Reviewed by Dave Harris

How could Cummings do it to me? My first review copy and he sends me the maximum cringe combination of a Christmas album for children. Well, it turns out that Mr Cummings is not that bad, and neither is this album. What you get for your money is 68 minutes of traditional carols being given a '90s shake down by dance mixer Mark Edwards. Proceedings kick off with a drum and bass rendition of "Joy To The World" before moving on to such faves as the Carmen-esque "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and the reggae-tinged "Angels From The Realms Of Glory", complete with funky horns from Worthing Salvation Army. It's all slickly produced and Jim makes a decent enough stab at the vocals, but it just doesn't quite work. The album is too up-beat for a tots sing-a-long, but not hip enough for older kids - witness the spitting camels antics of "We Three Camels". It's less of a stonkin' and more of an uneasy mix. Considering how dull most renditions of these carols usually sound this is well above average.

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