Ho! Ho! Hoey, Gary Hoey (Surfdog/Virgin)

I don't know much about Hoey except what is obvious from this album -- that he's a first-rate rock guitarist. And that's not strictly fair to him, either; according to the liner notes, he played all instruments on this album. This 1995 album fills a Christmas music vacuum that has existed since the days of the Ventures, in terms of rock guitar instrumental Christmas albums. Those who combine this comparison with the name of the record label may be disappointed, however; this is not surf music, but contemporary rock guitar sound and technique applied to 11 holiday standards. No originals, and the choices are fairly obvious -- "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," "Silent Night," Christmases white and blue, and so on. There are some variations in tempo and approach, though, with acoustic takes on "Little Drummer Boy," "Away in a Manger" and "O Come All Ye Faithful," for example. If you've already glommed onto Hoey and you like this sort of thing, 1997 brought us Ho! Ho! Hoey 2, 1999 brought us a third installment and there's also a Best of Ho! Ho! Hoey now, too. There's also a double-disc compilation of the who-ho-hole oevure just released in 2003, and since the individual albums are out of print, the album cover art links you to this collection.