This is how you imagine the pre-Christmas period: A walk in the snow, if someone would lie down, mulled wine, cookies – and from the boxes the soft country voice of Alan Jackson snows. Within a few bars it becomes cosy and solemn.
Especially when Jackson unpacks a ballad like “If You Don’t Want To See Santa Claus Cry”. The song, written by his house and farm producer Keith Stegall, comes from the 1993 album “Honky Tonk Christmas” – and plays pretty much everything that makes Country-Christmas so unique: soulful melodies, melancholic mood, original lyrics and great musicians. The bluesy, slow shuffle is about a sad Santa Claus who could lose his way in the snow when tears cloud his eyes. May his Holde quickly return to him. Sure, it’s as sweet and kitschy as a Nuremberg chocolate gingerbread – but packed in excellent harmonies and garnished with a fantastic pedal steel guitar solo by Paul Franklin. In order to avoid heartburn, Jackson adds “I Only Want You For Christmas”, a cheerful Christmas rocker with wonderful solo interludes. A song double that ennobles every Christmas.
