Happy Christmas Vol. 5, various artists (Tooth & Nail)

This 2010 release is fifth in the series of Christmas collections of Christian-market rock groups that started at BEC Recordings and has since migrated to Tooth & Nail. As in the past, rock fans can choose to be cheerfully oblivious to the religious aspect, as there's no overt proselytizing here, just strong performances of Christmas-oriented songs. (No Hanukkah Alerts, though.) The majority of these performances are uptempo hard rock workouts, though Hawk Nelson's "Chipmunk Song" throws in some ska rhythms, Emery takes the ballad tack to their "Jesus Gave Us Christmas," Bon Voyage does "The Little Christmas Tree" Phil Spector-style, FM Static does a pop-rock "Snow Miser" with orchestral touches, and Surrogate does a slow, swingy semi-acoustic version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." August Burns Red and Family Force 5 contribute tunes they've previously released, and Copeland does a solo piano version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Oh, by the way, if you've missed out on the previous installments of the Happy Christmas series, volumes 1-3 are now packaged together for 2010.