The Smithereens - Christmas with the Smithereens

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Title: Christmas with the Smithereens
Artist: The Smithereens
Audio CD (October 9, 2007)
Original Release Date: October 9, 2007
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Christmas
Format: Free Lossless Audio Codec


Track Listing:

01. Waking On Christmas
02. Santa Bring My Baby
03. Merry Christmas Baby
04. Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
05. Christmas Time All Over The World
06. Christmas
07. 'twas The Night Before Christmas
08. Run Rudolf Run
09. Merry Christmas (i Don't Want To Fight Tonight)
10. Christmas (i Remember)
11. Auld Lang Syne
12. Christmas Time


Amazon Review:
Although it initially seems like another stopgap release to allow the Smithereens time to write a dozen new songs (especially since the band's last album was a track-by-track replication of Meet the Beatles), this Christmas set of predominantly covers, is a rousingly successful project that hopefully won't be dusted off just one month a year. Lead singer Pat DiNizio wraps his husky voice around a smartly selected collection of classic seasonal rockers such as "Run Rudolph Run" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," along with more obscure fare. It's the latter that makes this such a delight, as the band tears into rugged re-workings of the Ramones' "Merry Christmas (I Don't Want to Fight Tonight)," the Who's crunchy "Christmas" (from Tommy) and even a rare Beatles track grabbed from the Liverpool band's '60s fan club only discs. Brian Wilson's "Merry Christmas, Baby" receives an appropriately sunshiny Beach Boys work-out and even the creaky "Auld Lang Syne" hops on a surfboard for arguably the rocking-est version of the clichéd sing-along ever. Three originals sound like typically rugged Smithereens songs that just happen to have Christmas lyrics. They offer further proof that this isn't just a dashed-off batch of wintery fare to keep the band's name active until an official new album. Rather, it deserves consideration as one of the finest entries in the Smithereens' already impressive catalog.

Allmusic Review:
After an eight-year lay-off from the recording studio, the Smithereens released two albums in 2007. However, it doesn't bode well for their creative process that the first of those albums was comprised entirely of Beatles covers, and the second was a Christmas disc. However, Christmas with the Smithereens at least features three original tunes (which is three more than Meet the Smithereens!), and as rock & roll Christmas albums go, this is good fun and admirably eclectic. The Smithereens are pretty broad-minded when it comes to what constitutes a Yuletide melody, given the presence of "Christmas," a not especially seasonal tune from the Who's Tommy, and they dig up the Beatles rarity "Christmas Time Is Here Again," as well as cutting a version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" that's a dead ringer for the Fab Four. Seasonal numbers from the Beach Boys, Chuck Berry, and the Ramones also make the set list, and you get a snappy spoken word rendition of "The Night Before Christmas" as well as some rollicking proto-surf boogie on "Auld Lang Syne." The big surprise here is that Pat DiNizio shares the vocal mic with his bandmates for a change, and if guitarist Jim Babjak and drummer Dennis Diken aren't quite up to DiNizio's standard as a singer, they fit their selections better than DiNizio's often-gloomy tone. Fans waiting for a "real" Smithereens album will apparently have to wait a bit longer, but Christmas with the Smithereens is more thoughtful and intriguing than the average tossed-together holiday offering, and the best moments are a clear reminder of what makes this band worthwhile.