by Nikki M. MascaliStaff Writer
Bob Dylan is the voice of poets, generations and … Christmas? With the recent release “Christmas in the Heart,” yes. While at first it’s a little hard to swallow Dylan’s unmistakable voice singing songs many of us have grown up hearing, the CD is certainly interesting.
Some tracks, like Dylan’s take on “The Christmas Blues,” are downright fantastic; others make you wince a little from his croaky vocals. Many arrangements are old-timey and classic, prompting visions of snowy fields and horse-drawn sleighs, while others have a distinct Dylan twist on them, with a pedal steel here, a tasty harmonica solo there.
The album kicks off with sleigh bells and the jaunty “Here Comes Santa Claus,” which marries Dylan’s craggy vocals with a harmonious chorus. There’s a bluesy guitar tinge on “Do You Hear What I Hear?,” and when he sings “a star, a star/ dancing in the night” it works. The twangy “Winter Wonderland,” with great backing vocals and a sometimes breathy Dylan, precedes a joyful and holy “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.” Or as joyful as his nasally rasp allows. A lovely version of “Little Drummer Boy” is slow, with Dylan again playing off a melodious chorus.
“Silver Bells” is traditional with pretty violin, and he captures the Hawaiian Islands with steel guitar on “Christmas Island,” an instrument also found on the slow and sweet “The Christmas Song.”
“The Christmas Blues,” “O’ Come All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles)” and “Must Be Santa” are standout tracks. The first is lounge lizard-y, with Dylan singing how Santa brought him “those brightly packaged, tinsel-covered Christmas blues” before a delicious harmonica burst. He sings the first verse of “O’ Come All Ye Faithful” in Latin, and it’s so lovely a rendition of a holy classic you can almost smell the frankincense at midnight mass. Try to sit still during the polka-ish “Must Be Santa.” Despite randomly — and oddly — shouting out presidents’ names toward the end, it’s hard not to smile picturing the curmudgeonly Dylan asking, “Who’s got a big red cherry nose?/ Who laughs this way ‘ho-ho-ho’?” during the jolly song.
It goes without saying that Dylan is an acquired taste. If you’re not already a fan, “Christmas in the Heart” is not the CD to curl up in front of a fire and drink egg nog to this holiday season. If you are a fan, though, especially of his most recent work, this is sure to be become a Christmas classic for years to come.
Rating: W W W 1/2
