Various Artists - Just in Time for Xmas +Album Reviews

Some essential tracks, and then some filler...

John Sloan | right there | 01/14/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This seems to be out of print now, but is worth picking up if you can find a good price on a used one. Several of the songs by the more well-known artists are available on other compilations. (The songs by Squeeze, Timbuk 3, and Wall of Voodoo can all be found on "Just Can't Get Enough: New Wave Christmas".) The dB's "Home For the Holidays" is hard to find anywhere else.

For the record, I get a kick out of Dread Zeppelin's Elvis-meets-reggae-meets-Zeppelin-meets-Spike-Jones-with-a-touch-of-Zappa "...My Two Front Teeth", but most people I've played it for find it annoying.

Also for the record, Klark Kent is actually Stewart Copeland of the Police."

Have an alternative Christmas

mwreview | Northern California, USA | 11/20/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If you like any of the bands on this album, it is worth picking up. It has many unique, original Christmas songs as well as a few classics. Plus, the bands with whom I'm familiar stay very close to their styles here. Squeeze provides a very Squeeze-like "Christmas Day" while "Cool Yule" is a cute, quirky tune by Rebel Pebbles. "Hark" is a very unique take on "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" while Steve Hunter's "We Three Kings" is a very traditional, instrumental version of the classic. "Silent Night" is given a lot of soul by Molly Johnson & Norman Orenstein. "Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday" by Reckless Sleepers is a 1950s style song. The worst track by far is "All I Want for Christmas is My Two Front Teeth." It is a very silly song by Dread Zeppelin where the singer tries to be funny by imitating Elvis and shifting the song into a rendition of "Viva Las Vegas." It does not work.

Here are my favorites on this album: "Home for the Holidays" is a very catchy number by the dB's. In fact, I find myself humming it around the holidays (and even at other times of the year). "It only Comes Once a Year" by Deborah Holland is also very pleasant and catchy and "More Than One Night a Year" by Kennedy Rose has a dark beauty to it. It is my favorite track on this album. Timbuk 3's "All I Want for Christmas" (not the "two front teeth" song but an original song about world peace) is also excellent with beautiful acoustic guitar. It is very Timbuk 3, so fans of the band will no doubt like it. Not a favorite track of mine, but Klark Kent's style sounds so much like Stan Ridgway on "Yo ho ho" that I've scoured the album cover several times looking for Ridgway's name (not to be found). Speaking of Ridgway, his old band's offering of "Shouldn't Have Given Him a Gun for Christmas" is a riot. Fans of Andy Prieboy era Wall of Voodoo will love this track. It sounds like it could have fit very snugly on Seven Days in Sammystown. For an alternative Christmas, get Just in Time for Christmas."

Delightful!

S. Schubert | Gilbert, PA USA | 12/08/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A great alternative to the muzak of Manheim Steamroller and et al...I just wish that Amazon.com would have it in stock!"

Where would Christmas be without Mary & Joseph, Morecambe &

Johnny Heering | Bethel, CT United States | 12/16/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"In 1990, IRS Records released this CD, featuring Christmas songs performed by artists who recorded for their label. Songs are mostly originals, along with a few covers of older Christmas songs. All of the songs are at least decent, with nothing being bad. The original songs by Squeeze and the dB's are both great. As for the covers, Reckless Sleepers do a terrific version of "Every Day Will Be Like a Holiday" and Dread Zeppelin contribute a fun, irreverent version of "All I Want For Christmas is My Two Front Teeth". This CD is hard to find now, but it's worth looking for if you're tired of hearing the same old Christmas songs."

Creative, unique, always spirit-lifting!

C. Quesnell | Cincinnati | 12/15/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I started getting interested in more diverse Christmas music at a good time. This CD was released, I grabbed it and haven't seen it around much since. A few of the tracks have made their way into other compilations like Rhino's Just Can't Get Enough - New Wave Xmas.

Squeeze starts off with Christmas Day - a modernized account of Jesus' birth. Clever, catchy, and a nice toe tapper. Cool Yule is next by Rebel Pebbles. Very girlish and fun, envision Cyndi Lauper going Christmas shopping with the Go-Gos.

Yo Ho Ho by Klark Kent (Stewart Copeland) - a well-put together tune. Copeland plays all his instruments on his solo KK album, I don't know if that's the case here. This one took a while to grow on me but it's a nice heartfelt ditty about being with family on Christmas.

Hark by Torch Song - a very upbeat techno version of Hark! The Herald Angels Sing. Mostly just a drumbeat and a few cut-up phrases from the carol, but this deserves mainstream airplay IMO. Followed by Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday by Reckless Sleepers. It has a beat and a vocalist reminiscent of Squeeze, a more easy listening tune. A traditional rendition of We Three Kings is next by Steve Hunter. An experienced guitarist who was worked with the likes of Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and Mitch Ryder, Steve does a great standard guitar instrumental here.

The pace steps up a bit on Home for the Holidays by The dB's. It's a bit country, a bit corny, but it's okay. Silent Night by Molly Johnson and Norman Orenstein is next. Nothing fancy. Molly has a clean, pure voice and the guitar is an edgy, slightly fuzzed backdrop, it works. This was re-released on a 2005 CD called Plugged In For The Holidays, one I may have to pick up...

Okay, moving into the homestretch, Deborah Holland performs It Only Comes Once A Year. She has a super voice and sings a great original tune that has a light festive feel to it. Timbuk3 takes it from there with All I Want For Christmas. Using their classic lyric-bending ways, plays on words, etc., they make a ploy for peace among a Christmas list fraught with toys bent on violence. Just slightly 'message' oriented, I am far more delighted by their stylistic guitar, harmonica, and lyric abilities.

Track 11, Kennedy Rose sings More Than One Night A Year. A creative song with a strong bass drive to it as she soulfully sings of a world as one on a special night of the year.

Contrasting that, things take a decidely lighter turn on the last two tracks. First, Dread Zeppelin does All I Want For Christmas. Well-known for their trademark Elvis/Zeppelin-like rock/reggae mix of sound, they don't disappoint here, characterizing an ever-hungry Elvis doing his thing. Tongue-in-cheek, humorous, and just musical enough to enjoy without being taken too seriously. Finally, Wall of Voodoo wraps things up with Shouldn't Have Given Him a Gun for Christmas. If there's one song I have to pick for liking the least, it would have to be this one. It's not a total bust, but the theme of someone getting shot at Christmas during an argument is not very celebratory of the holiday. A little too much dysfunction happening in these verses for my tastes.

All in all, a stellar collection for alternative fans of the 80's."

Search - Various Artists :: Just in Time for Xmas

CD Details

Synopsis

Similar CDs

Similarly Requested CDs

CD Reviews

	Various Artists Just in Time for Xmas Genres: Alternative Rock, Special Interest, Pop, Classical Songs Include : 1. Squeeze - Christmas Day 3:55 / 2. Rebel Pebbles - Cool Yule 3:15 / 3. Klark Kent - Yo Ho Ho 3:30 / 4. Torch Song - Hark 2:25 / 5. Reckless Sleepers - Every Day Will Be Like A Holiday 3:46 / 6. Steve Hunt... more » « less
2 Larger Image