The title of Joe Nichols' holiday offering says everything, but isn't quite as direct as it first seems. The temptation to draw a line from the career trajectory of country's fast rising young traditionalist ends abruptly with the realization that A Traditional Christmas features no sighing steel guitars or front porch fiddles. Instead, the album is exactly what it claims to be, a traditional Christmas music album in every sense, one which can rightly be considered a country album only in the vocal nuance and reputation of its performer.
In a society obsessed with high impact plastic and slivers of silicon, the album bears the depth and richness of handcrafted woodwork. The timeless textures of reed instruments and grand pianos shape familiar tunes in a way that reminds us why they're standards in the first place. For those intimately acquainted with the arc of Nichols' artistry, the collection is at once no surprise at all, and a most generous gift.
Pleasant contradictions have come to define Nichols in the whirlwind two years since his debut Universal South single shot to No. 1 on the country charts. Then just 25, Nichols was a sensation with fans and media for strikingly contemporary good looks and a sound that reveled in country's roots. Aptly titled, "The Impossible" did just that, becoming the first debut single from a new label to top the charts.
His next release "Brokenheartsville" also hit No. 1, and the album Man With A Memory fast earned stripes as that most elusive rarity--a critical and commercial success. Nichols had certainly worked hard for his success, starting his run at Music Row while still a teenager, but when the Arkansas-native's balloon finally went up, it went up fast.
From the Grand Ole Opry to touring with Alan Jackson to literally dozens of national television appearances, Nichols was anointed flag bearer for country's long overdue youth movement. The awards came in almost as quickly as the album left the shelves.
In 2003, Nichols received the Country Music Association's prestigious Horizon Award, was honored as The Academy of Country Music's Top New Male Vocalist, was named Breakthrough Artist of the Year by CMT: Country Music Television and was voted Best New Male Artist by the readers of Radio & Records. Billboard named him their Top New Country Artist and Music Row bestowed upon him its Critics' Pick honor. He was also nominated for five Grammy Awards--four for his work on Man With A Memory including Best Country Album and Best Country Male Vocal Performance, and once for his work on a Louvin Brothers tribute album.
As much as Nichols was hailed for his devotion to the genre's traditions, and as much notoriety as producer Brent Rowan received for his back-to-basics recordings, the first album's success raised many questions. Beyond inevitable concerns about Nichols' ability to match or surpass the nearly platinum debut was the issue of how he would approach the second release.
Revelation, released earlier this year, proved to be just that. The album cut even harder against the grain of contemporary convention, at once quieter, more traditional and given to even greater shades of subtlety than its predecessor. Deeply introspective and emotional, the release nevertheless debuted in the top five on the sales chart and scored a hit with its first single, "If Nobody Believed In You." Music lovers were growing even more appreciative of the benchmark of quality associated with a Nichols-branded release.
And now comes A Traditional Christmas, which mines the deepest traditions of the holiday season, both in its selection of material and in classically tailored arrangements carried by the most tasteful instrumentation. Standard after standard is made new, not through any effort at contemporary styling, but in the reverence exhibited in impeccable musicianship and Nichols' lovingly crafted vocal performances.
The album evokes the season's greatest blessings, moving at the pace of lightly falling snow and crackling fireplaces. And as a musical reminder that Christmas is about more than traffic and malls and stress, A Traditional Christmas earns its place under the tree.
Although it's been said many times many ways, Merry Christmas to you.
