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Who are those masked me on the CD cover and why did they steal our traditional Christmas songs? Actually they are wearing winter scarves over their faces and it is the band members from Mercy Me who have thrown their toques into the festive derby in a bid for top honors with this year's Christmas albums.

Lead vocalist Bart Millard strode into the hallowed halls of sacred hymns earlier this year with a solo debut Bart Millard's Hymned No. 1 that  retouched the instrumentals with a Dixie Land sound. Mercy Me's Christmas foray demonstrates the same playful attitude by adding their own southern rock flavors to some Christmas favorites.

Brenda Lee's "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" has been covered by a plethora of artists over the decades since it first hit the airwaves but until now it has seldom been done with the same panache as Lee demonstrated. While preserving the attitude of the songstress Mercy Me has put its own signature vocals and instrumentals to this wonderful Christmas classic. Guitarists Mike Scheuchzer and Barry Graul combine with bass player Nathan Cochran to create a party like atmosphere.

I really like what Mercy Me has done with Vivaldi's "Gloria." Although classical musical lovers may shudder at the adaptation I think they have given this old favorite a rebirth. Robby Schaffer's drumbeats permeate the band's rendition  and combine with Millard's vocal strokes  to bring alive the angels' visitation to the shepherds. 

Mercy Me's rendition of the Vince Guaraldi and Lee Mendelson tune "Christmas Time is Here" is one of the prettiest songs that you will listen to this holiday season. Often associated with Charlie Brown's Christmas Mercy Me's reworking of the song creates a quietly reflective ambience.

The medley Winter Wonderland / White Christmas send notice that Bart Millard should definitely be ranked with the top crooners of our day. The use of horns in Winter Wonderland gives the song a fresh Dixie Land appeal.

Traditionalists will delight with Mercy Me's renditions of classics such as "It Came Upon the Midnight Clear, "Silent Night," and "O Holy Night." 

Bart Millard and Brown Bannister penned the beautiful Joseph's Lullaby the final track of the CD. Any father who has watched lovingly over their child sleeping will quietly reminisce with the words, "Go to sleep my son / Baby close your eyes / Soon enough you'll save the day / But for now dear child of mine / Oh my Jesus sleep tight / ."

Put this CD on your shopping list early before the shelves are bare!

By Joe Montague, exclusive rights reserved

Joe Montague is an internationally published journalist / photographer. His ministry is dedicated to the memory of his late son Kent David Montague who went to heaven at the age of 18. All copyright and distribution rights remain the property of Joe Montague. 

Lead singer Bart Millard's smooth vocals were custom made for the tone of these songs. "Little Drummer Boy," "Silent Night," “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear” feature Millards dulcet pipes.  “Silent Night” receives some down-home country tang to this melancholy classic.  “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” goes into rock-a-billy overdrive.  The band gives a nod to jazz with their version of “Christmas Time Is Here.” The final track, "Josephs' Lullaby" is an original song. This piano heavy ballad is a tender take on what Joseph may have spoke to the baby Jesus in contrast to the journey that was before him.

Mercy Me gets better and better.  Leave it to tackling a project that has built in motivation and muse to bring untapped talents to the surface.  The Christmas Sessions stand on their own as a chronicle of a bands commitment to treating this often abused music to an honest, passion-filled and respectful care.

Jon Rice 11/26/2005

Versatility seems to be the goal of MercyMe's The Christmas Sessions.  Comprised of ten old songs and two new ones, Bart Millard and company stretch into several different genres, some faring better than others. 

"It Came Upon the Midnight Clear" receives a rock treatment, with the end result sounding like U2 fronted by Steven Curtis Chapman.   "Winter Wonderland/White Christmas" proves that some songs should not be rearranged, unless the new version is completely original.  "Christmas Time is Here," from A Charlie Brown Christmas , leaves a strange taste when performed by adults. 

"God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" mixes in "The Carol of the Bells,"  While remaining mostly faithful to the original, it comes across as slightly bombastic.   "Silent Night" gets countrified, and features Amy Grant on background vocals (no coincidence with Brown Bannister producing this project).

The best of the lot is the original "Joseph's Lullaby," which revisits the theme of Joseph trying to fathom how this newborn could be his son, as well as the Son of God, and hoping that Jesus can be his son, "if only for just a moment."   The nadir comes in "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree," a song that offers little meaning to Christians to begin with.  MercyMe forays into rockabilly with this one, and the results are not pretty. 

Call me a traditionalist, call me old, or just disagree with me, but my feeling about Christmas songs is pretty simple: if you can't improve upon the original, don't try.   Some of these arrangements are different and modern, but fall flat unless you are really a fan of Christmas songs or MercyMe.  Bonus points, however, for the CD designed to look an old 45 rpm single. 

Brian A. Smith
29 December 2005