Aquarium Drunkard
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Aquarium Drunkard & Dean Wareham gave us an early Christmas present yesterday with two seasonal tracks. Dean Wareham, of course, is of Galaxie 500 / Luna / Dean & Britta, and most recently released his self-titled solo record. For those just getting into this Christmas mixin’ hobby, there’s some great holiday stuff out there from his past – such as Luna’s “Egg Nog” and Dean & Britta’s holiday 7-inch, He’s Coming Home.
Dean covers of Eddy Arnold’s “Christmas Can’t Be Far Away,” and this an inspired choice, for both his voice and for his lovely instrumentation. His cover of “Stille Nacht” has two verses in the original German, and a third cribbed from a rewritten verse by The Only Ones. He also brings Britta in on some background vocals, which is always appreciated. Dean makes interesting choices here, and the result is an excellent alternate version of this ol’ chestnut to fill out your mix.
Bottom Line: I’m quite happy to have Dean back in the (sleigh) driver’s seat. 4.6/5
Christmas Underground 