Released 24 years ago this past October, this is Tooth & Nail/BEC's third volume of Christmas recordings from their rock/alternative artists and other friends of the label. The O.C. Supertones kick it off with a rousing version of the ballad "Heaven's Got A Baby", a cover of a bit softer version written and recorded for Happy Christmas Vol. 1 just 3 years before by Sarah Masen. Kendall Payne, Cadet, Hangnail and Poor Old Lu offer up versions of classic Christmas carols. Earthsuit, Starflyer 59 and Skyline Drive offer up their covers of more modern Christmas classics. Bleach, Joy Electric, Ace Troubleshooter and Dension Witmer pen brand new songs about the Christmas season and do a good job to add to the variety. I love Aaron Sprinke's cover of Randy Stonehill's classic "A Christmas Song For All Year Round" too—It's a nice nod to the CCM genre's roots. And then, well, Relient K must have been in a very Debbie Downer mood this year, because there's two songs of very snarky original Christmas tunes from them, "Santa Claus Is Thumbing To Town" and "I Hate Christmas Parties" (not actually by Relient K, but by their lead singer's other band, Matthew Thiessen & The Earthquakes). It's a good collection of rock/pop Christmas songs new and old with a bit you might not expect, and it's unfortunately not available on streaming, so you might have to find a used CD copy out there if you want to give it a listen.

Release Year: 2001