“Christmas Spirit,” Los Lonely Boys
When Christmas is all done and the ornaments get packed away till next year, this disc is going to get tucked way for safekeeping. It’s a fantastic rock ‘n’ roots take on the holidays. It stays close enough to traditional charts, too – so it still gets Santa’s seal of approval. The Texas trio shows off their musicality with a complex instrumental arrangement of “Carol of the Bells” and then rocks out on a slippery, near zydeco version of “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.” Feliz Navidad to Los Lonely boys for getting in on the reindeer games this year. –Dan Aquilante