The 20 Greatest Christmas Songs

by Bradley TorreanoBoney M's attempt at a Christmas record, 20 Greatest Christmas Songs, is a shockingly agreeable album that is a wonderful guilty pleasure for the holidays. Their overblown, ABBA-style arrangements fit the music perfectly, and with keyboards straight out of the Pet Shop Boys they manage to make average Christmas songs sound like Euro-disco anthems. The album starts slowly, with the serious songs clogging up the first few tracks. But once "Zion's Daughter (Tochter Zion)" kicks in, the album turns up the camp factor and the fun begins. "Joy to the World" may be the centerpiece of the album, a galloping anthem that takes all the religious content of the original and makes it into a dramatic pop song. Fans of this style of music will probably find this a hoot, although be warned that this is a very dated album and does not have a lot of crossover potential to a casual listener.