Published on Dec 18, 2001
I am not a praying man in any sense of the word. However, when
my review copy of 38 Special’s
A Wild-Eyed Christmas Night arrived at the Pierce Memoral
Archives a few months ago, I fell to my knees and offered up this
humble prayer: “Please, please, dear Lord… let this disc be
better than Lynyrd Skynyrd’s abyssmal Christmas disc.”
While I’d hardly put this disc up on the shelf next to Bing
Crosby and Nat King Cole, Don Barnes and crew do surprise the
listener often on this disc with some spirited versions of holiday
classics, and even turn in an interesting original or two.
Chances are, if you grew up listening to a specific version of a
song, you’ll cringe whenever any rock band tries to cover that
song. In the case of 38 Special, it’s probably a good thing that
Bobby Helms is dead, ’cause the shock of hearing this poor cover of
“Jingle Bell Rock” would kill him. But an even bigger shock is how
well the band takes on versions of “Little Drummer Boy,” “O
Holy Night” (who woulda thunk it?), and the instrumental rendition
of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”. While Barnes, Donnie Van Zant and
crew put in enough of their own flavors on these particular covers,
they do maintain a reverence towards the source material – and that
makes all the difference.
The bigger challenge 38 Special may have faced, in truth, was
throwing four original Christmas songs into the mix. Two of these,
“Hallelujah, It’s Christmas!” and “A Wild-Eyed Christmas Night”
(the latter, thank God, not a re-write of “Wild-Eyed Southern
Boys”), succeed in that they don’t try to tap into any pre-existing
vein of holiday music; instead, they maintain the respect they
showed on many of the covers and adapt it to their original
music.
Of the remaining originals, I admit I’m on the fence with “It’s
Christmas And I Miss You,” co-written with Jim Peterik of Survivor
– it’s kind of hokey, but catchy in an annoying way. The last
original, “That Old Rockin Chair,” is a tribute to loved ones from
Christmases past who have passed away. Maybe, had it been done by a
different group or artist, they’d have captured the emotional side
of it a little better; as it is, it’s a tad too maudlin, and
doesn’t seem to fit the atmosphere of the rest of the disc.
I’ve purposely stayed away from commentary on “Here Comes Santa
Claus” – mainly because I grew up on a version of this song from,
arguably, the original Southern rocker, one Elvis Aaron Presley.
Technically, it’s not a bad cover, so I guess that’s a hit on the
dartboard in 38 Special’s favor.
After Skynyrd’s mangling of a holiday album (which 38 Special
guested on),
A Wild-Eyed Christmas Night could easily have been a train
wreck waiting to happen. In reality, it’s not a bad album in the
least, though I’d hardly say it qualifies as a classic seasonal
album.