“Disco,” yes— but I’m sure how “special” this is, yet not even the Memphis Sounds Orchestra can stomp the life out of the Leroy Anderson classic. I especially like the line of boogie-ing Santas on the cover—no doubt carrying sacks full of Qiana and double knit.
The album is credited to the Chris Stamey Group, but this cut is a reunion of the late lamented dBs, with Stamey and Peter Holsapple sharing vocals (indeed, it’s called a dBs song on subsequent collections). It’s kind of surprising that there aren’t more power pop/guitar pop/whatever you want to call it Christmas records. The tuneful, cheery, semi-nostalgic mood of pp/gp/wywtci seems a natural for the holidays. I guess only thriving genres get budgets for xmas discs. As it is, pp/gp/wywtci remains a genre without a subject, sexless, clueless; the Shakers of pop, doomed to extinction by lack of procreation. Ah, we’ll always have 1985. Long live pp/gp/wywtci.
