In terms of the Mistletunes aesthetic, this one isn't exactly a barn-burner. But as a contemporary pop Christmas record, it's not bad at all. Carly hooked up with Don Was to put together this 2002 album that is about half standard carols, some favorite covers and two originals, with just enough roughage in the auditory experience to keep folks like me from saying "just what you'd expect." The title song is by Livingston Taylor, her former brother-in-law, and the presence of "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)" in an arrangement faithful to the original is an indicator that the song is now a standard part of the holiday repertoire. Her two originals are "The Land of Christmas (Mary)" and "Heaven," co-written with her sister Lucy, and both are solid holiday ballads. The reggae version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is not an original idea, but it is a nice icebreaker for this set. More of a surprise is blues -- she covers the Rev. Gary Davis' "Twelve Gates to the City." And she duets with Willie Nelson on his "Pretty Paper," but I'm not a big fan of folks duetting with Willie; he just doesn't blend all that well with others. This might not make your mix CD or tape, but you wouldn't be ashamed to give it as a gift. In 2003, the album was reissued with two additional songs and retitled Christmas Is Almost Here Again.
Christmas Is Almost Here, Carly Simon (Rhino)
In terms of the Mistletunes aesthetic, this one isn't exactly a barn-burner. But as a contemporary pop Christmas record, it's not bad at all. Carly hooked up with Don Was to put together this 2002 album that is about half standard carols, some favorite covers and two originals, with just enough roughage in the auditory experience to keep folks like me from saying "just what you'd expect." The title song is by Livingston Taylor, her former brother-in-law, and the presence of "Happy Christmas (War Is Over)" in an arrangement faithful to the original is an indicator that the song is now a standard part of the holiday repertoire. Her two originals are "The Land of Christmas (Mary)" and "Heaven," co-written with her sister Lucy, and both are solid holiday ballads. The reggae version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" is not an original idea, but it is a nice icebreaker for this set. More of a surprise is blues -- she covers the Rev. Gary Davis' "Twelve Gates to the City." And she duets with Willie Nelson on his "Pretty Paper," but I'm not a big fan of folks duetting with Willie; he just doesn't blend all that well with others. This might not make your mix CD or tape, but you wouldn't be ashamed to give it as a gift. In 2003, the album was reissued with two additional songs and retitled Christmas Is Almost Here Again.
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