It’s Christmas Time Again With The dB’s And Friends

The third edition of The dB's & Friends' Christmas Time Again will arrive in stores on Nov. 21.

The jangle-pop band first released it as a seven-song LP in 1986, and then again as a 17-song CD in 1993. Well, they've apparently picked up more friends since then, as the new Collectors' Choice Music version comes with six more tracks: "Home For The Holidays" by The dB's with Caitlin Cary; "Christmas Time Is Here" by Thad Cockrell and Roman Candle; "Lonely Christmas" by Marshall Crenshaw; "I Saw Three Ships" and "Christmas Is Saturday" by Don Dixon; and the previously unreleased "Houses On The Hill" by Whiskeytown.

Most of the tracks were recorded specifically for the record, which was executive produced by Chris Stamey, who formed The dB's in 1978.

"This is the soundtrack of my guest list for a dream holiday party," he says.

"I can close my eyes and imagine the cast grabbing the mic, one after another, as the mistletoe swings in the breeze and the Yule log crackles and sparks."

With Stamey and Peter Holsapple as the primary songwriters, The dB's were part of the southern U.S. jangle-pop movement that also spawned R.E.M. and Let's Active in the early '80s. While they became a cult favourite, they never broke through to the mainstream during a career that saw a number of member changes and the release of four non-Christmas studio albums before they broke up. Two albums of previously unreleased material came after that, with the most recent being 1994's Paris Avenue.

Last year, Collectors' Choice reissued The dB's first two albums — 1981's Stands For deciBels and 1982's Repercussion — on one remastered CD that also included new cover art, photos and liner notes by Stamey. The classic lineup reformed for some shows last year and recorded a new Holsapple song titled "World To Cry" that can be heard on the band's website. A new album is said to be in the works.

Here are the songs on The dB's & Friends' Christmas Time Again:

The dB's — "Christmas Time"
The dB's with Caitlin Cary — "Home For The Holidays"
Thad Cockrell and Roman Candle — "Christmas Time Is Here"
Ted Lyons — "The Only Law That Santa Claus Understood"
Whiskeytown — "Houses On The Hill"
Marshall Crenshaw — "Lonely Christmas"
The dB's — "Holiday Spirit"
Don Dixon — "I Saw Three Ships"
Alex Chilton — "The Christmas Song"
Wes Lachot — "Christmas Is The Only Time"
Keegan DeWitt & The Sparrows — "Christmas Light"
Big Star — "Jesus Christ"
Ted Lyons — "Santa's Moonlight Sleighride"
Cathy Harrington — "Sha La La"
Don Dixon — "Christmas Is Saturday"
The dB's — "Feliz Navidad"
Chris Stamey and Cathy Harrington — "You're What I Want For Christmas"
Peter Holsapple — "O Holy Night"
Chris Stamey — "It's A Wonderful Life"
Brent Lambert — "Silent Nocturne"
Chris Stamey and Mary Mac — "Snow Is Falling"

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