Holiday discs 2014: Various Artists' The Spirit of Christmas 2014

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      Various Artists
      The Spirit of Christmas 2014

      It’s hard not to feel sorry for Australians. Not only is the country is overrun by criminals, kangaroos, and Mel Gibson, they can’t even get their bathwater to swirl down the drain the right way. And how are you supposed to get into the Christmas spirit when it’s high summer in December? However, that doesn’t stop Olivia Newton-John from ripping into “We Three Kings”. Also onboard on this Oz-themed release is a bunch of artists you’ve never heard of unless you own a baby-eating dingo, a Foster’s Lager sweatshirt, and a pair of Kylie Minogue’s panties. The weird thing about The Spirit of Christmas is that Australians sound just like us when they are singing, whether it’s Mark Vincent attempting to channel the Rat Pack on “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”, or Taylor Henderson turning “The First Noel” into an over-emotive soft-soul atrocity. Add the Aussie faux-country of Mike McClellan and the insufferable kiddie act the Wiggles, and you’ve got an import that’s take-it-or-leave-it for the rest of the world, but guaranteed to put a lump in the pants of anybody for whom Christmas means Vegemite fruitcake, Vegemite candy canes, and Vegemite eggnog.

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