Music Review: Various Artists, An Americana Christmas

By Melissa Bratcher

The worst Christmas song I’ve ever heard that isn’t “The Christmas Shoes” is its glurgy precursor, Red Sovine’s “Is There Really A Santa Claus?” I heard the song on a country Christmas compilation I picked up at a flea market for a buck. In it, a widower (dead mom alert!) who has been very cross with his children on Christmas Eve (telling them there was no Santa Claus, that jerk) realizes the error of his ways and goes out to get them presents, hoping the stores haven’t closed. He gets hit by a car. The kids’ presents? Delivered by . . . Santa. The song is jawdroppingly awful, yet awesome.

I like Christmas music in general, however. In fact, sometime in October, I start planning my Christmas playlist. There’s nothing I love quite as much as sleigh bells, warm-hearted feelings, and Santa. I also love Americana music. So imagine how delighted I was to find An Americana Christmas. It’s like a Reese’s peanut butter cup; two great tastes that taste great together. Mostly.

An Americana Christmas mixes tracks from the Old Guard (Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, The Band) with songs from the New Guard (Nikki Lane, Ronnie Fauss, Old 97’s). There are standards as well as new songs that yearn to be standards.

Nikki Lane’s “Falalalalove You” is charming, although I don’t know if it would work as well without her signature husky delivery (which makes me want a picture of Nikki Lane’s Signature Husky Delivery, in which she drives a sleigh, wears a cowboy hat and something all sparkly to deliver Huskies. Get on that, Internet!). The pedal steel guitar and quiet thump of the bass are quite wonderful together, as is the lovely chorus of understated “la la’s.”

Charming, too, is “Here It Is Christmas Time” from the Old 97’s. The opening lines are completely delightful and the song speaks to universal truths in the way that Rhett Miller’s lyrics typically do. His vocals are perfectly relaxed. I can’t imagine a better thing than an entire album of Old 97’s Christmas songs (except Nikki Lane’s Signature Husky Delivery). How do we make that happen? Can we Kickstart it?

My new favorite, Ronnie Fauss, delivers the slowly swaggering “Everybody Deserves A Merry Christmas,” which is another treat. Piano and mandolin drive this jailhouse lament with a sing along chorus. The lyrics are witty, like he does so well.

Emmylou Harris’s a capella version of “The First Noel” is just breathtaking. Her clarion voice is at the forefront, but she blends with the background singers. The shimmering harmonies on the ascendant lines at the end are tear-inducingly pretty.

My current favorite Bob Dylan song, “Must Be Santa,” sails along powered by a Mexican accordion. Dylan sounds like he’s having fun on this raucous sing along. Also fun is Dwight Yoakam’s “Run Run Rudolph.” His voice in the chorus is a thing of nasal beauty over insistent chords from an organ and jangly slide guitar.

The album closer, “Christmas Must Be Tonight” from The Band, is a masterclass on how to do a Christmas song right. The harmonies are powerful but understated, and Rick Danko’s vocals are exactly right. Even the ill-advised synth works in spite of itself.

Not all the songs land as well. Valerie June’s “Winter Wonderland” is quick and driving, but I suspect her affected vocals are an acquired taste. Max Gomez’s “Season Of My Memory” is perfectly melancholy, but he sounds like he had a head cold. “At Christmas Time” from The Linnets is rambling. The lead singer has a nice voice, but it’s a fairly unremarkable song.

Still, those are minor issues with an otherwise good addition to any Christmas record collection. There are no songs about dads being hit by cars or moms dying of cancer on An Americana Christmas, thankfully. There are, however, some rarely heard treasures, some classics waiting to happen, and a very fine, extraordinarily melancholy song from Corb Lund about ponies and an 80-year-old man.

An Americana Christmas was released by New West Records on October 14.