Christmas Rocks: The Night Beat Christmas Edition

No, Christmas Rocks aren't the lump of coal you "supposedly" get in your stocking if you've been bad. No, I'm not pro or anti Santa, just saying. If you had a coal burning stove, wouldn't that therefore incentivize you to be bad.

This was supposed to be the October 2012 Edition of Night Beat Rewind, but a funny thing happened along the way. 15 Christmas Albums were released in October, and double that the number of non seasonal releases (29 actually). That's 44 releases to mention, way to many for a single post. So to be fair I will spin off the holiday stuff into this post.

Though no seasonal album will be considered for a Platinum Vinyl Award, I do provide an Emerald Rating nonetheless, to let you know what I thought of them. Though I listen to a wide range of artists all the time, including the Christmas Season, if you have been with me a while you know I would be quite happy listening to nothing but Mannheim Steamroller and Trans-Siberian Orchestra all season long (and that season begins the day after Thanksgiving, thank you).

Add one more to the mix. Heavy Metal/Alternative group August Burns Red. August Burns Red Presents - Sleddin' Hill : A Holiday Album is mostly instrumental rock genius in the vein of TSO. I have enjoyed the individual songs they have released over the years. Thank you for making a complete Perfect 5 Emerald Christmas Album.

ABR was the only Perfect Album among the mix, though 4 fell just a tad short of perfect. I will make mention of one outside of the list. Christmas by Francesca Battistelli. Now Battistelli's got pipes, but I've usually been less than thrilled by her studio work. A little to poppy, a little to country. That all changed with this Christmas Album. She rocks the pop songs like Christmas Song, Marshmallow World, (sorry Mark Stein) and a few others, including Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. But the throaty croon on Oh Come O Come Emmanuel had me in Love. Not since Chasing Furies version of the same song have I been so impressed. Francesca can belt out a tune when she wants, and this is the case here.

While I don't want to snub any ones favorite. Here are the rest in list form.

• Lincoln Brewster - Joy To The World : A Christmas Collection 4.75 Emeralds
• Steven Curtis Chapman - Joy 4.50 Emeralds
• James Fortune and FIYA - Grace Gift 4.50 Emeralds
• Jamie Grace - Christmas Together 4.25 Emeralds
• Jason Gray - Christmas Stories: Repeat The Sounding Joy 3.75 Emeralds
• Hillsong - We Have a Savior 3.50 Emeralds
• Kutless - Believer (Christmas Edition) 4.75 Emeralds
• Mandisa - It's Christmas (Christmas Angel Edition) 4.50 Emeralds
• Don Moen - Christmas: A Season of Hope 3.50 Emeralds
• Various - Do You Hear What I Hear: Songs of Christmas 4.25 Emeralds
• Various - Gospel's Best: Christmas 4.00 Emeralds
• Various - 'Tis The Season To Be Gotee Too 4.50 Emeralds
• Josh Wilson - Josh Wilson Presents Noel 4.75 Emeralds

I decided to leave out the link for Kutless because it isn't new. It's a repackaging of This is Christmas with their newly released Believer album. The Christmas album actually came out last year.

That concludes our first Christmas Edition of Night Beat Rewind. We shall see how things progress from here if we need another. Until the real rewind, I am Awaiting Your Reply.