More Twisted Christmas

More Twisted Christmas

Bob Rivers is in top form here plying his satire-ridden stocking-stuffer trade, serving up note-per-note knockoffs of everyone from Led Zeppelin and the B52s to Jimi Hendrix, the Beatles, and Tchaikovsky, among others. No lazy satirists, Rivers and company deliver not only grand musical copies but clever and witty lyrics that slum on the gutter side only occasionally ("Buttcracker Suite" being the biggest offender). The rest of the time it's good-natured stuff even ol' Scrooge could like. "It's the Most Fattening Time of the Year" apes Johnny Mathis, "Sled Zeppelin" nails the Plant-Page matrix, and the Beatles' rips, "Jesus' Birthday" and "All You Need Is Elves," also highlight the 13 tracks. But the most inspired cuts are a big-band swing version of the Rolling Stones' "Get off My Cloud" (here retitled "Hey You! Get Off My House") and Hendrix's "Purple Haze," knowingly recast as "Holidaze (Scuze Me, I've Got Gifts to Buy)." If that one doesn't grab yer funny bone, it may be time for that humor-marrow transplant. --Martin Keller