It's Xmas All Over Again

Every year without fail, someone who receives my Xmas mix says to me, "Hey, where's [fill in the blank]?" And that blank can be filled by your choice of Bruce Springsteen's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" or Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas" or the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" or any other favorite tune. And the simple answer is always that all those classics had already appeared on my mix, back in 2000 or 2001. In 2005, I toyed with the idea of creating a "best of the box" mix of my favorite tunes, ones that had previously appeared on my mixes, but this year I actually compiled one.

The Best of A Very Marty Xmas was perhaps the most challenging holiday mix I've ever made. I mean, how do you really choose between James Taylor's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and Elton John's "Step Into Christmas?" I'm always tempted every year to include a novelty track or two, but if you're going for the best of the best, does "I Farted on Santa's Lap" by the Little Stinkers make the cut? And what to do about the various Hanukkah songs, like those by Adam Sandler and the LeeVees? So alas, volume one of The Best of leaves off some choice tunes. On the good side, this has to be a must-have mix for when you're trimming the tree. And it's almost guaranteed to put you in the holiday spirit. So here's the track list of my bonus CD this year, The Best of A Very Marty Xmas, which includes tracks from the 2000 to 2006 mixes:

Darlene Love — Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Donny Hathaway — This Christmas
Mariah Carey — All I Want for Christmas Is You
Stevie Wonder — What Christmas Means to Me
John Lennon — Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
Band Aid — Do They Know It’s Christmas
Andy Williams — The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Harry Connick Jr. — Sleigh Ride
Jose Feliciano — Feliz Navidad
*NSync — Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays
Ray Charles — Winter Wonderland
Bruce Springsteen — Santa Claus Is Coming to Town
The Eagles — Please Come Home for Christmas
Tom Petty — It’s Christmas All Over Again
Britney Spears — My Only Wish (This Year)
John Williams — Carol of the Bells
Ron Sexsmith — Maybe This Christmas
Elton John — Step into Christmas
Slade — Merry Christmas, Everybody
Billy Squier — Christmas Is the Time to Say “I Love You”
The Waitresses — Christmas Wrapping
Troy “Trombone Shorty” Andrews and the New Orleans All-Stars — Oh Holy Night (from Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip)