OK, buckle up. There was a pop vocal group called Bucks Fizz in England, two guys and two girls, and they won the 1981 Eurovision song contest with their signature hit, "Making Your Mind Up." Over time, they had more hits, but they also had a slow parade of personnel changes; today's Bucks Fizz has one original member left. A few years ago, the other three original members decided to reform, and after a legal battle, the new group dubbed itself The Fizz. For 2018, they've recorded a Christmas album. Soundwise, well, if you'll recall there was another vocal group of two men and two women that won Eurovision in the mid-1970s who were even bigger than Bucks Fizz. That group was ABBA, and when you hear album opener "Don't Start Without Me," you'll be forgiven if you mistake it for the sons and daughters of Sweden. For that matter, even if the rest of the album isn't an exact auditory match, the vibe is quite similar throughout. They offer excessively well-scrubbed versions of "Let It Snow," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," "Winter Wonderland," "White Christmas," "River," and "I Believe in Father Christmas," they do "Wonderful Christmastime" by imitating the echoed synths on the original with their voices, and they bring back one of Bucks Fizz's signature hits, "The Land of Make Believe," in a "Christmas version." There are several tunes here that aren't really Christmas tunes, like "Home For My Heart," which features Rick Wakeman, "Mull of Kintyre," "Keeping the Dream Alive," and "What a Wonderful World," though the themes aren't really incompatible with the holiday season. Wrapping things up are "So Christmas" and an extended mix of "Don't Start Without Me." A little too calculated for my taste, but you can make a gift of this to your moms and aunts.
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