Greatest Hits, Holiday Express (Oglio)

Holiday Express is a group of semi-pro musicians and other volunteers from New Jersey who perform shows of Christmas-oriented pop music every year to benefit various charities, including the homeless, hungry, elderly shut-ins, children and adults with terminal diseases, and so on. Their reputation spread regionally to the point that they were able to get Oglio to release this album nationally in 2000, also to benefit charity. Considering the group doesn't consist of household names, they do a good job here. However, there are very few surprises in terms of arrangements and song choices; they're mostly covers of performances you see reviewed here at Mistletunes. There is one surprise worth buying the whole album for: "Disco Santa (N.O.E.L.)," a parody of the Village People's two biggest hits. Laugh it up with this cut, and consider the rest your good deed for Christmas. UPDATE: The group also has released a live album of a 1999 performance at Columbine High School in Colorado and has two subsequent albums, Home For the Holidays in 2010 and Happy Holidays in 2011.