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With a good 38 or so hours left of the Christmas season, why not take a moment or two to download Bob Dylan's Christ- mas in the Heart? With Bob's one-of-a-kind take on the Yuletide season and all profits helping to put food on the tables of the less fortunate, it will get you in the Christmas spirit in every way. As Bob himself sez:

"It's a tragedy that more than 35 million people in this country alone -- 12 million of those children -- often go to bed hungry and wake up each morning unsure of where their next meal is coming from. I join the good people of Feeding America in the hope that our efforts can bring some food security to people in need during this holiday season."

Christmas in the Heart has given my family & me much pleasure in recent weeks. Sure, on a few tracks, like "I'll Be Home for Christmas," Dylan sings like your Uncle Wally hopped up on egg nog, El Producto cigars and Robitussin. But did your Uncle Wally write "Tangled Up In Blue"? But elsewhere, as on "Christmas Blues" and "Christmas Island," his singing is sublime.

Dylan's care and attention to detail on every aspect of this project are most impressive, from the Currier & Ives-style cover to the musical arrangements - totally old-school in the tradition of holiday LPs by Perry Como, Bing Crosby, Johnny Mathis and Elvis Presley. Dylan produced the record under the never-more-appropriate pseudonym Jack Frost.

Even the two videos he released for the record are mini-masterpieces. Newest is this gorgeous hand-painted animation for "The Little Drummer Boy."


Rock Turtleneck has already waxed rhapsodic about the the Mad-Men era "Must Be Santa" video - probably the his best video since 1965's "Subterranean Homesick Blues." Together these two videos capture the true spirit of the holidays, its togetherness, its festiveness its miracles and its broken barware.


So if you're looking for a last minute dose of holiday cheer for yourself or a friend, try Christmas in the Heart. You can also donate to Feeding America via the banner ad to your right. Season's Greetings!



Buy Christmas in the Heart on iTunes here