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MUSIC FROM THE MOTION PICTURE CHRISTMAS WITH THE KRANKS
(Hollywood Records)
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Last summer, Little Steven (as he’s known in his various professional endeavors these days) gave Boston’s the Charms a sweet early-afternoon slot on his Stooges/New York Dolls–headlined garage-punk show-of-shows: they played after the Fleshtones but before the Lyres, which is pretty good for a band young enough to be those bands’ children. But even more indicative of Steven’s love for these guys is the pride of place he gives them on the soundtrack to Disney’s Tim Allen/Jamie Lee Curtis holiday vehicle: the Charms’ take on "Frosty the Snowman" shows up as track two, wedged between the Ramones’ classic "Merry Christmas (I Don’t Wanna Fight Tonight)" and the Raveonettes’ newish "The Christmas Song" (not the Mel Tormé standard but a chiming Brill Building–style duet). Little Steven flew in to record the Charms himself — he also produced tracks on this disc by the Chesterfield Kings (whose "Hey Santa Claus" recalls both the Sonics’ "Don’t Believe in Christmas" and Chuck Berry’s "Run Run Rudolph"), Davie Allan & the Arrows (a biker-fuzz take on José Feliciano’s "Feliz Navidad"), and newcomers Tina Sugandh and Jean Beauvoir. If this is Little Steven’s Christmas album, there’s no mistaking what his blueprint is. And though there’s a little too much filler here (Elvis and Brenda Lee cuts you already have; a Brian Setzer "Nutcracker" you don’t need) for Kranks to be his A Christmas Gift to You, the Charms, at least, get the full Phil Spector treatment. On "Frosty," an update of the Ronettes’ version, the band’s usual ragged-guitar firepower is trimmed back a smidge to accommodate sleigh bells and Kat Kina’s Monomaniacal Farfisa pounding. The real discovery, though, is frontwoman Ellie Vee: she’s always had raspy sex-kitten appeal, but here she sings with a warmth and soul that Ronnie Spector would likely applaud.
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