Yo, Humbug!, various artists (A-Tone Music)

This is an interesting 2000 collection, although I'm not familiar with any of the artists on it. But it's a good stop for a change of pace, as the theme all these artists have in common is roots music, though maybe all from different gardens. Jr. James & The Late Guitar pops out with "Christmas Adam," looking for a Christmas Eve, in a kind of pop-country mode; The Carpenter Ants go full rockabilly on "Go Where I Send Thee," and Mandorico gives us a "12 Days of Christmas" that mixes up Caribbean rhythms like reggae and even merengue. Tyler Ramsey does a folk "Go Tell It on the Mountain," Wayne Kirby jazzes "The Little Drummer Boy" and Eastern Standard Time does "The Return of the Prophet" in reggae, all instrumentals. For your Kwanzaa listening, Samba Ngo does "Zizi Kumbele." The Blue Rags "Carol of the Bells" is kind of annoying, though. Two unlisted bonus tracks, apparently done by groups of the participants, are a reggae "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and an electronica "Silent Night." UPDATE: Jr. James, sans The Late Guitar, is the artist on those last two cuts.