Eddie Van Halen on holiday album

Legendary guitarist and former Toto member Steve Lukather has released a new holiday album called SantaMental that features guest appearances from Eddie Van Halen, Velvet Revolver's Slash, Edgar Winter, Steve Vai and several others. The 10-song collection includes new renditions of Christmas standards such as "Jingle Bells," "Winter Wonderland" and "Silent Night," but Lukather himself declares his collaboration with Eddie Van Halen on "Joy To The World" as the album's highlight, according to a press release.

Lukather said, "I wrote (the arrangement) specifically with Eddie Van Halen in mind, coming up with a 'Hot for Teacher' groove. So he came in...did a few takes and it was done. His playing is raw and on fire. He doesn't play on anybody's records so it was a real honor for me."

Lukather recorded the album in under six days, saying that he took it as a challenge to make "corny Christmas songs hip."