Just Say Noel, various artists (Geffen)

Another good-cause album from 1996, this one benefits Witness. Lots of big-ish names here, a little better than Rock For Choice's album, although Beck's "The Little Drum Machine Boy" and Sonic Youth's "Santa Doesn't Cop Out On Dope," a cover of the Martin Mull classic, failed to live up to my expectations. And "Thanks For Christmas" by XTC has appeared elsewhere under the name The Three Wise Men (produced by The Good Lord). But Aimee Mann and Michael Penn's "Christmastime" is nice, Elastica take on "Gloria" and Southern Culture on the Skids does one of the better arrangements of "Merry Christmas Baby" I've yet heard. And in the "whatever happened to" department, Prince protégés Wendy and Lisa reappear here as The Musical Cast of Toys with "The Closing of the Year." The Roots cover De La Soul's "Millie Pulled a Pistol on Santa." Ted Hawkins' "Amazing Grace" didn't seem to belong, however, though I've often been quoted here as being cool to generic hymns being used as Christmas songs. Click through to Amazon for copies from 3rd-party sellers, as this is long out of print.