Frankie Ford continues to prove that he’s more than a one-hit wonder with a one-dimensional singing style. The history of rock and roll has already been written and Ford’s name is forever enshrined in those annals with his classic 1959 hit, “Sea Cruise,” one of the genre’s most defining songs. He could have stopped there, as many early R&R artists did, and his place in Valhalla would still be assured but he didn’t. He moved on and further refined his style over the next four decades. If ever we needed proof of his abilities, this CD offers it. With 16 tracks, about evenly divided between Christmas classics, and newer, novelty items, Ford’s voice goes up and down the vocal range adroitly. There are, of course, some of the usual holiday standards like “Silent Night” and “White Christmas but nobody sings them like Frankie does. He stamps them each with his own individualized, ornamental style. Never do we hear greater evidence of the raw emotional power of his voice than on “Adeste Fidelis” and “Ave Maria.” On the latter, he sings with the operatic quality of an Italian lyric tenor (which he is, of course, with a real surname of Guzzo), and the notes ring out clear and potent. There are several humorous little novelties like “The 12 Drinks of Christmas” in which Ford sounds drunker and drunker the more he imbibes such New Orleans specialties as four Hurricanes, eight Ramos fizzes, et. al. This track really needs a live audience to be fully appreciated, as does the Cajun-flavored “Santa Got Stuck Up in the Chimney.” Other tracks are slow and bluesy, some even gospel-like in their ethereal style. This CD is a great holiday present; far and away one of the best of the current Christmas crop.