Aimee Mann gets an early start on Christmas

NEW YORK (Billboard) -

She has just finished recording a holiday album, "One More Drifter in the Snow," which will arrive on another holiday, Halloween, through her own SuperEgo Records label.

"You'd be surprised -- it didn't take any time to into the Christmas vibe," she said of entering the studio in May. "Before it got really hot, it was just so nice to be in the mood, without the pressures of buying presents and stuff."

Mann aimed to keep the arrangements and song selections fairly classic, taking cues from her favorite Christmas album,

"The more I thought about it, the more excited I got," she told Billboard.com. "I could do without 'Silent Night' and whatever, and I'm not a fan of the groovy modern Christmas records. We decided to go the Mel Torme, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, lounge-y, sort of Julie London record, and I knew right away that I wanted at least half of the songs to be the standard great Christmas classics."

Those include "I'll Be Home for Christmas," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland." Mann was even able to wrangle Grant-Lee Phillips in to narrate "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

Another focal point was the Vince Guiraldi Trio's soundtrack to "A Charlie Brown Christmas." The holiday, for many people, is a mixed bag, she said, and Mann hoped to capture the mellow and sometimes sad mood of the season, much like the animated movie did.

"If you really think of it, that movie has a lot of dark and mysterious undertones. First, Charlie Brown is depressed by the commercialism of Christmas and then there's Linus, who steps out to tell the story of the nativity, with this heartbreakingly moral stance," she said. "We wanted our take to be all that -- mysterious, quiet, moody. And classy."

Mann and producer Paul Bryan wrote the original "Calling on Mary" for the set, while Mann's husband,

The 45-year-old songwriter was keen on releasing the holiday set, as she's taken a leave from songwriting for the time being. Her last effort, the Grammy-winning conceptual piece "The Forgotten Arm," was released in 2005.

"The last record was so specific and took a lot out of me. I've been playing live a lot, too, which has kept me busy," she explained. "It was an emotionally exhausting time for me as well and I like playing out now so much more."

Mann is currently assembling a touring group to support "One More Drifter" for a string of Christmas dates. She also has slated a number of solo acoustic dates through the end of September, beginning August 26 at Los Angeles' Royce Hall as part of the Book Eaters benefit series.

Reuters/Billboard

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