Roomful of Christmas, Roomful of Blues (Bullseye Blues/Rounder)

It's been about 30 years since the last time I saw Roomful of Blues rock a blues bar, and that's got to be my loss, since this 1997 holiday album is a blues classic you can listen to all the way through -- between Thanksgiving and New Year's, anyway. The group resisted the temptation to generate a batch of original tunes or to reinterpret the more antique carols in favor of playing 10 mostly familiar pop, rock and blues holiday classics. Their "White Christmas" is a solid mix tape/CD choice, kicking off with a touch of Aaron Neville balladry and swinging into a New Orleans march -- definitely an original approach. The album kicks off solidly with Lloyd Glenn's "Christmas Celebration" and follows up with a rockin' version of Fats Domino's "I Told Santa Claus," with the vocalist doing a Fats impression. There aren't a lot of surprises on here, but solid execution on such favorites as "Run Rudolph Run," "The Christmas Song," "Let It Snow," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," Count Basie's "Good Morning Blues," Jesse Belvin's "I Want You With Me Christmas" and Lowell Fulson's "I Want to Spend Christmas With You" make it all worthwhile.