Chris Isaak Christmas

1	Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer
2	Have Yourself A Merry Little
3	Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
4	Washington Square
5	Blue Christmas
6	The Christmas Song
7	Hey Santa!
8	Let It Snow!
9	Christmas On TV
10	Pretty Paper
11	White Christmas
12	Mele Kalikimaka
13	Brightest Star
14	Last Month Of The Year
15	Gotta Be Good
16	Auld Lang Syne

Barnes & Noble

The Beach Boys proved that the youthful joy and inherent optimism of sunny California pop perfectly suits Christmas tunes, and Chris Isaak's seasonal disc reaffirms it. Isaak's well-seasoned blend of Elvis Presley rockabilly, Roy Orbison operatics, and his own sexy sensibility enlivens classics such as "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "The Christmas Song" and introduces new favorites such as the introspective "Washington Square" and the rollicking, Tex-Mex-flavored "Hey Santa!" Elvis is the patron saint here, especially when Isaak croons "Blue Christmas" and other carols Presley covered, and "Mele Kalikimaka" and "Last Month of the Year" could be long-lost Presley outtakes (which is high praise indeed). Chris Isaak Christmas is full of lighthearted moments: "Gotta Be Good" nods to both Louis Armstrong and Presley's Jordanaires, and Stevie Nicks drops in to lend bewitching harmonies to "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (it sounds like they had a ball singing "the big fat man is coming to town" at the end). With their gently rolling ballads and joyfully swinging rockers, Isaak and his backing trio have perfected a timeless yet nostalgic style and created a new Christmas classic. Steve Klinge

All Music Guide

If you're going to invite a hipster recording artist into your home for Christmas, it may as well be Chris Isaak -- he's cool but he's also well-mannered, and can act sly enough for your thinks-she's-bohemian sister without scaring your Grandmother in the process. Like no small number of veteran recording artists, Isaak has cut an album of holiday tunes, cleverly called Chris Isaak Christmas, and while like most similar projects you get the sense that Chris didn't put quite the same amount of work into this that would of gone into a "real" album, he thankfully didn't skimp on quality control along the way. Isaak wrote five new tunes for this project, and "Washington Square" and "Christmas on TV" are solid contributions to his catalog of bummed-out love songs, while "Gotta Be Good" is a likable nugget of blues-flavored growl. Elsewhere, Isaak has thrown in a solid selection of Christmas standards, which he and his band have given an easygoing but full-bodied treatment that's solidly in the style of his best work, favoring the playful over the cloying. On the cool scale, Chris Isaak Christmas sure won't replace your copy of the Phil Spector Christmas album, but as background music for your Christmas party it makes for a happening switch from treacle like Kenny G or Mannheim Steamroller, and you know you can count on a surfer to sing "Mele Kalikimaka" like he already knows what it means. Just don't let Chris get too close to the mistletoe. The guy has a reputation, you know. Mark Deming