A Rock By The Sea Christmas Volume 4, various artists (Rock By The Sea)

The 2013 entry by this long-running (formerly 12 Bands of Christmas) charity outreach project is now available from Bandcamp (and Amazon, click the cover art for CD or download). Charities receiving aid from this album are the Pediatric Brain Tumor Program at Orlando Health Arnold Palmer Hospital, Camp Sunshine, Anchorage Children's Home and Rock & Role Model. Original tunes include Melodime's "December," a strong pop-rocker; Stroke 9's U2-ish "Misfit Elf," my pick for single from this collection, about an elf who doesn't quite get with the program; Paul Pfau's "It's Not Christmas," a faux-lounge love song for the holiday; "Back Home For the Holidays" by Paris Luna, a 60s-inspired pop-rocker; and "Be My Electric Blanket" by Noel Stephen & the Darlings, a love ballad by a guy in search of warmth wherever he can find it. Other tunes include Matthew Perryman Jones and Hannah Miller doing the usual take on "Baby It's Cold Outside," the Well Reds doing the same on "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," Jessica Campbell taking a folk-rock tack to "O Little Town of Bethlehem," with a more traditional folk version of "Lo' He Comes To Us" from Besides Daniel and "In the Bleak Midwinter" from The Hot Hearts, John Taglieri does an acoustic with percussion take on "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," Fred LeBlanc gives us a live acoustic take on "Jingle Bells," and Diane Durrett and Gareth Asher provide the typical reverent take on "O Holy Night." Another good collection in this series, but if you don't catch it all, make sure to grab "Misfit Elf."