Bob Dylan: Christmas in the heart
IF IT were not a charitable act – all royalties go to the World Food Programme and Crisis UK – Christmas In The Heart would try even the most forgiving Dylan fan.
Dylan has recorded an album of popular ditties in the distinctive style of a Fifties American radio station in the run-up to Christmas, with Andrews Sisters-style crooning, sleigh bells… the works.
Dylan sounds badly congested as he growls through Hark The Herald Angels Sing and Winter Wonderland, winning kitsch points if nothing else.
The inclusion of four Christmas cards (plus envelopes) and a racy illustration of the pin-up Bettie Page only add to the weirdness.
VERDICT 2/5
(Columbia)