New Wave Xmas: Just Can't Get Enough
This seasonal adjunct to Rhino's15-volume proto-alternative seriesof '80s favorites is characterized as much by sweetness as wigginess: check outXTC's "Thanks for Christmas" andSqueeze's "Christmas Day," the latter of which name-checks everything from tree lights to British comedy team Morecambe and Wise. Closest to true new-wave sound and spirit isThey Might Be Giants' Farfisa-driven "Santa's Beard," but this eclectic mix's stretches generally succeed. Still, a couple of complaints: why a dreary "Little Drummer Boy" byMiracle Legioninstead of the turbocharged one fromJoan Jett'sI Love Rock n' Roll? But it's churlish to complain about a record so well-meaning that it stacks up a blindingly good "Rudolph" byLos Lobos, a vintage single byMatthew Sweet's early Buzz of Delight, and "Fairytale of New York" by thePoguesandKirsty MacColl--what a tearjerker.--Rickey Wright