CMT Blog: Christmas

Dipping into a variety of musical styles, Sara Evans delivers three of the most revered seasonal selections on her new EP, I'll Be Home for Christmas. The title track reminds me of a slinky jazz tune while she significantly slows down "O Come All Ye Faithful" for a somber rendition. Meanwhile, "Go Tell It on the Mountain" falls somewhere between country and gospel, which complements the imagery in the song comfortably. The final track, "New Again," will be familiar to those who bought the soundtracks to The Passion of the Christ movie earlier in the decade, and as a conclusion to the four-song sampler, this duet with Brad Paisley is a fitting reminder about that first Christmas. Does anybody else out there have a new Sara Evans album on their wish list for 2010?

I call it a gift because being able to watch Sugarland do their thing in a recording session feels like a present to me. In this new behind-the-scenes video from the making of their holiday album, Gold and Green, they are laying down music and vocal for the title track. What I love, almost more than the song, is hearing Kristian Bush describe the feeling he wanted. "We're trying to imagine it coming out with the orchestration attitude of a Nat King Cole Christmas album," he says. Then Jennifer Nettles goes on to talk about the song's visual icons: the postman, the snowflakes, the candlesticks. She says her favorite line is "And the world decides to sleep safe tonight." It warms my heart this time of year to know a country band is that dedicated to the nuances of every single song they craft.

Don't believe in Santa? Tell that to the Keith Urban fan in Fortitude Valley near Brisbane, Australia. Last Saturday (Dec. 19), Urban was hanging out in Tym Guitars, trying out a few new ones, and settled on a $1,400 Maton model. While he was there, he noticed a young man playing with a guitar effects pedal, so Keith asked the store owner how much it cost. When the owner replied that the price was $450, Urban told him, "Put it on my card with the guitar." But Urban didn't want the kid to know about it until after he'd left. When he was leaving, Urban said "Merry Christmas" to the kid and then walked out of the store. "Was that Keith Urban? He said 'Merry Christmas' to me," the store owner recalls the young man saying. And then he told him, yes, and he'd just bought that pedal for you. I know Santa's not really real, but that story makes me at least believe in the magic of Christmas.

Sure, LeAnn Rimes was seen in Los Angeles with someone who wasn't her husband. And Kenny Chesney bragged to Playboy about all the women he'd slept with. And Mindy McCready proved how poorly Ambien and vodka mix.

The past decade may have been sprinkled with a few missteps that might land some country stars on Santa's naughty list. But Santa seems like a nice guy, and he probably overlooks things like that. Especially when there are so many country singers on the nice list.

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Whether you like it or not, technology has found its way into the world of holiday greetings. But things like this E-card from Little Big Town can help you embrace the change and send your best Christmas wishes with some music on the side. The card thanks fans for support, promises new music in 2010 and wishes you a happy holiday. You can even get a free guitar pick from the band if you add the band's very moving version (and very electrified) take on "Go Tell It on the Mountain" to your MySpace music player. So if you have any LBT fans on your list this year, this will brighten their day and give them some cool music to play while wrapping gifts, making cookies and trimming the tree.

This is very nice of Rascal Flatts. They say this free download of their gorgeous recording of "Away in a Manger" is "our gift to you for all of your support throughout the years." And it only takes eight seconds to type in the requested information before the download starts. (Yes, I timed it.) But when you do hit play, listen closely. You'll hear sparse instruments, and then, you won't hear frontman Gary LeVox. At least not at first. Joe Don Rooney sings the first half of the song alone, so literally "'til morning is nigh." Rooney's voice is so spiritual, so it feels very fitting for a song like this. When LeVox comes in and they sing together, even better. "This song is a celebration to our fans," says Jay DeMarcus. "From the bottom of our hearts, we are so proud and grateful for all the work you put into promoting Rascal Flatts each and every day." Download it for yourself, and listen to it every time you need a reminder of what the season's really about.

If all the Christmas hubbub makes you a little bit crazy, Mindy Smith's elegant album, My Holiday, will help you calm your nerves and warm your spirit. It's a pleasant combination of originals (with a few writing credits from Chely Wright) as well as those comforting tunes that everyone knows. Smith possesses a soft, soothing soprano that is well-suited to wintery albums yet she also has fun with some funky overdubs on a seasonal standard, "I'll Be Home for Christmas." Earlier this year, Smith offered an excellent new album, Stupid Love, which I have since played dozens of times. But now that it's December, I believe I'll stick with My Holiday like a warm tongue on a frozen flagpole.

After watching Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special last night for two straight hours, I couldn't help but feel a little up in the air. Yes, Underwood did a wonderful job entertaining the world. But what about her poor sister, Stephanie? Carrie tried repeatedly to find her sister a man, but by the end of the show, nothing.

That family drama aside, the special really did have something for everyone. It wasn't even all that Christmasy. Just kind of an old-school variety show. But Underwood managed to show her range vocally (which she always does) and dramatically (which is kind of new for her).

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Until I saw her doing it on the Grammy nominations concert, I did not know Jennifer Nettles played the piano. So I did some looking around and found out that not only does she play, but she's very, very good. You can see for yourself in these behind-the-scenes videos of Sugarland making their Gold and Green holiday album at Southern Tracks Studios in Atlanta.

In Episode I, "Coming Home," you get about seven minutes of playing along with the thoughts and discussions that go into this particular song. Nettles admits when she first played it for Kristian Bush, she warned him, "It's really gospel-y." She adds that it gives the album some nice diversity because it isn't country or pop. Then Bush talks about how he likes how the song captures the emotion of driving back into your old driveway for the holidays. (Good or bad, you have to admit that that emotion is very real.)

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I've been wearing the same perfume for years (CK One, the unisex one from Calvin Klein.) And I'm not about to change now. But, I swear, I may start wearing Faith Hill's parfum just because I believe so much in what she has to say on her Web site. Especially about balance and especially around the holidays.

Let me preface this by saying I am surrounded by a whole neighborhood of perfection. Dads who cut down their own Frasier firs, moms who host cookie exchanges because they finished their shopping months ago and kids who have pressed shirts and nice haircuts and genuine smiles in their Christmas card pictures.

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