The Ventures were the single most popular group of the instrumental craze that ran from the late 50's to the early 60's. Their guitar-driven rock was good, but others (Dick Dale, for instance) had them beat hands-down when it came to originality and fire-in-the-belly intensity. Still, their middle-of-the-road sound served them well on The Ventures' Christmas Album (Liberty, 1965). It rocks along in a jolly mood perfect for the season - not too hard, not too soft, just right for making spirits bright. What elevates it to greatness, though, is the gimmick: each track integrates a hit song from that year into the arrangement of a time-honored Christmas standard. The effect can be charming ("Frosty The Snowman" gets tipsy on "Tequila") or poetic ("Endless Summer" woven into "White Christmas"). But, once you've heard the Beatles' "I Feel Fine" segue seamlessly into "Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer," you'll smile till February.

The Ventures' Christmas Album has been reissued on CD a number of times - by Capitol in 1990; by Razor & Tie in 1995 (the definitive edition, I think); and by Toshiba/EMI in Japan in 2003 with a new cover and bonus mono mixes. More significantly, the Ventures released an album, Christmas Joy, in 2002 featuring all new recordings, including some remakes from the 1965 album (reissued as Guitar Christmas in England the next year). Completely unnecessary, perhaps, but a barrel of laughs all the same.