The Bottom Line
- "The Gift"
- "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen"
- "Unto You This Night"
- None.
Description
- Eleven tracks, a smooth combination of modern songs and traditional carols.
- Featuring "The Gift," which in my opinion is one of the finest Christmas songs ever recorded.
- Features Garth's own "stable" of songwriters performing as the animals on "The Friendly Beasts."
Guide Review - Garth Brooks - Beyond the Season
This was Garth's fourth album, coming right after the unbelievable, record-shattering success of "Ropin' the Wind." At this point, he was still just a good country singer, and the simple recordings show that. Whether he's singing a heartfelt version of "Silent Night" (including a short soliloquy about the trials of going home for Christmas) or a rollicking take on Buck Owens' "Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy," he's presenting a seasonal album that's neither a throwaway novelty nor just another artist recording seasonal songs to make a quick buck at the holidays; this disc obviously came from the heart.
I may have my love-hate relationship with Garth (yes, I had a few t-shirts... and saw him live at least once... and was at the store right at opening to buy a few discs on the first day they were released... why?), but there has not been a year gone by since 1992 that this isn't the first Christmas disc in the machine the day after Thanksgiving. "The Gift" alone makes it worth it, but Garth's take on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" and "Go Tell It On The Mountain" just makes the season bright.
