Published on Nov 23, 2000
There are some artists who just shouldn’t dare to try and record
albums of Christmas music.
It’s not that they don’t have the talent or that their musical
styles would clash with the traditional holiday sounds. It’s just
that, well, some groups just can’t cut the proverbial mustard when
it comes to the Christmas tuneage – remember that stinkburger from
Ringo Starr? I’m
still washing the taste of that one out of my mouth a year
later.
As much as it pains me to do so, I have to now lump Lynyrd
Skynyrd into this category. Their first stab at a Yuletide album,
Christmas Time Again, is about as fitting as a hubcap on a
tractor.
Let me state, on the record, that calling this a Lynyrd Skynyrd
disc is a bit of a sham, for two main reasons. First is the absence
of bassist Leon Wilkeson anywhere on this disc – which, actually,
could have been the smartest thing Wilkeson could have done. (Mike
Brignardello handles the bass chores for the bulk of this album.)
Second, two cuts don’t even feature Skynyrd at all; 38 Special and
the Charlie Daniels Band each contribute one song to this disc. (I
have less of a problem with this, actually; all the bands are so
closely tied together that such a collaboration is almost
natural.)
The resulting sound for Skynyrd is, well, unnatural. It almost
feels like Johnny Van Zant and crew just weren’t comfortable with
the material on this disc (including, surprisingly, the original
tracks). Van Zant sounds a bit out of place covering Eddie C.
Campbell’s “Santa’s Messin’ With The Kid,” and as touching as the
song probably is for the band members, “Mama’s Song” doesn’t
distinguish itself as being anything special. And frankly, the less
said about “Santa Claus Wants Some Lovin’,” the better.
This isn’t to say that everything on
Christmas Time Again is atrocious. The keyboard duet between
Billy Powell and Bill Cuomo on “Greensleeves” is very pretty, and I
would have liked to have heard more moments like this throughout
the disc (which clocks in at just 36 minutes). Likewise, “Run Run
Rudolph” does seem to be a more natural fit for the band, though I
do miss the Southern twang that I’d normally hear on a Lynyrd
Skynyrd release.
The two guest contributions, sadly, don’t light up the musical
tree any brighter. 38 Special’s “Hallelujah, It’s Christmas”
doesn’t really sound like them, and it comes off a bit unnatural.
Charlie Daniels does a little better of a job on “Santa Claus Is
Coming To Town,” but even it can’t really save this disc.
I absolutely hate saying anything negative about Lynyrd Skynyrd,
but in the case of
Christmas Time Again, I’m afraid I have to. This is just an
ill-conceived disc, even if the intentions were good, and it should
be relegated to the back of the cabinet with your choice of
fruitcake.