Monster Ballads X-Mas

I was really excited when I saw the line-up on this. I've been talking about the heavy metal Christmas compilation since 1985. My friends and I used to try to decide who should do what songs ... Anyway, 20 years later, here it is ... Sort of. I'm happy to report that Winger did an outstanding job. They seem to be the only band that really "got it." I don't even really like that "War is Over" Christmas song, but they just nailed it. Jani Lane did a very good up-beat version of "I'll be Home for Christmas." It goes down hill quickly after that. Dee Snider & Lita Ford sound like a drunk couple at karaoke bar. Queensryche warped White Christmas into a dreary gray mess and Faster Pussycat a second-string glam band embarrassed themselves by butchering Silent Night in a ridiculous industrial nightmare. Danger Danger sound great, but they made up their own Christmas song, so it doesn't quite count. Enuff Z'Nuff did the same thing. Similarly Dokken did "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" near to the tune of Dream Warriors, which sounds really cool, but creepy doesn't really work for a Christmas song ... Firehouse and Nelson did an okay job on their tracks, but I was really excited to finally have Stryper's Winter Wonderland on cd. (I have it on a cassette single from back in the early 90s and it's really good.) Unfortunately this is a live version of their arrangement ... Still good, but not AS good. Overall, this is half good and half crap. Maybe 5 or 6 of these 15 will make it into my annual Christmas rotation. To me that makes it worth having. --Scott