Christmas Time Again
This is the gift that keeps on giving--the Yuletide album that Chris Stamey and the dB's originally released as a vinyl EP in 1986, later expanded into a CD, and have now updated as a 21-cut extravaganza of holiday cheer (and occasionally bittersweet reflection). It's like a family album of a musical clan that keeps extending itself, now encompassing the likes of Marshall Crenshaw (with a soulful "Lonely Christmas"), Don Dixon (with two cuts including a live, finger-snapping "I Saw Three Ships"), and Whiskeytown (a previously unreleased Ryan Adams/Caitlin Cary collaboration, "Houses on the Hill"). Most of the material is original, covering a territory that extends from punk, new wave, and power pop through alt-country, though Peter Holsapple delivers a surprisingly straightforward "O Holy Night" and Alex Chilton does Mel Tormé proud with "The Christmas Song."--Don McLeese