with an "exclusive b-side" this turned out not to be the case and only "The Gift That Keeps Giving" was made available.
Super Furry Animals
Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band that lean towards psychedelic rock and electronic experimentation. Since their formation in Cardiff, Wales in 1993, the band has consisted of Gruff Rhys , Huw Bunford , Guto Pryce , Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan Super Furry Animals are a Welsh rock band...
taken from their 2007 album, Hey Venus!
Hey Venus!
Hey Venus! is the eighth album by Welsh band Super Furry Animals. It was released on 27 August 2007 in the United Kingdom. Hey Venus! is the band's first full-length release on current label Rough Trade Records and, at just over 36 minutes, is also their shortest-running studio release...
. It was given away as a free download single from the bands official website on Christmas Day 2007.
The song was conceived as a Christmas single as part of the band's plans to make a "pop record" in parent album Hey Venus! The title stems from sessions in 2004 for the extended live version of "The Man Don't Give a Fuck", at which the groups's engineer repeatably used the phrase. Critical response to "The Gift That Keeps Giving" was generally positive with the NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
claiming it to be one of the best songs on Hey Venus! and BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
describing the track as "brain-bendingly catchy".
A Team D.A.D.D.Y. directed music video was made to accompany the track's release as a single. The video features a spoilt child being showered with Christmas presents while poorer children are shown in tears due to their lack of gifts. Two different endings for the video were produced - in one Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
is shown crucified
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
on a cross while another sees Santa laid on the floor with an arrow through his head.
Origins and recording
In a 2008 interview with UncutUNCUT (magazine)
Uncut magazine, trademarked as UNCUT, is a monthly publication based in London. It is available across the English-speaking world, and focuses on music, but also includes film and books sections...
singer Gruff Rhys
Gruff Rhys
Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
stated that "The Gift That Keeps Giving" was written as an "AOR
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock is an American FM radio format focusing on album tracks by rock artists.-Music played:Most radio formats are based on a select, tight rotation of hit singles...
Christmas single" following a visit to Japan where "they celebrate Christmas as a commercial holiday with all the decorations .. in one store they had Santa
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
on a cross hanging from the wall ... so the Christmas single was just an excuse to have Santa on a cross on the cover". Although the cover art did not in the end feature this scene, a crucified
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
Santa does appear in the accompanying music video.
Speaking to British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music magazine Artrocker
ArtRocker
Artrocker is a UK-based collective involved in music promotion and publishing. It was started by Paul Cox and Tom Fawcett who had been co-promoters of a London night called The Sausage Factory...
Rhys offered another explanation as to the origins of the song:
The track was recorded at Miraval Studios, France along with the rest of Hey Venus!
Musical structure
"The Gift That Keeps Giving" is 3 minutes 20 seconds long and is in the key of D minorD minor
D minor is a minor scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. In the harmonic minor, the C is raised to C. Its key signature has one flat ....
. The track begins with a phased
Phaser (effect)
A phaser is an audio signal processing technique used to filter a signal by creating a series of peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum. The position of the peaks and troughs is typically modulated so that they vary over time, creating a sweeping effect...
guitar melody backed only by synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
, hi-hat
Hi-hat
A hi-hat, or hihat, is a type of cymbal and stand used as a typical part of a drum kit by percussionists in R&B, hip-hop, disco, jazz, rock and roll, house, reggae and other forms of contemporary popular music.- Operation :...
and occasional guitar chords. Cian Ciaran's
Cian Ciaran
Cian Ciaran is the keyboard player in the band, Super Furry Animals.Ciaran is the brother of Dafydd Ieuan . He plays keyboards, electronics and occasional guitar, drums, steel drum and vocals...
piano joins the mix as the song builds up with the introduction of drums
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
at 25 seconds. Gruff Rhys
Gruff Rhys
Gruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
begins singing after 39 seconds and is joined by sleighbells
Jingle bell
A jingle bell is a type of bell which produces a distinctive 'jingle' sound, especially in large numbers. They find use in many areas as a percussion instrument, including the classic sleigh bell sound and morris dancing...
which accompany the lines "all the bells started ringing" shortly before the first chorus which features harmony backing vocals (the first of many in the "falsetto-laden" track) singing the title phrase. Another verse and chorus follow before an instrumental verse at 1 minute 46 seconds featuring a trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
solo playing around the vocal melody. The song "crescendos tenderly" with a double chorus before entering the outro which initially includes spoken word backing vocals chanting "giving again" and is "enhanced by a horn section that the Furries seem to be able to utilise more effectively than anyone else".
Critical response
Critical reaction to "The Gift That Keeps Giving" was generally positive with the New Musical ExpressNME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
rating it as one of the best on parent album Hey Venus!
Hey Venus!
Hey Venus! is the eighth album by Welsh band Super Furry Animals. It was released on 27 August 2007 in the United Kingdom. Hey Venus! is the band's first full-length release on current label Rough Trade Records and, at just over 36 minutes, is also their shortest-running studio release...
; "[it doesn't so much raise] the bar, as balances it on top of Mount Snowdon
Snowdon
Snowdon is the highest mountain in Wales, at an altitude of above sea level, and the highest point in the British Isles outside Scotland. It is located in Snowdonia National Park in Gwynedd, and has been described as "probably the busiest mountain in Britain"...
" going on to state: "From a foundation of ELO
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
cloud-swells, Gruff's Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...
-in-a-bubblegum-bath voice wraps around tender trombone
Trombone
The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...
parps to create the band's most beautiful moment since "Demons
Demons (Super Furry Animals song)
"Demons" is the eighth single by Super Furry Animals and the last to be taken from the album Radiator. It reached #27 on the UK Singles Chart on its release in November 1997.The video was filmed in Colombia.-Release and critical reception:...
". BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
commented on the track's Christmas links, describing "The Gift That Keeps Giving" as a "mellow, mellifluous, slow ode to the joys of the festive season ... lyrically incredibly simple ... brain-bendingly catchy". The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
meanwhile, stated that the song "might sound more California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
than Christmas" but still possesses the "obligatory sleighbells ... shaken throughout". Much was made of the 'retro' nature of the track with Yahoo Music UK
Yahoo!
Yahoo! Inc. is an American multinational internet corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, United States. The company is perhaps best known for its web portal, search engine , Yahoo! Directory, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Groups, Yahoo! Answers, advertising, online mapping ,...
claiming that the song is "a pure blue-eyed soul tune, of the sort that Dan Penn
Dan Penn
Dan Penn is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and sometime guitar player who co-wrote many soul hits of the 1960s including "Dark End of the Street" and "Do Right Woman, Do Right Man" and "Out of Left Field" & "Cry Like A Baby"...
and Spooner Oldham
Spooner Oldham
Dewey Lindon "Spooner" Oldham is an American songwriter and session musician. An organist, he recorded in Muscle Shoals, Alabama and at FAME Studios on such hit R&B songs as "When a Man Loves a Woman" by Percy Sledge, "Mustang Sally" by Wilson Pickett and "I Never Loved a Man" by Aretha...
used to churn out four decades ago" and The Guardian describing it as a "gorgeous, Bacharach
Burt Bacharach
Burt F. Bacharach is an American pianist, composer and music producer. He is known for his popular hit songs and compositions from the mid-1950s through the 1980s, with lyrics written by Hal David. Many of their hits were produced specifically for, and performed by, Dionne Warwick...
-tinged haze". In contrast the UCSD Guardian
UCSD Guardian
The UCSD Guardian is a student-operated newspaper at the University of California, San Diego. Originally named the Triton Times, it is published twice a week during the regular academic year, usually Mondays and Thursdays. Although the Guardian is officially a university department, it is funded...
described "The Gift That Keeps Giving" as "jazzy" and "lo-fi" and saw it as "a throw-back to 2000's experimental Mwng
Mwng
Mwng is the fourth studio album by Welsh rock band the Super Furry Animals, and the first by the group to have lyrics written entirely in the Welsh language. Mwng was released on 15 May 2000 on the band's own record label, Placid Casual, following the demise of their former label Creation...
".
Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
noted that "the group's penchant for sonic flourishes is used to subtle effect" on "The Gift That Keeps Giving" and went on to suggest that the track is representative of Hey Venus! as a whole. Cokemachineglow, however, thought that the song "will be cast into the void, one daring, lonely piece of the first Super Furry Animals album to not succeed as a thorough unit" and, in their single review of "The Gift That Keeps Giving", the NME suggested that the track wasn't one of the group's best.
The band's decision to employ Japanese surrealist Keiichi Tanaami
Keiichi Tanaami
Keiichi Tanaami, born in 1936 in Tokyo, is one of the leading pop artists of postwar Japan, and has been active as multi-genre artist since the ‘60s as a graphic designer, illustrator, video artist and fine artist.-Biography:...
to produce the cover for Hey Venus! and its singles received some criticism, not least because the artist had already used similar designs. In a 2005 interview with German magazine Komakino, keyboard player
Musical keyboard
A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument, particularly the piano. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the...
Cian Ciaran
Cian Ciaran
Cian Ciaran is the keyboard player in the band, Super Furry Animals.Ciaran is the brother of Dafydd Ieuan . He plays keyboards, electronics and occasional guitar, drums, steel drum and vocals...
stated that the artwork for "The Gift..." was unique, however, and praised the artist.
Music video
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
day.
The video opens with a spoilt child opening numerous Christmas presents including a toy train, a box full of kittens and a copy of Hey Venus! (which he throws over his shoulder in disgust). Towards the end of the video less privileged children are shown crying at their lack of presents before we cut back to the initial child who is surrounded by gifts while Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
is seen in front of a log fire, crucified
Crucifixion
Crucifixion is an ancient method of painful execution in which the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until dead...
on a cross. An alternative ending instead features Santa lying on the floor with an arrow through his head.
Despite the apparently cynical nature of the video, BBC Wales
BBC Wales
BBC Cymru Wales is a division of the British Broadcasting Corporation for Wales. Based at Broadcasting House in the Llandaff area of Cardiff, it directly employs over 1200 people, and produces a broad range of television, radio and online services in both the Welsh and English languages.Outside...
asserts that it is "not meant to be read in any deeper level than 'ain't Christmas brilliant?'"
Track listing
All songs by Super Furry Animals.-
- "The Gift That Keeps Giving" – 3:20
Although the track was initially reported to come with an "exclusive b-side" this turned out not to be the case and only "The Gift That Keeps Giving" was made available.
Personnel
- Gruff RhysGruff RhysGruffydd Maredudd Bowen Rhys is a Welsh musician, performing solo and with several bands, including Super Furry Animals who obtained mainstream success in the 1990s. He also most recently formed the electro-pop outfit Neon Neon with Boom Bip. Their album Stainless Style was nominated for the 2008...
: Vocals - Huw BunfordHuw BunfordHuw "Bunf" Bunford is the guitarist in the rock band, Super Furry Animals.-Biography:...
: GuitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Guto PryceGuto PryceGuto Dafydd Pryce is a bass guitar player in the band Super Furry Animals.The name Guto is pronounced in Welsh....
: Bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Cian CiaranCian CiaranCian Ciaran is the keyboard player in the band, Super Furry Animals.Ciaran is the brother of Dafydd Ieuan . He plays keyboards, electronics and occasional guitar, drums, steel drum and vocals...
: keyboards - Dafydd IeuanDafydd IeuanDafydd Ieuan is the drummer with the band, Super Furry Animals and The Peth. He currently lives in Cardiff with his wife Debbie, and their two children Cai and Lleucu....
: DrumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Kris Jenkins: PercussionPercussion instrumentA percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
- Matt Sibley: SaxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846...
- Gary Alesbrook: TrumpetTrumpetThe trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
- Nick Atwood: TromboneTromboneThe trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...