This is a grudging recommendation. Until recently, I'd loathed any version I'd heard of "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus." Any vocal rendition I hear makes me want to shout at the kid singing it, "If what you saw scars you that much, tell your therapist! Don't sing about it!" At a minimum, sung versions of the tune should be used to torture low level offenders in traffic court.
Hearing Ferrante & Teicher play it on the piano softened my contempt slightly, however. Any artists who make such a cloying song sound palatable deserve respect. The duo embellishes the song with ornate flourishes not unlike those in their interpretation of Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue." That's a surprising approach to take on such a number, but it makes me appreciate their technical prowess, at least.
"I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" will never be one of my favorite Christmas songs. For a few minutes, however, Ferrante & Teicher made me set aside my lifelong hatred of the tune. That's no easy feat, so I have to respect their effort.
