Additional personnel: Hawkeye Jordan (mandolin); Andrew Bird (violin); Pat Sansone (piano).

Recorded at Kingsway, New Orleans, Louisiana and Overdub Lane, Durham, North Carolina in July 1998. Includes liner notes by Tom Maxwell.

Personnel: Andrew Bird (violin); Pat Sansone (piano).

Audio Mixer: Mike Napolitano.

Liner Note Author: Tom Maxwell.

Recording information: Kingsway, New Orleans, LA (07/1998); Overdub Lane, Durham, NC (07/1998).

Photographer: Lambert.

The band that brought the neo-swing movement to the popular consciousness is reviving another lost art: the Christmas album. From the Norman Rockwell-esque cover to the inspirational liner notes from leader Tom Maxwell, CHRISTMAS CARAVAN recalls a time when Christmas was about family, not commercialism. By balancing a set of original tunes with a couple well-chosen classics, the Zippers take us back to that time.

The Squirrel Nut Zippers are all about reliving the glory days of American popular song. The album gets under way with Katherine Whalen singing about "Winter Weather" in a sultry voice that would make even the most diehard Californian long for snow. But they also go beyond the boundaries of traditional jump blues that limit their peers. Maxwell's tender ballad "My Evergreen" sounds like it could have come straight from the pen of Paul McCartney. "Sleigh Ride" is done as an old fashioned New Orleans stomp, and they even get a little bit country in "I'm Coming Home For Christmas" and bluegrass in "Gift Of The Magi," which features Andrew Bird on fiddle.