by Richie Unterberger
What to do if youve been slogging away in the rock underground for a decade to slight critical acclaim without making any appreciable artistic or commercial headway? In the mold of David Johansen/Buster Poindexter, the band Christmas decided to retool themselves as lounge lizards. On their debut album, the Providence, RI, group played cocktail jazz, exotica, torch ballads, and B-movie spy/guitar themes. To complete their transformation, the band adopted ice cream-colored tuxedoes in their live performances; one member of the group adopted the pseudonym the Millionaire, and former Christmas singer Liz Cox called herself Miss Lily Banquette as she crooned languid jazz-pop tunes. After debuting in 1994 with I, Swinger, Combustible Edison issued Schizophonic in 1996, followed two years later by The Impossible World.
What to do if youve been slogging away in the rock underground for a decade to slight critical acclaim without making any appreciable artistic or commercial headway? In the mold of David Johansen/Buster Poindexter, the band Christmas decided to retool themselves as lounge lizards. On their debut album, the Providence, RI, group played cocktail jazz, exotica, torch ballads, and B-movie spy/guitar themes. To complete their transformation, the band adopted ice cream-colored tuxedoes in their live performances; one member of the group adopted the pseudonym the Millionaire, and former Christmas singer Liz Cox called herself Miss Lily Banquette as she crooned languid jazz-pop tunes. After debuting in 1994 with I, Swinger, Combustible Edison issued Schizophonic in 1996, followed two years later by The Impossible World.
