The Big Night

Audium Records/ Boy Rocking Records

Tulsa soul takes center stage on this, the second Christmas album from Steve Ripley and The Tractors. This time around, lead Tractor Ripley enlists legends including Scotty Moore and The Jordanaires, along with standouts such as Fats Kaplin and Floyd Domino. Things get off to a rollicking start with Boogie Woogie Santa Claus, a holiday remake of Boogie Woogie Country Girl. Plenty of funky cool stuff follows, but the album's highlight is a remarkable take on Little Drummer Boy, with Ripley's impassioned vocal and rhythm guitar set against Kaplin's heart-tugging strings and accordion.