Reviewed by Tony Cummings

One of the ways you can assess whether a musician/band are at the top of their musical game is give them a batch of old carols and see what they can come up with in a limited amount of studio time. The fact that the Irish troubadour and his hand-picked bandmates are able to offer such exhilarating renditions of over-recorded seasonal favourites is a tribute to their expertise. Songs like "Silent Night", "Away In A Manger", "We Three Kings" and "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" have seldom appeared in such a refreshing form with the Houston aggregation missing up the arrangements to take in Celtic roots one moment and Elvis Presley retro the next. In this era of conveyor-belt Christmas muzak it's a delight to hear the ageless truths of the incarnation sung with such passion and gusto. Brian's fans (BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris included) won't be disappointed.