Merry Christmas from Jon Pardi
(Capitol Nashville)
California native and past Stagecoach performer Jon Pardi provides an excellent country soundtrack for the holidays. On the fun, honky-tonkin’ “Beer for Santa,” Pardi sings about ditching cookies and leaving St. Nick “a koozie full of cheers” instead. The twangy, horn-laden “400 Horsepower Sleigh” features a gang chorus. An upbeat and jaunty “All I Want for Christmas is You” features fine fiddle and pedal steel work. Then there’s the laid-back, reggae-fied “Merry Christmas from the Keys,” where Pardi describes “all the hippies in their tie-dyed tops.” It’s quite a hoot. Other highlights include a blazing take on Buck Owens’ “Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy,” with an ad-lib ending; the Sixties country vibe of “I’ve Been Bad, Santa,” where Ashley McBryde collaborator Pillbox Patti provides come hither vocals; the fine forlorn ballad “Reindeer”; old timey piano-led “Swing on Down to Texas” and Counting Crows’ earnest “A Long December.”
California native and past Stagecoach performer Jon Pardi provides an excellent country soundtrack for the holidays. On the fun, honky-tonkin’ “Beer for Santa,” Pardi sings about ditching cookies and leaving St. Nick “a koozie full of cheers” instead. The twangy, horn-laden “400 Horsepower Sleigh” features a gang chorus. An upbeat and jaunty “All I Want for Christmas is You” features fine fiddle and pedal steel work. Then there’s the laid-back, reggae-fied “Merry Christmas from the Keys,” where Pardi describes “all the hippies in their tie-dyed tops.” It’s quite a hoot. Other highlights include a blazing take on Buck Owens’ “Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy,” with an ad-lib ending; the Sixties country vibe of “I’ve Been Bad, Santa,” where Ashley McBryde collaborator Pillbox Patti provides come hither vocals; the fine forlorn ballad “Reindeer”; old timey piano-led “Swing on Down to Texas” and Counting Crows’ earnest “A Long December.”
Information: jonpardi.com
Cher
Christmas
(Warner)
Before recording her first holiday album, Cher bolstered her vocals with a coach. Wise move: her singing is robust as ever. Back in 1963, Cher sang backup on the Darlene Love/Phil Spector classic “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home.” The pair reunite here on a terrific remake. Michael Bublé and Cher’s vocals soar during his elegant ballad “Home.” Cyndi Lauper adds welcome vocals to the Erasure-styled dance tune “Angels in the Snow” and the joyous, soulful “Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart.” Cher and Stevie Wonder exude happiness as he sings and plays harmonica on “What Christmas Means to Me.” Elsewhere, there are forays into hip-hop, EDM (an infectious “DJ, Play a Christmas Song”; the inviting “Christmas Ain’t Christmas Without You”); “Run Rudolph Run” just plain rocks and a surprising cover of The Zombies’ “This Will Be Our Year” fits well.
Before recording her first holiday album, Cher bolstered her vocals with a coach. Wise move: her singing is robust as ever. Back in 1963, Cher sang backup on the Darlene Love/Phil Spector classic “Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home.” The pair reunite here on a terrific remake. Michael Bublé and Cher’s vocals soar during his elegant ballad “Home.” Cyndi Lauper adds welcome vocals to the Erasure-styled dance tune “Angels in the Snow” and the joyous, soulful “Put a Little Holiday in Your Heart.” Cher and Stevie Wonder exude happiness as he sings and plays harmonica on “What Christmas Means to Me.” Elsewhere, there are forays into hip-hop, EDM (an infectious “DJ, Play a Christmas Song”; the inviting “Christmas Ain’t Christmas Without You”); “Run Rudolph Run” just plain rocks and a surprising cover of The Zombies’ “This Will Be Our Year” fits well.
Information: cher.com
Have You Heard of Christmas?
(Capitol)
Irreverant, sometimes profane and frequently laugh-out-loud hilarious, Have You Heard of Christmas? contains several songs featured on Rogers’ acclaimed 2022 Showtime holiday special and added originals. The actor/comedian (“Fire Island”) delves into EDM (“Also, It’s Christmas”), hip-hop (“Hottest Female Up in Whoville”), R&B (“Imma Have
Your Back”) and pop (“Rockafella Centa,” which namechecks NBC personalities with a rap from podcast partner Bowen Yang). Standouts include a sleek, serious-minded “Every Christmas Eve”; the alt-pop of “Everything You Want” featuring Muna; dramatic Broadway-styled “Rain on Christmas” and classic-sounding “I Don’t Need it to Be Christmas at All.”
Information: amazon.com
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