Reviewed by Tony Cummings

One of the ways you can assess whether a musician/band are at the top of their musical game is give them a batch of old carols and see what they can come up with in a limited amount of studio time. The fact that the Irish troubadour and his hand-picked bandmates are able to offer such exhilarating renditions of over-recorded seasonal favourites is a tribute to their expertise. Songs like "Silent Night", "Away In A Manger", "We Three Kings" and "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" have seldom appeared in such a refreshing form with the Houston aggregation missing up the arrangements to take in Celtic roots one moment and Elvis Presley retro the next. In this era of conveyor-belt Christmas muzak it's a delight to hear the ageless truths of the incarnation sung with such passion and gusto. Brian's fans (BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris included) won't be disappointed.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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