All I Want For Christmas is You, Vince Vance and the Valiants (Valiant)

From the cover, you're likely to get the idea this 1995 album is some kind of rockabilly Christmas deal, but you'll be disappointed. It's got a 1950s vibe all right, but a "Happy Days"-inspired one, as you might expect from a show band whose leader "travels with 50 costume changes," as listed on the website. Some of these tunes, like "A Christmas Wish" and "Merry Christmas to You," are just flat-out lounge music, "Winter Wonderland" is strictly from Lawrence Welk land, and the obligatory kids-singing number "Can't Wait Till Christmas Day" is about what you'd expect. "White Christmas" gets a nice "Blueberry Hill" arrangement, and "Christmas Just Ain't Christmas Without You" is a serviceable blues ballad, although the synth horns hurt it, and "I Wish I Was a Christmas Tree" is a half-decent novelty tune. The disc has its moments, but nothing to top the old masters from the early days of rock 'n roll.