Christmas Rocks: The Best Of Collection

by Stephen Thomas ErlewineBrian Setzer released Boogie Woogie Christmas in 2002 and the live DVD Christmas Extravaganza in 2005, the same year as his second Christmas LP, Dig That Crazy Christmas -- that's a lot of holiday music in a short span of time and it's all condensed on two 2008 compilations, Christmas Rocks! The Best Of Collection and The Ultimate Christmas Collection. Christmas Rocks! is a single-disc collection of 20 highlights from the 2002 and 2005 albums with a couple of unreleased cuts, while The Ultimate Christmas Collection pairs this new comp with the live Christmas Extravaganza. For Setzer fans who don't have any of his holiday albums, this is the way to get them -- this is a generous, lively compilation containing all the best moments from the two albums. But if you already have either of the proper albums or the DVD, there's no real reason to repurchase them again, as the bonus material here is slight.