November 30, 2008
Lend an ear to the holidays’ new CDs
By DAVID HINCKLEY
As if to cheer us up in the face of a blue Christmas, or a blue Chanukah, Ramadan and Kwanzaa, new holiday music CDs have been springing up like twinkle lights this year.
Since most holiday music CDs are recorded in June or July, when it’s 95 degrees outside, this wasn’t a spur-of-the-moment decision, so clearly musicians knew something the rest of us didn’t.
Whatever the genesis, a couple of new collections stand out, including a collection of postmortem duets recorded by contemporary living female country singers with classic tracks from Elvis Presley.
The whole concept remains a little creepy, but with Elvis, at this point, what are the rules? He was one of the great Christmas singers of modern times, so we might as well relax and have fun.
LOS LONELY BOYS, “Christmas Spirit” (Epic). Some rock, some R&B, a little Latino. Keeps it lively.