River City Christmas, various artists (Arbor Records)

A local compilation from Winnipeg, Manitoba circa 1999 featuring local musicians raising money for that city's Children's Hospital Foundation. Of 15 tunes, only four are traditional carols, one of which is hometown faves Crash Test Dummies with their version of "The First Noel." Sirens knock out a sprightly, heavily syncopated "O Come All Ye Faithful" worthy of a more tropically oriented band. Rosalie Rattai puts a little blues mama into "Oh Holy Night" and Winnipeg Youth Chorus does a youth chorus version of "Away In a Manger" to the melody of "Greensleeves"; I thought that's what we had "What Child Is This" for. Natasha Christine Kaminsky is a busy little Christmas elf on this album, writing, producing and performing on several numbers. Her "Do the Snowflake" is a nice little rocker, and she writes or co-writes the ballads "Santa's Gonna Swing By Tonight" by Marcie Campbell, a jazz-tinged number, "Voice of Angels" by Danishka Esterhazy, a folky number, and "Little Miracle" by Kimberly Spears, no relation I'm guessing, a more pop performance. Chris Bigford sings Natasha's "So Close To Christmas," a blues shuffle, and her production of her own "Kiss Me Christmas Eve" by Off The Wagon is a nice country rocker. Straight-out country swing comes from the Foster Martin Band in "Santa Don't Drive No Pickup Truck" and The Swing Cats give us a, wait for it, swinging, "Christmas Cheer." Arbor Records specializes in Native American music and when I tried to buy this, an employee e-mailed me to explain how this isn't that before she would process the order. But it's downloadable from Amazon now.