| Merry Christmas To All Charlie Daniels Band | |
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Reviewed by Jolene Downs
Charlie Daniels has recorded an absolute treasure of a Christmas album. He has put aside his fiddle and southern rock style of music to release a very laid back, traditional holiday album. According to the note from Charlie on the back of the CD cover, he hopes he "never grows up so much that he can't get that kid kind of feeling about Christmas." And the photo of Charlie on the cover could be the real Santa Claus. At the very least Charlie looks like Santa's twin brother. That photo, along with the peaceful scene of a snow-covered meadow with pine trees along the fence line, gives you a nostalgic feeling before you even pop the CD in the player.
Once in the player, what comes wafting out of your speakers makes you want to sit in front of a fireplace, roast some chestnuts and sip a cup of hot chocolate while you go on a trip down memory lane to a storybook holiday. The nostalgia starts with "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and doesn't end until the last notes from "It's Bad To Have The Blues (At Christmas Time)" fades from your speakers.
I'm a person who enjoys traditional Christmas music performed in the age-old way it was meant to be. I don't care for 'modern creativity' with the melodies of these songs, and Charlie has performed his chosen songs in the traditional way. "I'll Be Home For Christmas" always makes me think of the trips to grandma's house as a child. Unless there was a really horrible snowstorm, we would find our way to spend our Christmas evening with her. No matter how old I get, or how long I've lived without a Christmas at Grandma's, I'll always have those memories.
As a child, our church youth group would go caroling around the small, rural town that we lived in. One of my absolute favorite songs to sing during the evening was "O Little Town of Bethlehem." I'm now an adult, but this remains one of my favorite Christmas songs, and I found myself singing along with Charlie.
Of course the holiday season has some fun songs for the kids. My youngest was singing along to "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Frosty The Snowman." These are generally songs that children learn with their preschool or kindergarten classmates. Again, I'm now an adult, but I remember days gone by like they were yesterday with the smallest prompts. Something as seemingly insignificant as a song opens the floodgates for these memories.
Charlie also included three original songs on the album. "Jesus is the Light of the World" is the story of the birth of Jesus and what he came to mean to mankind. "God Bless the Mother" is Charlie's prerequisite patriotic song that he includes on each one of his albums. It is a song expressing thanks and gratitude starting with the "mother" of the Prince of Peace. The last song has some fun lyrics. "It's Bad to Have the Blues (At Christmas Time)" is a bluesy song that has some pretty far-fetched lyrics about how bad his life is. It is so far-fetched that you have to laugh at his predicament instead of feeling bad for him.
Bottom line is that this is a great addition to any traditional holiday collection. Charlie Daniels and his band have captured the holiday spirit beautifully.
Song List:
- I'll Be Home For Christmas
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
- The Christmas Song
- O Little Town of Bethlehem
- Jesus is the Light of the World
- Blue Christmas
- God Bless the Mother
- Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
- Frosty the Snowman
- What Child Is This
- White Christmas
- It's Bad To Have The Blues (At Christmas Time)
Cover graphic courtesy of Audium.
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