Customer Reviews

Happy Holidays

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(0)

 

 

I usually purchase 3 or 4 holiday albums each year. So far, I have barely listened to the other two new albums. Why? Simply put, this recording is excellent! The song selection is delightful ranging from up-tempo country to a "jazzy" version of "Have youself a merry little Christmas". In my opinion, this "jazzy" version is one of the best arrangements of the holiday classic. Also included is "Blue Christmas", of which Elvis' version sets the standard. Kelly Willis' version has to come in a close second to that of the King.

From a technical standpoint, this recording is fairly clean with limited background hiss or noise. Those songs recorded live maintain the live concert feel and are quite cleanly recorded as well. My only criticism is the total recorded time is only slightly over 38 minutes. Total play time aside, this recording belongs on everyone's CD changer!

I look forward to bringing this CD out again next Christmas, or maybe for Christmas in July as a preview.

On this album, Kelly and Bruce sing five solos each and unite for an excellent duet on Baby it's cold outside. While this album has a contemporary edge, it should appeal to most fans of traditional country music, because you'll hear steel guitar and fiddle on several tracks.

I've been a fan of Kelly's music for a long time and her contribution to this album only serves to enhance her reputation further, if that were possible. Kelly's five solos are all songs that I'm very familiar with, but they aren't the most obvious choices. Santa baby (originally recorded by Eartha Kitt but also covered by Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Lynn Anderson and others) makes a great opening to the album. Santa looked a lot like Daddy (a country classic written and first recorded by Buck Owens) is a fun song that Kelly clearly enjoyed singing. I was particularly pleased that Kelly recorded one of my favorite carols, In the bleak midwinter. Kelly is also in top form on Blue Christmas and Have yourself a merry little Christmas, which are probably the two songs here that come round most frequently on Christmas albums.

I've been aware of Bruce for a long time but never actually got around to buying any of his music until I bought this album, on which he shows that he is a fine singer. Like Kelly, he has avoided the obvious songs. A winter's tale, the first of Bruce's solos, is not a cover of the similarly titled David Essex song that Brits are familiar with, but a completely different song that I've never heard before, so it could be an original. Christmas waltz is a song that I don't come across very often, but I'm familiar with Peggy Lee's version and Bruce certainly does justice to this fine song. Please Daddy don't get drunk this Christmas, originally recorded by John Denver, is another song that I don't hear many covers of, though Alan Jackson included it on his first Christmas album. Even more obscure is the Louvin brothers song, Shut in at Christmas. Bruce's final contribution is a fun song that he wrote himself titled Oklahoma Christmas, in which he pokes fun at relatives who don't like his use of language.

Bruce and Kelly have combined to give us (well, OK, sell us) an outstanding Christmas album. Both deserve to be major stars, but probably prefer to record top quality music on their own terms, without the constraints and pressures that major labels put on their artists. And as long as they continue to make music of this quality, they'll have enough fans to enable them to make a living out of the music business.

Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison are amazing, as usual. Add this to your Christmas collection. You won't be sorry!