Rating:
Genre:
Holiday
Release Date: 11/09/2004
A John Waters Christmas is the type of kitschy
Christmas compilation one would expect from the cult director, featuring such gems as
Roger Christian's reading of
"Little Mary Christmas," the
ballad of an orphaned girl who is passed up for adoption year after year until
Santa Claus finally brings her a new set of parents, and
Tiny Tim's rendition of
"Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," which is, in all earnestness, one of the most uplifting and beautifully sincere versions of the song ever recorded. Certainly the holiday season is the perfect time to exercise musical novelty, considering that any
holiday CD will stay on the shelf for the majority of the year.
Waters has picked the best and fuzziest numbers for this set, including (oddly) a modern composition by Chicago
indie provocateurs
the Coctails, which features
Sea and Cake multi-instrumentalist
Archer Prewitt. Their lovely contribution,
"First Snowfall," fits into the scope of the collection remarkably well, snuggled between
Rita Faye Wilson's charming
"Sleigh Bells, Reindeer and Snow" and the brilliant album closer,
"Santa Claus Is a Black Man." A John Waters Christmas is a great set to break in and celebrate the season with, no doubt, and there is little overlap with any other
holiday releases. It should be noted that the bitter
"Here Comes Fatty Claus," sung from the perspective of
Santa's overworked and underappreciated employees (led by
Rudolph), elevates this collection to the "Parental Advisory: Explicit Content" level, but this should be no surprise for fans of
John Waters' productions.
~Gregory McIntosh, All Music Guide
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