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Our Review

After fretting there might not be a blue Christmas this year, I was much relieved when King Snake Records came through for me with Merry Christmas, which features every shade of blue I can think of. King Snake puts some of its best artists out front on this superior record.

With a Chicago blues beat that can't be beat, the record begins with an awesome duet by Gregg Allman and Floyd Miles on Spending Christmas with the Blues. This is followed by the instrumental Little Drummer Boy, featuring a very danceworthy guitar track by Ernie Lancaster and remarkable drumming by Tony Coleman.

After a second memorable appearance by Miles and Allman, on Silent Night, the record picks up the pace with a jazzy arrangement of Joy to the World. Then, shifting into a bluer gear, Anthony "Packrat" Thompson steals the CD with a delta arrangement of Swampy Christmas, a song I hadn't heard before and, according to the liner notes, was penned by Thompson himself! What a groove!

I didn't mean to rave about all the songs by the numbers, but I couldn't help mentioning some fine performances. You'll want to turn this CD up pretty loud, and you'll want to have it playing about the time your Christmas party is peaking. Before the night is over, be sure to impress all your hip friends with Sonny Rhodes and Ace Moreland's Texas Christmas. Listening to this song reminded me of Stevie, a ghost of Christmases past.

Jingle bells are ringing.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 1999)

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Various Artists

Merry Christmas

Artist link

Track List