5Wilco – Outta Mind (Outta Sight)
Wilco’s double album Being There from 1995 features this track twice although they are two different versions. This one features a slower tempo with sleigh bells added to the mix to give it that cheery Christmas feel.
4Billy Joel – She’s Right On Time
Although Billy Joel doesn’t exclusively write anything for the holiday season, he gives it a shot here from his 1982 album, The Nylon Curtain. This album was an important piece of history in the modern era of music as well. Not only was it Joel’s most ambitious album to date, The Nylon Curtain was one of the first albums recorded that was digitally recorded, mixed and mastered. “She’s Right On Time” wasn’t released as a single but Joel made a funny video for it anyways.
3Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds – Ballad Of The Mighty I (Beyond The Wizard’s Sleeve Re-Animation)
Forget mash-ups and let’s get back to really good rock remixes. Six months after releasing Chasing Yesterday, Noel Gallagher put out a remix album entitled, Where the City Meets the Sky. You’d expect a remix song to have a dance feel flow to it but this track is reworked in a way that’s it has the effect of sounding as though its hopping on another tree branch.
2Foo Fighters – Iron Rooster
Featuring Gary Clark Jr. on guitar, this track seems to stand out most from this five-song set. You can’t beat a free EP download from one of the biggest bands in the world can you? Dave Grohl and his Foo Fighters initially dedicated this album to their fans for their gratitude over 20 years, but now have dedicated it more to the victims of the terrorist attacks in Paris that occurred 10 days before the release of the album.
1Scott Weiland – Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Did you know that the late Scott Weiland released a Christmas album in 2011? The Most Wonderful Time of the Year was Weiland’s last solo album until this years Blaster. You may have known Weiland to croon like Frank Sinatra since he and his former band, the Stone Temple Pilots recorded a hidden track on their second album, Purple known as “12 Gracious Melodies.” Ironically, Weiland did declare in his last years that he was an atheist. Regardless, he pulls off a stunning rendition of “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno here.
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