Saint Etienne Presents Songs for a London Winter

Partly due to Bob Stanley being born on the holiday itself, Saint Etienne were far from strangers to Christmas songs old and new — they released a variety of them over the years, including a great collaboration with Tim Burgess called, of course, “I Was Born On Christmas Day.” But besides their own collection of such efforts, A Glimpse Of Stocking, they put together a very specific holiday compilation with 2014’s Songs For A London Winter, emphasizing 1950s and early 1960s tracks from the UK in specific, an intentionally non-American nostalgia soundtrack.

The result is a romp through warm, sprightly holiday pop sounds of the era, with figures like Alma Cogan and Cleo Laine, who delivers a fun number in “Blow Blow Thou Winter Wind,” rubbing up against pre-Beatles teen idols such as Adam Faith and Billy Fury. The John Barry Seven’s “Get Lost Jack Frost” even gives a tiny dollop of rock and roll. (Stanley’s liner notes as ever provide amazing context: who’d know the smooth voiced dude from Nina and Frederik on “Christmas Time in London Town” would die in a Philippines drug-connected murder?)