Reviewed by Tony Cummings

This 1986 album contains an absolute gem, but be warned, all the other tracks floridly arranged strings-and-trumpet run throughs of "O Little Town Of Bethlehem", "O Holy Night" and (one more roasting chestnut) "The Christmas Song". But there, track seven on the CD, is a classic. It's a self written gem called "A Star Is Born". Imagine how Otis Redding and the Memphis Horns would have sounded if they'd ever cut a Christmas gospel song. Imagine what The Blues Brothers would have sounded like if they'd ever got saved. The horns wail, the rhythm cooks and it blessed us all. Phil sings: 'Two thousand years ago in a city/Whole lot of shakin' goin' on/There was this king who was so paranoid/Thought he was going to lose his crown/Cause a star was born in Bethlehem/He was going to change the world/He was comin' on strong/Gonna change the world/He was gonna change the world." And that, more than sleigh bells and roasting chestnuts, is something worth singing about.

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