MUSIC TO RAISE CHRISTMAS SPIRITS
After the year we’ve had, you might need a little Christmas — right this very minute.
That happens to be the message of some of the new songs, produced during the pandemic. Imagine having to get into the Christmas spirit and throw one of those together back in June or August.
That’s what some of these artists did to bring fresh new offerings to the old holiday playlist:
“Hallelujah,” Carrie Underwood with John Legend: Believe it or not, the country superstar from Oklahoma went 15 years and six albums before getting around to her Christmas record. This song, which on the track list would appear to be yet another take on the Leonard Cohen classic, is actually an original written by John Legend and hitmaker Toby Gad. Legend is there to sing it with her, and as you can imagine with these two powerhouses, the hymn-like ballad that starts with just a simple piano opening becomes a roof-raising tour de force with a Legend falsetto that will give you goosebumps. It fits the spiritual vibe of “My Gift,” which is more “O Holy Night” than “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree.” He’s no John Legend — yet — but Underwood’s 5-year-old son, Isaiah, provides an adorable vocal on the album’s other duet, “Little Drummer Boy.”
“Little Drummer Boy,” Leslie Odom Jr.: Carrie’s little boy may be cute, but the Mzansi Youth Choir from Soweto, South Africa, doesn’t play around. They can SANG! They bring it soaring and soulful on this percussive version of “Little Drummer Boy,” offsetting Odom’s smooth, understated delivery. It comes from the CMUtrained “Hamilton” star’s “The Christmas Album,” where he also creates sparks with “The Color Purple” Tony winner Cynthia Erivo on “Winter Song,” introduces a jazzy, finger-popping original with “Snow” and, with his wife, Nicolette Robinson, brings as much R&B/soul as Hanukkah has ever had to “Ma’oz Tzur.”
“It’s Not Christmas Till Somebody Cries,” Carly Rae Jepsen: The family serves the vegan boyfriend fish, Grandpa inadvertently eats the marijuana gummies and a political fight breaks out in this charming dance-pop frolic about a holiday gone wrong. Don’t miss the video where all the action is played out.
“This Is Christmas,” Goo Goo Dolls: At first, it sounds like the Goo Goo Dolls are about to cover Simon & Garfunkel’s “America,” but then Johnny Rzeznick breaks in, singing, “Yeah, it’s cold and it’s gray/ I’m in love with this day/ cause it’s Christmas.” He just drove a thousand miles to see his love smile in this warm, melancholy ballad that captures the weariness of making it to the end of this rough year. It highlights “Christmas All Over Again,” which also includes a brassy “Shake Hands With Santa Claus,” mellow takes on “Let It Snow” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and a second original, “You Ain’t Getting Nothin’” that’s part “Stray Cat Strut,” part “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch.”
“Christmas on the Square,” Dolly Parton: Dolly is at her most playful on this joyful hoedown that sounds like it was recorded on the “Hee-Haw” set. When she sings, “It’s a holly Dolly Christmas folly ... I had to get that in there,” the crowd shouts back “Why not?!” The banjo-fiddle romp is a standout on her chart-topping “A Holly Dolly Christmas,” her first holiday album in 30 years. Naturally, there are duets: with both Cyruses, with Jimmy Fallon on a fun, flirtatious “All I Want for Christmas Is You,” with Michael Buble on the gently swinging original “Cuddle Up, Cozy Down Christmas,” and with Willie Nelson on an overproduced “Pretty Paper.” This is album 47, and, flipping those numbers, at 74, she still sounds divine.
“Let it Snow,” Tori Kelly (with Kenneth “Babyface” Edmonds): Kelly calls this “the little cherry on top” on her first holiday album, “A Tori Kelly Christmas.” This was the song she got to sing with her superstar
perstar producer, Babyface, and their voices weave around each other nicely in this traditional, big-band arrangement.
“Winter Wonderland,” Meghan Trainor: On her 18-track, 54-minute holiday debut, “A Very Trainor Christmas,” the pop tart gets funky with Earth, Wind & Fire, duets with Bing Crosby in the form of Seth McFarlane on “White Christmas” and revisits Wham! on a thumping “Last Christmas.” In the midst of this slick production comes a sweet little ukulele-led “Winter Wonderland” that might be the real keeper.
“Christmas Will Really Be Christmas,” Black Pumas: All these young ’uns doing Christmas songs are naturally messin’ with the glorious ghosts of yore. Here, the Austin duo with shades of Gnarls Barkley accepts a challenge from Spotify to present a cover. They take on Lou Rawls and come out a winner, with singer Eric Burton raising it up an octave and beautifully capturing the soul vibe of 1967. As his bandmate Adrian Quesada notes in a statement, the song “touches on a message that I think is poignant to today’s times, that Christmas isn’t really Christmas until everyone has peace and happiness.”
“White Christmas,” Davy Jones with Annabel Jones: This doesn’t exactly rise to the top of “White Christmases,” but there’s a bittersweet nostalgia to hearing the late Monkees frontman singing with his youngest daughter, Annabel. It’s a lovely production trick on this collection, “It’s Christmas Time Once More,” that was recorded on cassette tape in 1991, when she was 3 years old. Along with adding her grown-up vocal, producer Skip Douglas added Micky Dolenz and his sister Coco’s voices to an orchestral “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”
“The Only Thing Missing,” Alessia Cara: Get out your hankies for this one. “You’re making traditions with someone else/ a whole new year/ and I’m still here,” the sultry young indie-soul singer purrs on this quiet tearjerker from her new EP, “Holiday Stuff.” It’s a must-listen, along with “Moody’s Mood for Love,” where she brings her exquisite jazz phrasing to a 1952 song by James Moody and Eddie Jefferson that’s been covered by such greats as Aretha Franklin, George Benson, Van Morrison and Amy Winehouse.
“Santa Stay Home,” U.S. Girls: The little ones aren’t going to like this one, not one bit. Meg Remy, who leads this Canadian indie-pop project, tells Mr. White Christmas to stay home because the poles are melting, the landfills are overflowing and she doesn’t want some creepy guy in her house, anyway. Not fun, but she gift-wraps her Scroogey sentiment in a hook-filled song with a Supremes-style vocal and an infectious Motown groove.
“Christmas in Hell,” Crocodiles: “Mommy’s in the hospital/ daddy’s out of work/ fascists on the TV screen/ the world is run by jerks.” The San Diego duo set out to write a song about “the total [crappiness] of 2020” and pulls no punches on this Ramones style rocker that’s covered in fuzz.
“You Know It’s Christmas,” Dion: A Christmas song in the style of “The Wanderer,” from The Wanderer himself? Yes, we’re all ears. The ageless one, still kickin’ it at 80, delivers a chugging “brag blues” with stinging guitar licks from SRV disciple Joe Bonamassa. The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer released this, along with an Amy Grant-featured “Hello Christmas,” in the wake of his ridiculously star-studded “Blues With Friends.”
“Christmas Isn’t Christmas” and “Take Me Home for Christmas,” Dan + Shay: The duo featuring McCandless native Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney are the toast of Nashville at the moment, but the sound is just as much ’N Sync and Backstreet Boys, as they demonstrate on these holiday offerings. The first is a ballad with enough syrup for your hotcakes while the latter is some bouncy, lite pop about new love.
“Merry Married Christmas,” Maddie & Tae: If you got married in 2020, well, it was no doubt fraught with all sorts of complications and maybe even swabs up the nose. Now, you’ve reached the end of the year and you can celebrate with this sexy little vamp from the Nashville duo, but be warned that the new bride wants to “decorate every inch and corner of this home that we made,” so by the time you get to hold each other close, you might be broke and exhausted.
“It’s Christmas,” Jamie Cullum: From the top, the British jazz-pop star packs a public service message into the opening track of his “The Pianoman at Christmas”: “Shove your petty differences right up the chimney, please!” “The Pianoman at Christmas” is the product of The Pianoman at the Pandemic, actually churning out 10 original Christmas songs — about Santas, lights, loneliness and romance — brought to swingin’ life by 57 British musicians. It’s a good listen straight through or can be broken into pieces on that cherished Sinatra/ Bennett/Buble playlist. And note that if you can’t live without those differences, Cullum says we only have to shove them up the chimney “till the drums of the 12th,” so on Jan. 6 you can go up and get them.