Smithereens drummer offers up Christmas classics, Stax style

Here’s a fun Christmas album from 2002 on which organist/inventor/WFMU DJ Dave Amels and Smithereens drummer Dennis Diken give a Stax-styled instrumental spin to a slate of holiday classics. From the opening of the Beach Boys’ “He’s the Man with All the Toys,” you get plenty of smooth organ, deep bass, twangy guitar, punchy drums and the funky vibe Stax created in their Memphis studio. A few numbers roll in iconic MG riffs, such as the organ and guitar of “Green Onions” behind the Husky Team’s version of “Auld Lang Syne,” but for the most part the players just revel in the Stax sound and groove. For the real thing, check out Stax’s Christmas in Soulville, but as a fine instrumental tribute, these super soul Christmas classics will warm you as if you’d thrown another log onto your holiday music fire. [©2009 hyperbolium dot com]