Christmas (Take a Ride), Mitch Ryder (Goldenlane)

I probably don't have to explain to a lot of readers just who Mitch Ryder is, due to him and his Detroit Wheels blazing a path across the mid-60s record charts with "Jenny Take a Ride," "Little Latin Lupe Lu," "Devil With a Blue Dress," "Sock It To Me Baby," and "Too Many Fish in the Sea." He's continued to perform and record sporadically over the years, and he remains well liked in Europe, so this 2018 holiday album isn't really a bolt out of the blue. Unfortunately, this album ends up being a paint-by-numbers exercise in which he lends his voice to a couple of Stevie Wonder classics ("What Christmas Means to Me" and "Someday at Christmas"), fairly routine versions of "Blue Christmas," "Put a Little Love In Your Heart," "Let It Snow," and "Jingle Bell Rock," and retreads of Phil Spector's arrangements of "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)," and "Sleigh Ride." Whoever convinced him to drag "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" out of the old kit bag ought to be sent to bed with a copy of William Hung's Christmas album. That leaves us with a fresh and lively version of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" and a solid cover of the Sonics' "Santa Claus" that are worth hearing from this album.