Rating: NNN
This is the third Canadian Christmas album, because you can never have enough Canadians singing Christmas tunes, right? Covers, original folk, rock, lounge, big band – there’s no rhyme or reason to this disc except that everyone on it is a Canuck. It ain’t all that joyous. Diana Krall’s Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas is a snore-fest, and Anne Murray’s Away In A Manger is boring, and I usually really like Anne Murray. Take Three’s version of Winter Wonderland is terrible. The way they slide in and out of key is just painful. On the upside, Bruce Cockburn’s Mary Had A Baby is chill while Matt Dusk’s loungey rendition of It’s A Marshmallow World is actually kind of fun as is Bryan Adams’s Reggae Christmas, even if it is a dumb song. I love John McDermott and Ali Slaight’s Little Drummer Boy. Pa-ra-pa-pum-pum! And JJ Barrie’s Christmas is, of course, awesome, while Quartette’s It’s Christmas is a nice family song narrative. So it’s hit and miss as you might expect.
