I’m one of those weirdos who enjoys it when a musician or band that I love takes on a Holiday Album. Or even just a Holiday Song. Some of them are wonderful (The Lovemongers, formerly Heart, produced the lovely album Here is Christmas in 1998) while others are tolerable (Paul McCartney, take a bow). I tend to avoid the horrible ones.

But for all of these, my favorite is and has been since I first saw it when I was very young, “Riu Chiu” as sung by the Monkees. I remember trying to record it off of the TV so that I could listen to it, and later getting it from a video recording. But then I was delighted when Rhino Records released Missing Links Vol 2, and there was “Riu Chiu.” (There were quite a few other songs on that album that I love, too, but “Riu”‘s the only Christmas one.)

Some of my other favorites, that don’t quite make the Seven (Plus 2) list, include The Eurythmics doing “Winter Wonderland,” Sting doing “Gabriel’s Message,” and the one that would be included if I had done Seven (Plus 3), Alison Moyet doing “The Coventry Carol.” Interesting that they’re all from the same album… (Actually, it’s the only Very Special Christmas album that I own in its entirety.)