Jingle Blues
It's not often you get to hear Mabel Scott wail "Boogie Woogie Santa Claus" andBessie Smithpour it all out on "At the Christmas Ball" alongsideLightnin' Hopkins's blistering "Santa" orAmos Milburn's classic "Let's Make Christmas Merry, Baby," but that's the mile-wide shape of this good-times, 15-track compilation. Swingin'Louis Jordanis likewise featured on "Santa Claus, Santa Claus," while KingsAlbertandB. B.,John Lee Hooker,Jimmy Weatherspoon, andLowell Fulsonsharpen their axes for a mess of Christmas blues. Also included are cuts byAnson Funderburgh & the Rockets,Floyd Dixon, andEddie C. Campbell, whose "Santa's Messin' with the Kid" is as funny as it is rockin'. A fantastic showcase for blues guitar and vocals, this album should please any blues fan in your house.--Martin Keller