I wrote last week about my affection for sad Christmas songs. The only upbeat Christmas songs I usually like are the spiritual ones. But good Lord, do I love this piece of fluff from Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton:
“With Bells On” is one of the only country Christmas songs that won’t make me change the radio station. You can find it on Kenny & Dolly’s album Once Upon a Christmas.
We all know that I’m a sucker for a good Christmas song, or Christmas songs in general, really. So, while Faith Hill’s latest release of a Christmas song is admittedly premature in the month of August, I was excited all the same—mostly because it helps to signify that the Christmas season is approaching, which is something that I realize likely makes the rest of you cringe.
Because there are so many wonderful Christmas classics, it’s difficult for an original to make an impression. Therefore, it takes an outstanding original to successfully compete with the classics. “A Baby Changes Everything” is the only original song on Faith’s upcoming Christmas album, but it sadly does not justify its coveted spot. While her vocal performance is perfect, the song itself lacks the personality or depth that inspires me at Christmastime.
It starts off slow, without much of a melody, but it seems to stay at that point for far too long. While I suspect this initial understated approach is for the purpose of build up, it ends up seeming lackluster instead. The most interesting part of the song is when she is joined by a choral group, which does not bode well for the song, since such tactics in Christmas songs typically annoy me except in the rare case of Alan Jackson’s “Let It Be Christmas.”
Perhaps I’m just not in the Christmas spirit quite yet after all. Check back with me in a couple of weeks.
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