Aimee Mann - One More Drifter in the Snow

Of course I had to buy this cd, entirely comprised of Christmas songs or not - it's the latest Aimee Mann, which is plenty enough on its own. It's a bit of a strange beast, really - generally Mann seems much looser and more playful on this record than on any of her 'albums proper' (see especially her duet with Grant Lee Phillips on "You're A Mean One Mr Grinch"), but there are also plenty of straight, sombre Aimee Mann readings on offer, albeit generally with a particularly stately, old-fashioned air (her take on "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas", which embodies much of these, is the high point of the record - and pretty high at that...it's very good).