When the bluesmen sing Christmas carols, they never forget to quietly sneak in their torment, loneliness and melancholy that are characteristic of the musical genre they serve. The 40 tracks of this BD Music collection compilation show, above all, that everyone succeeds in making the original standards, sometimes rehashed, their own, to give them a second life. It is a real paradox that this festive atmosphere plunges into the murky waters of a sad and miserable life. Blues legends such as Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Blind Willie Johnson, Lightnin' Hopkins, Big Joe Turner, Jimmy Rushing, Lowell Fulson, Jimmy Witherspoon and a few others work wonders here with classics as well as with original compositions, sometimes sordid and dark, but often tinged with humour. An atypical way to celebrate Christmas with music. Max Dembo/Qobuz