One look at
Dance Through the Holidays' cover art and you know this isn't normal Christmas music. Scantily clad ladies gyrate with musclebound players, Santa Claus is on the decks, and an elfin hottie stands astride an enormous amplifier. And sure enough, the set tries to update seasonal chestnuts with club/dance grooves and a Latin feel. However, the production values on Tito Puente, Jr.'s "Feliz Navidad" are somewhere below karaoke four-track quality, Danielle Simeone's freestyle version of "Jingle Bells" sounds really forced, and the host of unknowns handling "Sleighride," "Frosty the Snowman," and "Deck the Halls" aren't any more talented than what you'd hear at your local karaoke lounge. And since their vocal skills are limited at best, they can't liven up the songs' already-flat beats. Santa's debut as a DJ is disappointing. ~ Johnny Loftus