Alt-Rock quartet The Smithereens recently issued a vault release of The Lost Album, and now they have also announced a re-issue of their covers and originals Christmas album on vinyl, back in print for the first time in 10 years. The green vinyl will be a limited edition of 1000 that will arrive on November 18, 2022, from Sunset Blvd. Records.
Christmas with The Smithereens channels the spirit of 1960s Rock in reinterpreting traditional tunes, including “Run Rudolph Run” and “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree,” along with more obscure fare. The band also takes on The Ramones’ “Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight),” The Who’s “Christmas”(from Tommy), and even a rare Beatles track grabbed from the Liverpool band’s ’60s fan club only discs.
Drummer Dennis Diken shares:
…Beginning at a tender age, records became my favorite and the most meaningful gifts I received at Christmas. Kiddie 45s and 78s and the scant Christmas records that my parents bought served as my introductions to the wonderful world of recorded sound when I was 2 or 3 years old. I’d sit hypnotized in front of the small “Pal” phonograph.
My earliest recollection of owning any kind of LP was Sing A Song Of Christmas With Woody The Chipmunk And All The Gang, a cheap, rather weird knockoff of Alvin & company, with garish sleeve art, bedecked with tin-foil snow flakes. Around this time, my mom turned me on to a 10” long-player of a capella Carpathian Christmas carols, sung by a soulful, wailing choir that chilled me to the bone. I still listen to it. Although I swore allegiance to all things non- square (as much as my pre-school barometer could detect) I gave special dispensation to Christmas records.
Track listing:
Side 1
Waking Up On Christmas Morning
Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)
Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree
Christmas Time All Over The World
Christmas
Side 2
‘Twas The Night Before Christmas
Run Rudolph Run
Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want To Fight Tonight)
Auld Lang Syne
Christmas Time Is Here Again
