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OK, bypass that hideous cover, which makes A Classic Christmas seem more like a piece of careless product than it actually is -- Toby Keith is one of the biggest stars in Nashville; certainly Show Dog could have put in a little more effort into the art besides Photoshopping a cartoon Santa hat on an old publicity photo -- and concentrate on the music on this two-disc, 20-track set. Granted, a holiday album of this size may seem like overkill, but this isn't one sprawling, unedited session: it's two distinct albums, the first containing secular seasonal standards, the second religious-themed carols. In both cases, they are certainly "classic" tunes -- there's not an unexpected song in the bunch, whether it's "Winter Wonderland" and "Silver Bells" or "The First Noel" and "Away in a Manger" -- which can almost be read as a reaction to his first holiday album, 1995's Christmas to Christmas, which was most decidedly not a classic Christmas album, relying on 12 newly written tunes, several by Keith himself. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable, where this Classic Christmas often is, especially on the secular disc, as he gives those tunes looser arrangements that allow the band to lie back and have some fun, especially on a lazily loping "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" and a soulful "Please Come Home for Christmas." The carols are, perhaps expectedly, a bit stately but they're done well, and he does give "Go Tell It on the Mountain" a welcome bit of gospel fervor. This shift in tones means that the two halves of Classic Christmas feel like similar but related albums, with the first being better for parties, and the second for quiet nights at home, and both are solid holiday albums, and both are much, much better than that cover art would indicate.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
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Hugh Martin, Composer - Ralph Blane, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Jule Styne, Composer - Sammy Cahn, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Dick Smith, Composer - Felix Bernard, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Jay Livingston, Composer - Ray Evans, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Buck Ram, Composer - KIM GANNON, Composer - WALTER KENT, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Johnny Marks, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Mel TORME, Composer - Robert Wells, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Irving Berlin, Composer - Toby Keith, Composer, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Walter Rollins, Composer - Steve Nelson, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Charles Brown, Composer - Gene Redd, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
DISC 2
HARRY SIMEONE, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist - Katherine K Davis, Composer - Henry V Onorati, Composer
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Toby Keith, MainArtist - John Wesley Work, Jr, Composer
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Traditional, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist - William B. Sandys, Composer - Davies Gilbert, Composer
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Traditional, Composer - John Francis Wade, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Franz Xaver Gruber, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
James R. Murray, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
John Henry Hopkins, Jr., Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Phillips Brooks, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist - Lewis Redner, Composer
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Traditional, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
George Frideric Handel, Composer - Isaac Watts, Composer - Toby Keith, MainArtist
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
Album review
OK, bypass that hideous cover, which makes A Classic Christmas seem more like a piece of careless product than it actually is -- Toby Keith is one of the biggest stars in Nashville; certainly Show Dog could have put in a little more effort into the art besides Photoshopping a cartoon Santa hat on an old publicity photo -- and concentrate on the music on this two-disc, 20-track set. Granted, a holiday album of this size may seem like overkill, but this isn't one sprawling, unedited session: it's two distinct albums, the first containing secular seasonal standards, the second religious-themed carols. In both cases, they are certainly "classic" tunes -- there's not an unexpected song in the bunch, whether it's "Winter Wonderland" and "Silver Bells" or "The First Noel" and "Away in a Manger" -- which can almost be read as a reaction to his first holiday album, 1995's Christmas to Christmas, which was most decidedly not a classic Christmas album, relying on 12 newly written tunes, several by Keith himself. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable, where this Classic Christmas often is, especially on the secular disc, as he gives those tunes looser arrangements that allow the band to lie back and have some fun, especially on a lazily loping "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" and a soulful "Please Come Home for Christmas." The carols are, perhaps expectedly, a bit stately but they're done well, and he does give "Go Tell It on the Mountain" a welcome bit of gospel fervor. This shift in tones means that the two halves of Classic Christmas feel like similar but related albums, with the first being better for parties, and the second for quiet nights at home, and both are solid holiday albums, and both are much, much better than that cover art would indicate.
© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo
About the album
- 2 disc(s) - 20 track(s)
- Total length: 01:03:25
- Main artists: Toby Keith
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Show Dog, LLC
- Genre: Ambient/New Age Christmas Music
(C) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers (P) 2007 Show Dog, LLC marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers
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