The title might be Blues For Christmas, but lots of these tunes are pretty bright and jumpy, too – a nice mix of 50s R&B and early soul styles, served up here in a mighty sweet little package that's a great antidote to some of too-familiar Christmas collections on the market! Most of the artists are names you'll know already – especially if you've got some 50s blues in your collection – but the setting is mighty fresh, and the tunes together spin out for a nicely extended batch of Holiday listening that goes way past the obvious! Titles include "Oh Holy Night" by The Blue Notes, "Christmas Letter" by La Fets & Kitty, "Christmas In Jail" by The Youngsters, "Christmas Time (part 1)" by Jimmy McCracklin, "Can This Be Christmas" by Eddie Floyd & The Falcons, "Rock & Roll Santa Claus" by Huey Smith & The Clowns, "Christmas Celebration" by BB King, "Christmas Tears" by Freddy King, "Rock & Roll Santa Claus" by Babs Gonzales, "When Was Jesus Born" by Marian Williams, "After New Years Eve" by The Heartbeats, "It's Christmas Time" by Marvin & Johnny, and "Santa" by Lightnin Hopkins. CD

Well, they definitely got the "strange" in the title right here – as the collection is one of the oddest assortment of Holiday tunes we've ever heard – but that's also what makes us like it so much too! We love Christmas music – and while we were raised on the classics, we're always a lot more partial to the weirder corners of the sound of December – the sorts of one-off recordings or overlooked singles that offer up a greatly expanded vision of Christmas in the US, and which reminds us just how big the Holiday music industry is, if you know where to look! The folks who put together this set definitely knew where to look – as they've come up with 20 tracks across a variety of genres – including 60s soul and rock – almost all of which we'd never heard before. Titles include "Please Come Home For Christmas" by Johnny Winter, "Blue Grey Christmas" by King Coleman, "Moisha Got Run Over By A Wheelchair" by 2 Live Jews, "The Real Meaning Of Christmas" by Nino & The Ebb Tides, "El Burrito De Belen" by Lazarito, "Jingle Bells" by Rita Moss, "White Christmas Disco" by Back To Back, "Merry Twistmas" by Milt Patrick, "Give Me Christmas Time" by The Reindeers, "Hawaiian Santa" by The Surfers, "Santa Won't Be Blue This Christmas" by Jimmy Charles, "Christmas In November" by Slim Pickens, "Teenage Santa Claus" by Babs Gonzales, and "Santa Claus Has Fallen In Love" by Swamp Dogg. CD