Nick Lowe and Los Straightjackets - The Quality Holiday Revue: a toe-tapping exercise in subversive entertainment

This is essentially a live version of Nick Lowe's outstanding seasonal album of 2013, Quality Street – A Seasonal Selection For All The Family.

There are few who can rival Lowe’s command and understanding of irony in vintage pop nor his affection for the genre.

The Londoner balances the serious and the surreal with a consistently sure touch.

His take on Christmas is steeped in 1960s British culture but his tongue is never far from his cheek.

This 13-track selection, recorded with the lively Straightjackets – witness their echo-laden interpretation of Lowe's I Love The Sound Of Breaking Glass – is a toe-tapping, bottle-swigging exercise in subversive entertainment that mixes the novelty (North Pole Express) with the seasoned (I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day) with mostly unerring charm.