Marshmallow World and Other Holiday Favorites, Raul Malo (New Door/Universal)

Malo always sounded to me like a throwback to the Roy Orbison era on his non-holiday work, so this 2007 CD took me aback with its relentless lounge vibe. I realize that for a lot of readers this is a feature, not a bug, but considering Malo normally plays to the Americana/alternative audience, hearing him yell out "let's swing it now" during "Jingle Bells" is a bit disconcerting. Apparently this is a direction he took with his recent album After Hours and he's clearly found a groove he's not ready to relinquish. For all that, he sings so well and with such personality you really want to try and overlook the Vinnie's Boom-Boom Room atmosphere he lays down here. Song selection is in keeping with the musical style, from the title song through the Great American (Christmas) Songbook, the exceptions being "Blue Christmas," the big-orchestra blues of "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" and a fairly faithful-to-the-original version of "Feliz Navidad." A live version of "Blue Christmas" was added to the disc for Amazon buyers only, mainly distinguished by his Elvis-ing up the vocal live, but that version of the disc is out of print. Not bad, but I personally wish he'd taken a more Orbison-like approach to this album.