Ho: A Dan Band Xmas

Singer/actor/comedian Dan Finnerty weighs in with a humorous holiday collection on Ho: A Dan Band Christmas. Finnerty's willingness to spew expletives and their variations (friggin' and frickin' are favorites) introduces a vulgar vernacular to his Christmas sentiments, which are in themselves non-traditional. Basically, as he states in such songs as "I Wanna Rock U Hard This Xmas" and "Get Drunk & Make Out This Christmas," he'd just as soon dispense with the usual gift-giving and celebrate the season more intimately. Happily, he also has a few other things on his mind. As a performer who has made a point of covering songs associated with female performers, he is sensitive to the neglect suffered by Santa's better half ("Mrs. Claus"); he takes a broad-based view of the holiday celebrations of different cultures in "Christmakwanzakah"; and he hopes for a temporary cease-fire in "Please Don't Bomb Nobody This Holiday." The humor in the lyrics is supported by the band's parodies of different musical styles, as they alternately rock out, make blue-eyed soul a la Hall & Oates, turn to Celtic and Indian styles, try hip-hop, and ascend through power ballads. "Love Me This Much All Year Long" sounds like traditional pop in the Bing Crosby mode, at least until things turn dirty, and "Please Don't Bomb Nobody This Holiday" recalls Barry White before ending the set in a gospel rave-up. It's all in fun, and it's sometimes very funny, as long as the listener is willing to forgo the usual Christmas reverence for a few minutes. ~ William Ruhlmann