MERRY AXEMAS: A GUITAR CHRISTMAS

(Epic)

Über-guitarist Steve Vai dreamed up the concept for this disc, which turns 11 six-string virtuosos lose on holiday material. You'd be within your rights to expect nonstop taste-free showboating, but Merry Axemas is surprisingly restrained. Although Kenny Wayne Shepherd's blues/funk rendition of "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" sounds a tad generic and Steve Morse goes overboard with the contrapuntal shred choir on "Joy to the World," both players do justice to the spirit of their chosen songs. Better still are Eric Johnson's delicate, Aaron Copland-ized version of "The First Nowell," Vai's droll reading of Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here," and Joe Satriani's Hendrixian run through "Silent Night." Yet the two real highlights here are a gorgeous "Amazing Grace" played by Jeff Beck -- primarily on whammy bar -- backed by the London Choral Society, and "Jingle Bells," handled in blazing big-band style by the Brian Setzer Orchestra.

-- Mac Randall

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