The double-edged sword of holiday music is that, at some point, pretty much everybody makes some. And if they’re at all famous, they put it out into the world. So there’s some really… interesting stuff out there. But there are also some gems, and I’d have to include Mae West’s album “Wild Christmas” in that category.
Why is there a Mae West Christmas album, and why is it garage rock? I don’t know but I really kind of dig it. I’d expect “Santa Come Up And See Me” to just be all attitude, brassy but not excessively musical. And yet, it’s catchy! And Mae West doesn’t just do her persona (as witnessed in her immortal contribution to the Golden Throats canon, “Twist and Shout”). She actually sings it! Well!
It probably shouldn’t work but it sort of does. Maybe you could call this a minor holiday miracle.
