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SantaMental
Favored Nations
C’mon in friends, I’m just finishing up a batch of my special eggnog (the secret ingredient is Genesee beer) and fixing to put on some Christmas music. Yep, I’m a sucker for Christmas tunes; the only problem is finding decent holiday music. Sure I’ve got my old faithful James Brown’s Funky Christmas and a copy of possibly the greatest Christmas song ever written, Red Sovine’s “Faith In Santa” (you haven’t celebrated the holidays unless you’ve heard this gem, kiddies) but tolerable new releases are few and far between. Swing by the record shop and flip through recent offerings and be prepared to stab your ears with a candy cane at the lumps of coal served up by Celine Dion, the newest pop-crap act of the moment or the yearly country “music” cd by Billy Bob or Patty Sue Hilljack. Save for the Brian Setzer Orchestra and one or two others it’s slim pickings; thankfully, the folks at Favored Nations have re-released 2003’s SantaMental from Toto’s Steve Lukather (& Friends, as billed on the disc).
Steve has quite the address book from the credits listed on SantaMental, Eddie Van Halen, Steve Vai, Slash, Edgar Winter and Gregg Bissonette to name a few. This holiday collection boasts quite the axe attack but all involved play tasteful yet jamming solos that never veer into a guitar-shred wankfest. The disc rocks (“Joy To The World”), swings (“Jingle Bells” with sampled vox from Sammy Davis Jr.) and even chills with some blues (the original “Broken Heart For Christmas). Two holiday originals fit right in with new interpretations of classics make SantaMental one to put in heavy rotation during the holidays.
Bottom line: Rocking enough to keep the GeneseegNogs flowing yet Christmas-y enough not to rattle those used to more traditional fare.
RATING: 84/100
Review by O.M.O.M. who feels really bad about laughing at his Mother who last year cried at the end of Red Sovine’s “Faith In Santa”, he’ll try to contain himself this Christmas…