Maybe This Christmas Tree (various artists)
AllMusic; Amazon; B&N; Discogs; Wikipedia
This came out in 2004, but I didn't listen to it until 2021. It's the third album in a series, but it's the first one I got. (It was a Christmas present one year, because it was on my Amazon wishlist, along with the first two albums. If I'd bought them myself, I would have gone in release order.) This album ended up disappointing me, but I still intend to get the first two albums, eventually, and I'm sure I'll like them more than this one.
1. "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)", by The Polyphonic Spree: A completely unnecessary cover.
2. "The Christmas Song", by The Raveonettes: No, not The Christmas Song. This is an original. And I can't manage to care about it.
3. "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)", by Death Cab for Cutie: This sounds quite different from how I'm used to hearing the song. It's not bad, but I prefer the original.
4. "I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day", by Pedro the Lion: This is not the song I was expecting, because I was thinking of different but similar lyrics from a different song. I'm not sure if I've ever heard this song before, but I can't manage to care about this rendition of it.
5. "Bittersweet Eve", by Belasana: I've never heard of this song, and I'm assuming it's probably an original. It's not bad, but I can't quite care about it. It doesn't sound like a holiday song. I hear "New Year's Eve" in the lyrics, though. It's depressing.
6. "Christmas Time Is Here", by Ivy: This is a cover of the song from A Charlie Brown Christmas. It sounds very old fashioned, like it was from the 1940s or something. I like it a lot.
7. "Baby It's Cold Outside", by Royal Crown Revue: This doesn't really sound like I'm used to hearing the band sound. (I know them for swing music.) It sounds like most other covers of the song, so it's unnecessary.
8. "Wonderful Christmastime", by Tom McRae: This might be the most low key song I've ever heard. Seriously, it's barely above a whisper. It's an interesting choice for a cover of a song that's known for being... the opposite of low key. It's not bad, but I can't quite care about it.
9. "Fairytale of New York", by Pilate: It's okay, but the original by The Pogues is better.
10. "Jingle Bells", by Lisa Loeb: I'm a big fan of Loeb, but this rendition is too dry for my taste. It's not actually bad, though.
11. "Christmas for Cowboys", by Jars of Clay: I've never heard of this song, but I don't know if it's an original or not. I'm guessing not, just because it's not exactly country, as I would expect a song with this title to be. It's not bad, but I can't manage to care about it.
12. "Do You Hear What I Hear?", by Copeland: Mostly I just find this rendition boring, but I did hear a bit of auto-tuning at one point. If there were more of that, it could have been interesting.