Songs of Christmas
One of Ireland's best-loved folk music ensembles mixes traditional Irish holiday fare with more familiar carols and songs. For those who prefer the latter, there's "The Christmas Traveller," Miss Fogarty's Christmas Cake," "Christmas in Killarney," and "Bells Over Belfast," sung as a prayer for peace in Northern Ireland. The Irish Rovers are primarily a vocal group, and their robust singing is prominently featured in the mix, sometimes to the detriment of the spirited instruments such as fiddle, flute, pipes, bouzouki, and bones. That said, this is still a merry set of tunes, contagious for its sense of good cheer, camaraderie, and sense of humor (the Rovers cover that old fractured favorite "Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer"). Just try to sit still or not sing along when the lads break into "Christmas Caroling" with all the gusto of a good round of pints at the pub.--Martin Keller