A brightly wrapped gift of guitar-driven Christmas classics
Yep Roc’s twenty-seven track anthology compiles all of the Christmas-related titles that Los Straitjackets have released across 2002’s Tis the Season for Los Straitjackets, 2009’s Yuletide Beat, 2011’s “Hark the Herald Angels Sing†single, and Yep Roc’s 2007 collection Oh Santa!, and adds a bonus live version of Vince Guaraldi’s “Linus & Lucy†recorded on the band’s 2015 tour with Nick Lowe. The playlist is dominated by ‘60s-styled guitar-driven instrumental versions of Christmas classics, often cleverly augmented by motifs borrowed from “La Bamba,†“Pipeline,†“Walk Don’t Run,†“Misirlou,†“I Fought the Law,†“Buckaroo,†“Sing, Sing, Sing†and other iconic tunes. There are playful Latin beats on “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer†and “O Tannenbaum,†Memphis soul on “Joy to the World†and power-pop on “Groovy Old Saint Nick.†The band’s three originals include two instrumentals, “Christmas in Las Vegas†and “Christmas Weekend,†and the album’s only vocal, “Holiday Twist.†This is a creative collection of Christmas tunes that will spruce up your holidays. [©2019 Hyperbolium] 