Johnny Mathis
The Christmas Album
Columbia
Man, Johnny Mathis rocks. While this nu-metal take on holiday songs might not work as well as fellow crooner Pat Boone’s experiment with metal a few years back, hearing the warm vibrato of Mathis smacked up against grinding guitars and phat turntables makes ya feel all “ho ho” and shit. The presence of Eminem on “X-Mas in Da Hood (Deck The Balls Mix)” shows the 67-year-old smoothie can still get down, should the mood strike.
Ok, just kidding.
This is about the 200th Christmas record from Johnny Mathis, and while it has a few swinging moments, such as a nifty “Frosty The Snowman,” this is your basic background music in the mall Christmas fare. Why should you buy it? Well, you might be a fan, but if so, you ain’t reading Ink 19, or maybe you’d like to score some points with mom when you go home for the holidays. Yeah, that’s the ticket. Slap this puppy in the CD player and fire up “Joy to the World.” She’ll pinch your cheeks and exclaim, “what a thoughtful son I have,” and then you can smack her up for some Christmas cash.
Yeah, I’m down wit dat.
Columbia Records: http://www.columbiarecords.com
