Search - Shoes, Matthew Sweet, Spongetones :: Yuletunes

The Only Holiday Album You'll Ever Need

C. C. Thomas | Empire, CO | 02/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I'm not a big fan of holiday or Christmas music and albums. They tend to be sappy affairs full of renditions of "classics" made worse by somebody's latest "improvements". Not this album. The songs are all originals and hold up quite well as songs, not just "holiday" songs. 'Tis a hard album to find though. I first heard Material Issue's "Merry Christmas Will Do" whilst I was working out in the gym and recognized Jim Ellison's vocals and thus my quest began. That one song alone would be worth the price of the CD but you get other great songs. Spooner's "The Saddest Time of the Year" is absolutely gorgeous, full of longing and wistfulness. One word of advice to those who would record Christmas songs: listen to this song and if you can't record something as good as this, do us all a favor and don't bother. It just doesn't get any better than this for Christmas tunes. Other standouts on this album are Shoes' "This Christmas" which features a very active bass line, "It's About Time" by The Idea, and Kelley Ryan's "It's Not Christmas". Really there's not a bad song on this CD although it may take some time to warm up to the Cavedogs' "Three Wise Men and a Baby (Xmas Song)" - I mean I like it 'cause it's offbeat and all but to each his own. One other thing - the cuteness factor is kept to a minimum so there's not a lot of kids singing badly just to be cute on this CD. That seems to be limited to one song here - The Puddles' "The Christmas List" and it's not even that annoying like most kid songs are. All in all, this is just an excellent collection of tunes that you'll be listening to even when it's not holiday season, like I have been this week. That makes it the only Christmas album you'll ever need."

Yu'le Love This Cd !

James | Boylston, MA | 12/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Without a doubt my favorite Christmas CD. I had only known a few of these groups (Shoes, Matthew Sweet, MaterialIssue) when I bought this from a bargain bin. What a bargain! Every song is top notch and original, too, I do believe. An absolute classic for anyone who likes popular music.You may actually want to listen to it long after Christmas season is over. It is that good."

Of all of my holiday CD's, this one stands out.

C. C. Thomas | 11/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Maybe it's because it exceeded expectations by so much. "The Christmas List" is quirky, but it's grown on me. The rest are all winners, particularly "This Christmas" and "You Gave Me". The latter is ...well, touching. If you like the following CD's: "Winter, Fire & Snow", "New Wave Xmas" and "The Edge of Christmas", this one is for you. Buy it and your holidays will be happier."