Stubbys House of Christmas       
 
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Morgen Kinder Wirds Was Geben – The Razorblades
Good King Wenceslas – The Excelsiors
We Three Kings – The Frankie Handwax Experience
Greensleeves – King Of Hawaii
Moguls – Urban Surf Kings
Så Går Vi Rundt Om En Enebærbusk – The Mobsmen
Secret Santa  - The Barbary Coasters
Staffan Var En Stalledrang – The Surfites
Santa’s Hot Rod – Burt Rocket
This is Santa Claus (Bad Boy Mix) – The Balboas
Alle Jahre Wieder – The Incredible Mr. Smith
Sausage & Sauerkraut For Santa – The Polkaholics
Jingle Bells – Tiki Joe’s Ocean
We’ll Be Home With Bells On – O.J. Watson & The Ludlow Ramblers
We Three Kings – Thee Swank Bastards
              PURCHASE FROM DOUBLE CROWN                Old Anxiety – Peter Curry & Dick Chiclet
                                 CD BABY
If you lose your heat this winter, you could always toss this CD on the player.  As much as I enjoyed Volumes one & two, "Seasonal Favorites, Vol. 3" may well be the best Christmas compilation yet from Double Crown Records.

Double Crown specializes in Surf Rock, carrying on the legacy of Rock pioneers like Dick Dale, Link Wray and The Ventures.  And, here, they do their heritage proud with a disc that rocks and twangs and reverberates from the first note to the last.

The collection kicks straight into high gear with The Razorblades' "Morgen Kinder Wirds Was Geben"--that'll get your blood pumping for sure.  And even though I'm not familiar with the track, it's strangely quite Christmasy.  Looking for a good version of "Good King Wenceslas"?  Your search is over; The Excelsiors have got that one covered.  The Frankie Handwax Experience is a play on the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and their "We Three Kings" is grafted onto Jimi's "Manic Depression" to tremendous effect--a hard rocker sure to please the most discriminating of your party guests (but also quite suitable for headphone listening).  

King of Hawaii surf into town with a rockin' rendition of "Greensleeves" which, true enough, was culled from their own holiday outing.  King has got an almighty holiday groove on and your surf Christmas collection isn't complete without their "Mele Kalikimaka" EP.  The Surfites selection called to mind both Del Shannon's "Runaway" and Jim Morrison's "Riders On The Storm" simultaneously--simply a marvelous track.  You'll hear touches of "Telestar", "Pipeline", "Wipe Out", and more throughout the record.  Heck, Burt Rocket gives us most of that in "Santa's Hot Rod" alone.  

To keep things interesting, Double Crown tosses in a bit of Western fun ("We'll Be Home With Bells On"), a superb bit of Exotica (Tiki Joe's Ocean doing "Jingle Bells"--another album highlight), some Punk Polka (if the Polkaholics track doesn't get a smile out of you, then nothing will) and a bit of Dead Kennedy's irreverence from Balboa.  The whole thing closes out in most excellent fashion with a surf guitar twist on "Auld Lang Syne" (titled "Old Anxiety").

As an album, there's a definite flow to the music--always a plus--and it's suitable as foreground or background music.  It could've used a few more sleigh bells, I suppose, but I'm not one to quibble when the music's this good.  If you're planning a Christmas party or luau, you're definitely going to want to include this one in the festivities.  This album is the elixir for your mixer.  The album plays well with others, too, and should fit right in with your mix of neo-swing, rock, space age, exotica, Hawaiian, lounge or just plain old pop.  But do try to keep "Seasonal Favorites" away from open flames.

As a nice little holiday bonus, folks who order direct from Double Crown will get an exclusive mp3 bonus track.  If that ain't the Christmas spirit, I don't know what is.  And you might as well take advantage of Double Crown's Black Friday sale, while it's on.    

Oh, and, hey, you can feed the festive mood with Double Crown's spirits of Christmases past, too.
Seasonal Favorites Volume 1
Seasonal Favorites Volume 2
"Mele Kalikimaka" by King of Hawaii
 


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