Rating: NNN
Don’t be fazed by the first couple tracks on The McGarrigle Christmas Hour, which are very holy choral stuff. By track three, a reverent version of O Little Town Of Bethlehem sweetly warbled by family friend Emmylou Harris, things start settling into the comfortable homespun groove you’d expect from the Acadian Canfolk icons. The Wainwright kids add an eclectic jolt to the proceedings. Rufus goes all suave crooner with What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve (aka that song he played in that Gap commercial) and offers a poor-little-rich-boy original with Spotlight On Christmas, while Martha’s Merry Christmas And Happy New Year is delightful. The McGarrigles would’ve been wise to pay closer attention to the sequencing – the broad swerves in tone are terribly discombobulating – but I enjoy the absurdity of their choice to have long-time pal Chaim Tannenbaum, a guy with the most Jewish name ever, croon Blue Christmas.
