His stint as a radio DJ and the appearance in a lingerie commercial revealed Bob Dylan still likes to spring the odd surprise. But the very idea of a Dylan Christmas album featuring Here Comes Santa Claus and Hark the Herald Angels Sing will be enough to have many choking on their mince pies. No artist, Leonard Cohen apart, would seem less inclined to festive fun. Even in his born-again phase, Dylan was altogether more concerned with the terrible judgment day awaiting the un-Godly than the little town of Bethlehem.

But anyone who listens to his superb radio show will get it. For Dylan is as steeped in 1950s crooning as he is in the poetry of Rimbaud. He produced Christmas In the Heart (Sony) himself, backed by his excellent touring band, and the arrangements are as warming as a good malt – at least to Dylan fans. That voice would certainly not win him a place in the finals of The X-Factor but long- term fans will tell you it puts him right up there with the greatest white blues singers.

I will certainly be playing it this year as I dress the Christmas tree, even if I am immediately abandoned in Bob’s wonderful winterland by the rest of the family.

Rod Stewart is hoping his new collection of soul classics will be boosted by Christmas sales. But it would be far better to invest in The Rod Stewart Sessions, a four-CD box set from Rhino, offering out takes and unreleased recordings from 1971-1998. Recorded during his golden period at Mercury, when he was still a member of the Faces, the material shows what a great singer he was. While his talent as a lyricist and songwriter dried up as soon as he left for LA, the likes of The First Cut Is The Deepest and Windy Town prove there were very few better at interpreting great songs, not least Dylan’s.

To Win Just Once: The Best of the Saw Doctors (Universal) is a welcome trawl through the Irish band’s marvellous back catalogue. The 22-song compilation opens with the rousing About You. But it is the live reworking of N17 which best captures the spirit of one of the best folk rock outfits still around.