Christmas, The Weeklings (Jem)

If you thought the number of past Christmas singles by these guys suggested a full album was on the way, then 2024 is the year you were right. These guys are mainly known for touring a show of some originals mixed with familiar tunes, all arranged with an eye to how the Beatles would have done it. This sets them apart from the vast majority of Beatles-themed touring acts whose ship-in-a-bottle versions of Fab Four classics keep the audiences coming, while putting them solidly in the tradition of such past Mersey Christmas purveyors as the Rubber Band, Fab Four, and the Butties. As you might expect, their previous efforts are all here, and there's a fair number of fully original tunes, starting with previously released "Gonna Be Christmas" and Dylan-adjacent "Christmas Day," continuing with the funky "Festivus," the Abbey Road-styled "Star Carol," and the New Year's themed "Another Year." Oddly, they gave up partway through some other originals that sound promising: "Christmas Keeps Coming Around," "Baby Got Something For Me," "December," and "Yuletide Eyes." Flesh those out, boys! Also in the playlist are a faithful "Run Rudolph Run," opener "Joy," an instrumental arrangement of familiar carols, and "Must Be Santa" liberally sprinkled with riffs from "Helter Skelter." Mandatory for Beatles freaks, and plenty of playlist opportunities for everybody else, although the best tunes remain the ones already available. Download and streaming available, or you can get a CD from their website.