VA - Ho Ho Ho Spice: A Hospice Awareness & Benefit Project [2CD] (2002)

Nearly 50 songs long and possessed of no discernible musical vision - folk, goth, punk, pop and more vie for the listener's attention - Ho Ho Ho Spice: A Hospice Awareness And Benefit Project (Volunteer Records, 2002) is a worthy effort that can be a taxing, discombobulating listen. That said, some very accomplished material is nestled here amongst a raft of rather anonymous, often amateur music. In fact, Ho Ho Ho Spice contains no less than five entries from my Top 100 Songs list, including super-rare tracks by the Reducers ("Nothing For Christmas") and Sonny Columbus & His Del Fuegos ("That Punchbowl Full Of Joy"), a not-so-scarce classic from NRBQ (Christmas Wish"), and two cuts from Chris Stamey's currently out-of-print Christmas Time (Stamey's title track and the dB's "Holiday Spirit").

Beyond those acknowledged classics, Ho Ho Ho Spice captures a number of worthy older efforts - some of them also quite rare - from notable artists. These include exemplary songs from Graham Parker ("Soul Christmas" from his out-of-print EP, Christmas Cracker); Wednesday Week ("Christmas Here Could Never Be Like That," a track from the legendary Midnight Christmas Mess series); Klark Kent ("Yo Ho Ho," a pseudonymous release by Stewart Copeland of the Police); and two cuts from the deleted 1991 power pop collection Yuletunes.

Plus, unexpected gems emerge beyond those stellar tracks. Some are "lost classics" unearthed for the project (c.f. the Hungry Dutchmen's 1988 pop nugget, "Looking For Santa") while others are newly recorded. Of those, tracks by Mike Daly (ex-Whiskeytown), Buzzed Meg (featuring Smithereen Jim Babjak), and Marina Belica (formerly of October Project) are particular standouts. Adding it all up, Ho Ho Ho Spice begins to look a lot like a Christmas cornucopia.

By the final tally, Ho Ho Ho Spice encompasses 24 essential Christmas tracks (see below). Bottom line, that's one very solid CD, albeit one that's spread over two very long discs. Nevertheless, Ho Ho Ho Spice sells for a bargain price, and it serves a very worthy cause (read more). So, buy one, then rip the good tracks to your hard drive - that's what MP3 players are made for!