I’m not a big fan of listening to Christmas music too early, so this review comes almost a month after the release of the album. I wonder what the artists feel like recording Christmas songs long before Christmas.

This Warm December: A Brushfire Holiday Vol. 1 is an album I wanted to buy as a CD to get the actual covers, not just a picture of the front cover. That’s why I bought it from Amazon.com instead of iTunes, which would have been the cheapest option and given me the tracks instantly, plus one extra track. I also wanted to wait to actually get the album to listen to the tracks, instead of previewing it online.

And it was worth it. The album has quickly become my favorite Christmas album. This Warm December is a release by Jack Johnson’s record label Brushfire Records featuring artists signed to them. It’s a nice combination of fresh Christmas music and good versions of the old classics.

The album starts with Jack’s adaptation of Stevie Wonder’s Someday At Christmas. Jack uploaded a recording of this song to MySpace a year ago, and it became my favorite Christmas tune last year. The version on the album is kept simple – just guitar, singing and a harmony sung by Jack himself – which serves the song well. Also the lyrics suit so well to a song sung by Jack.

Overall, simplicity is a word that describes many of the songs on the album. And that’s in a good way. The second track is Santa Claus Is Coming To Town performed by Mason Jennings. This is one of my favorites, Mason’s voice fits with the song well. Zach Gill’s Silent Night is a beautiful version of the classic. I would have expected to hear piano on this one, but it’s just fingerpicked guitar and Zach singing. This is a song I usually like to listen to when Christmas is here, not so much before.

A pleasant surprise was Zee Avi’s No Christmas For Me. I had never heard her sing before. Zee Avi – previously known as KokoKaina – is a Malaysian singer-songwriter, and this is her first appearance on a record by Brushfire. Currently the song can be listened to on her MySpace page.

Other highlights are Neil Halstead’s The Man In The Santa Suit and Jack’s other song on the album, Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. On a funny side note, when Neil sings “There’s a fat man standing by the soda machine,” it makes me think of a song by another Neil, Neil Young’s Powderfinger. Also nice songs by Rogue Wave and ALO. Tracks by Matt Costa, G. Love and Money Mark are not really to my taste, but otherwise this is a great Christmas album.

If you like mellow tunes with lots of acoustic guitar for Christmas, this album is just for you. And it certainly makes a nice present for someone who likes the music of the Brushfire artists.