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Our Review

I was truly blown away by the the tremendous variety of moods, tones and textures achieved by Yuletunes, a compilation of alternative Christmas and seasonal songs on the Black Vinyl label.

I like traditional songs performed in traditional ways. I like traditional songs performed in non-traditional ways. I like new seasonal songs, too, but some years I have to settle for the traditional. Not this year! Here are sixteen songs you haven't heard before, designed to meet the precise specifications of gen-X and performed by the avant. This should be a required record at Christmas office parties of the tragically hip alternative weeklies across America. In fact, if Black Vinyl could "seed" those Christmas parties with copies of this CD, they'd sell ten thousand units the next day.

This is a uniformly scrumptuous work, but a few songs stand out: Leroy's Santa Stole My Baby, a sad seasonal tale of lost love; Matthew Sweet's Baby Jesus, a twisted twenty-something's tribute to the reason for the season; Spooner's The Saddest Time of the Year, an ironical counterpoint, counterpointing out the tragic consequences of seasonal avarice. I could go on....

This record is the alternative to all those other records I love and recommend but that (I'm told) drive so many of you mad.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 1998)

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Various Artists

Yuletunes

Artist link

Track List