A most enjoyable traditional country Christmas collection
Neal C. Reynolds | Indianapolis, Indiana | 11/22/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"There's little argument here...this is a true country collection and a quite welcome one. George Strait's "I Know What I Want For Christmas" is a good kick-off, and Toby Keith's playful "Blame It On the Mistletoe" is another welcome cut. As has been pointed out, Dolly Parton's "Hard Candy Christmas" from "The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas" doesn't quite fit here, but it's okay. And the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band sounds good on the mainstream standard, "Silver Bells", giving it a satisfactory Nashville flavor.The placing of Steve Wariner's "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year" before Vince Gill's "It Won't Be The Same This Year" is quite effective...the standard "happy" song followed by a heart felt tribute to the brother who won't be here this year. Travis Tritt's singing of a familiar Christmas Carol rather fits in too, giving a cohesiveness to the three cuts...a happy one, a sentimental one, and a traditional carol sung often by families together.Michael Martin Murphey's "Two Step 'Round The Christmas Tree" and Dwight Yoakum's "Come On Christmas" provide a light touch before Kathy Mattea's performance of what has become a country standard to this season, "There's A new Kid In Town". And then Sammy Kershaw's "Up On The Housetop" brings the set to a peppy and satisfying close.My one feeling of lack about this CD is the preponderant 10 male singers to 2 female singers ratio. All in all, though, if you are a country fan, chances are you'll want this collection."
The fourth in a great series
Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 10/09/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This volume of country Christmas songs draws exclusively on songs previously available - no new recordings here - but it's still a great collection, with not many old chestnuts.The version of Two step round the Christmas tree included here is actually a duet, although Suzy Bogguss is not credited on the album - it originally appeared on Michael's first Christmas album (one of my all-time favorite Christmas albums).John Berry is in fine voice on Christmas morning, and I also particularly enjoyed Up on the housetop. Dolly's Hard candy Christmas isn't really a Christmas song, but by having the word Christmas in it's title, it will always be a candidate for inclusion in these compilations.Overall, this is a great collection, well up to the standard I've come to expect from this series."