Asylum Street Spankers
A Christmas Spanking
Blood Shot Records

Are you tired of "Jingle Cats," Alvin, and Grandma's unfortunate accident when she was high on egg nog and got in a mix-up with an ancient snow ski and its "horse power?" Do you just desire something completely different from all the old songs you have heard a million times between July 4th and Turkey Day, not to mention the number of times they are played in the time leading up to the biiig holiday season? The Asylum Street Spankers have the answer and it doesn't involve all those bogus ideologies.

Enter a new bogus ideology. Just kidding. The Asylum Street Spankers, who got their name from a street in Austin, Texas, the town where they originated, and a term for someone who can play an entirely acoustic instrument with enough vigor to rock a party, have come up with a mix of holiday favorites and blended it with their own style of blues, jazz, scat, country and swing. You begin with the awesomely produced "You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch" as a sort of induction to the trip you're about to take. Then to round it off is "Merry Christmas, Baby" which is more like a romantic ride on a horse driven carriage than a mere Christmas song. Later you take a walk through "'Zat You Santa Claus" with a scat flavor that would make Louis Armstrong proud. And if you ever wondered what "Blue Christmas" would sound like if played on a ukulele, you have your opportunity to find out. Then to continue the Hawaiian theme they move into "Mele Kalikimaka." As if that weren't eclectic enough there is a rendition of "Silent Night" played on a saw (no, not a Black and Decker®) and, my personal favorites, "Red Nosed Reindeer Blues," done with a blues style that Muddy Waters would appreciate, and "Linus and Lucy" that sounds like it could swing you into the stratosphere, it's so jazzy. Moving along we find "Trim Your Tree" which has an esoteric meaning that many adults will get the gist of in a matter of moments since the singing style just reeks of its nature. There are soo many other songs on here (sixteen in all) that there just isn't enough to say about them other than, "it's not your parents' holiday music album." Happy Holidaze. --Fuj-E