Mas! A Caribbean Christmas Party, various artists (Rykodisc)

So how do people who've only ever seen snow on television, if then, celebrate Christmas? This 1992 compilation goes a long way toward answering that question. The songs here run from the early 1960s to the 90s and include some catchy numbers, like Lord Nelson's "A Party for Santa Claus" and Machel's "Soca Santa," probably the only song in which Santa trades his sleigh not for a Cadillac, but "a big time Toyota." Jacob Miller and Ray I do a reggae turn on "Deck the Halls" and Carlene Davis and Trinity change James Brown's demand into a question in "Santa Claus (Do You Ever Come to the Ghetto)." And James Spence's "Santa Claus is Coming to Town" sounds like an Alan Lomax field holler, but at least it isn't played in Phil Spector's arrangement yet again. A big chunk of the album is an 18-minute medley of Christmas songs in French by Eddy Gustave, which isn't bad but goes on way too long to suit me. Still worthwhile holiday listening, especially if your Christmases include lots of sand, sun and rum. Out of print, but the Amazon page (click album cover) still offers 30-second samples.