Tracks:
1. Little Saint Nick: 8/10 simple and perhaps too happy for the cynical listeners, but it's really fun.
2. The Man With All the Toys: 7/10 more of the same, but it's difficult to resist.
3. Santa's Beard: 7/10 the tune is lovely, but the lyrics are confusingly un-Christmassy.
4. Merry Christmas, Baby: 8/10 a really excellent break-up song and a pleasing veer away from the band's occasionally grating optimism.
5. Christmas Day: 8/10 another great tune with a smashing amount of festive spirit.
6. Frosty the Snowman: 8/10 a lovely version of the song filled with joy and an infectious enthusiasm.
7. We Three Kings of Orient Are: 7/10 alternately overdone and too slow, but it ultimately proves a memorable and effective rendition of the carol.
8. Blue Christmas: 7/10 a little tedious, but the lyrics are really nice.
9. Santa Claus is Coming to Town: 8/10 a solid rendition of the song that offers plenty of fun.
10. White Christmas: 8/10 a moving and emotive version of the classic, this is an album highlight.
11. I'll Be Home For Christmas: 7/10 again- lot's of energy and charm and the harmonies are unreal but it is overdone.
12. Auld Lang Syne: 8/10 the song part of this track is very nice, but this also includes a very nice spoken message from The Beach Boys.
Best song: Merry Christmas, Baby
Worst song: Santa's Beard
Summary: Inevitably, this album won't always work and might be more of a Christmas listen. It's a superb Christmas album though, with the festive spirit running through every song. The original songs are on the whole excellent, while the renditions of classic, established Christmas songs are also hugely effective and manage to be not just cover versions, but awesome songs in general. An excellent album overall, and it is clear that by this point The Beach Boys were well on the way to Pet Sounds.
Final rating: 8/10
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