Merry Christmas, Baby [Paula]

With 23 from 15 artists, it includes three later re-recordings by Charles Brown of some of his classic King sides. The Violinaires' "Little Jesus Boy" features their outstanding gospel vocals while Johnny And Jon's "Christmas in Vietnam" is textbook call-and-response deep soul that ranks with the best from Sam And Dave. Bobby Powell's version of "The Bells" is an odd inclusion, it being about wedding bells. Much of this CD's tracks have been licensed by Rhino and others, including cuts by Big Joe Williams, Sugar Boy Crawford, Louis Jordan, Jimmy Reed and others, so it is likely you may already have most of the best stuff on here. ~ Dennis MacDonald, Roundup newsletter