Now y'all know that local artist compilation CDs are my favorite kind of Christmas album. For charity...all the better. But 2013 was also one of those years I was super occupied with family obligations. So I guess it slipped through the cracks. That turns out to be a pretty cool thing because, well, wouldn't you be excited to find a Christmas present you never opened in the middle of May? I mean, you're hardly going to give a thought to, "Dang, I wish I'd opened it then." No, you're going to be all like, "Cool! I get to open a Christmas present right now! In the middle of May!" Wouldn't you?
Like most local artist Christmas compilations, it had highlights and some that didn't quite rise to that level. Personal favorites, FWIW, included the opening Boogie Woogie piano take on "Run Run Rudolph" by the Kit Shickers and Billy Lawson's "Santa Claus Is Back In Town".
But, hands down, the "winner" for me was the original "The Mountain Wind Blows Cold" from Laura Ashton Jones (no relation to either Laura Ashton or Ashton Jones). It's a tune that should have appeal to fans of Bluegrass, Country and Americana, but also to fans of Indie, Alternative, and Singer/Songwriter sounds. It won me over instantly. And fortune smiled upon us because the track is available as a FREE download via Laura's ReverbNation page. She's still playing the Knoxville area, as far as I can tell, though ReverbNation appears to be her only music oriented web site and there aren't too many details there. In any case, it's the middle of May and "The Mountain Wind Blows Cold" is a pretty nice Christmas present to find at this time of year. Enjoy.