Customer Reviews

Maybe This Christmas

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I buy two or three Christmas CDs each year, and thought I was taking a chance on this one because most "modern" or "alternative" collections of Christmas music are a little too hyper or eclectic for every family member to enjoy during the holiday season.

However, this CD was a surprise... The songs are fun and different, but they all have a pleasant aspect to them so as not to make Grandma spit up her egg nog on Christmas Eve. The little kids will have a good time too, since there isn't anything along the lines of "F*@k Christmas" by Fear (imagine playing that one at the family reunion).

This disc will definitely be sitting toward the top of our holiday music pile when we dig out our Christmas CDs each year after Thanksgiving.

Christmas music can service a variety of moods including reverence and nostalgia, but Maybe This Christmas is pure entertainment. I haven't had this much fun listening to a Christmas CD in several years! Being on a Canadian label (Nettwerk), several of the artists are from Canada. It's OK, though, as these are my favorite Canadians! Ron Sexsmith's title cut is especially charming, and I don't ever remember hearing a more swingin' take on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" than the Barenaked Ladies version with Sarah McLachlan.

The Americans offer some pretty nifty Christmas gifts too. I've been enjoying the "Ben Folds Live" CD very much in recent days, and here he is with an amusing track called "Bizarre Christmas Incident." I expected an up-tempo "Winter Wonderland" from Phantom Planet, but instead they deliver a real cute little dance version. Jimmy Eat World gets more mellow than their usual frenetic pace on "12/23/95." The tracks from Vanessa Carlton, Neil Finn, and Loreena McKennitt are all excellent. This is one Christmas collection I'll be listening to for several holiday seasons to come.

MAYBE THIS CHRISTMAS is a collection of Christmas songs performed by a variety of alternative artists. About half of the songs on the album are traditional Christmas songs while the other half are new Christmas songs. My favorite songs on the album are:

"Winter Wonderland" Phantom Planet

"Maybe This Christmas" Ron Sexsmith

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" Coldplay

"Happy Christmas (War Is Over)" Sense Field

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" Barenaked Ladies w. Sarah McLachlan

I bought this album solely because of the Barenaked Ladies with Sarah McLachlan version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen". I wanted to play that song on my internet radio show and this is the only album I can find that has the song on it. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed most of the other songs as well. Most of the songs are performed nicely and are written in the Christmas spirit. However, beware of "Bizarre Christmas Incident" by Ben Folds. The song tries to appeal to country humor, but is neither funny nor respectful of country people--the song isn't really even a song and contains the only foul language of any of the tunes on the album. Overall, this is a nice album to play during Christmas time, but skip over "Bizarre Christmas Incident".

But that's just what this cd doesn't do, and about the only thing it doesn't do, ... It has a lot of variation going from the Beatlesesque Neil Finn song, to the acoustic Ron Sexsmith song to the vintage tone of the croonerish Coldplay rendition of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." While my tendencies definitely lean the way of the Jimmy Eat World, Sense Field and Phantom Planet songs there's definitely something for everyone here.

This is an outstanding CD- one that everyone can listen to.... but the one thing that the reviews do not mention is the comedy bit that is at the end. This is one of the funniest christmas moments that i have ever listened to, and if you have kids- and have to attend christmas things that you might not like to attend, i promise that you will laugh. Don't drive the first time! The BNL tune is catchy and has harmonies that i adore- and the recording was totally unplanned- just happened at a detroit concert. Beware the Cat tune--tears will flow. The Midevel babes are fantstic- its all great! Enjoy!

I'm not much of a Christmas song fan, but I love this CD--I bought it mostly because of Dan Wilson, but I really enjoy all of the songs on it so far. Ben Folds's "Bizarre Christmas Incident" is bizarre indeed. Dan Wilson's "What a Year for a New Year" is gorgeous. Jack Johnson's new verses for Ruldolph are lovely as well, and all in all, I recommend this to anyone looking for a slightly different twist on conventional Christmas songs.

This compilation album features Christmas songs by alt-rock performers. The songs are more mellow than you might expect. This is kinder, gentler alt-rock. Around half the songs are originals, with the other half being familar Christmas favorites. All the originals are at least decent, with my favorites being Ron Sexsmith's charming "Maybe This Christmas", Ben Folds' humorous "Bizarre Christmas Incident" and Dan Wilson's New Year's song "What a Year For a New Year". The traditional Christmas songs are all well performed, with Sense Field's cover of John Lennon's "Happy Christmas" being particularly excellent. This is a solid Christmas album, with some of the proceeds going to Toys For Tots.

Every Christmas I want to shoot the radio at work for playing the same old cheesey Christmas crap. First, let me say I bought this album specifically because I must have everything Ben Folds related, but was pleasantly surprised to find quality holiday music. Its not necessarily music for a family occasion, although it isn't in any way offensive. I could listen to the title track by Ron Sexsmith over and over again and Bright Eyes' Blue Christmas is a great cover. I recommend it for the younger, more indie crowd for a nice change of pace during December!

This cd is great. I heard the BareNaked Ladies/Sarah McLachlan tune on the radio and bought the cd because of the one song. The rest of the cd is equally wonderful. I really liked how the record label allowed you to listen to the tracks before you buy!

Yet another Christmas compilation, but this one stnds out thanks to the unique choice of songs and performers. Most of the songs on this album are traditional for the holiday season: "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" performed by Barenaked Ladies with Sarah McLachlan, "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" sung by Jack Johnson with his trademark beach sound, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" by Coldplay, and many others. But it also throws in a few new songs: "What A Year for a New Year" by Dan Wilson, "Snow" by Celtic songstress Loreena McKennitt, "121/23/95" by Jimmy Eat World," and "Bizarre Christmas Incident" -- which is a bizarre little story -- by Ben Folds, among others. This is a great addition to the holiday music catalog, bringing a fresh update to older songs and introducing quite a few new ones.