Gift of Rock

Personnel: Steve Harwell (vocals); Greg Camp (guitar, background vocals); David Palmer (keyboards); Michael Urbano (drums, percussion); Paul DeLisle (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Reto Peter.
Recording information: Sound Management Studios; The Club House; The Hearse.
Photographer: Kelly Castro.
Coming two years after their fourth studio album, 2003's Get the Picture?, Smash Mouth delivered their first holiday-themed album with 2005's The Gift of Rock. Still featuring the California band's high-energy, somewhat retro-sounding punk-pop sound, The Gift of Rock primarily features a few classic and some lesser-known holiday cover songs. Included are cuts by such artists as the Kinks, Louis Armstrong, the Sonics, and others. These are fun, somewhat novelty-oriented songs that fit well next to Smash Mouth's own material. In fact, cuts like Smash Mouth's reworking of the Ramones' "Merry Christmas, I Don't Want to Fight Tonight" and especially the group's exuberant take on the Royal Guardsmen's 1967 cult classic "Snoopy's Christmas" are gleeful, garage rock-style holiday anthems that should appeal to both longtime Smash Mouth fans and anyone who loves left-of-center Christmas songs. ~ Matt Collar