About.com Rating



Bottom Line:

There are only a few perfectly matched married couples in country music. Bruce and Kelly are one of 'em, though, not only with successful solo careers, but also as duet partners. The only thing this disc is lacking is more of Bruce's poignant songwriting (the only original song is "Oklahoma Christmas") - otherwise, it's a lovely showcase for Kelly's powerful voice and Bruce's strong harmonic skills.

To make the holidays bright, it's nice to bring home a happy family.

Happy Holidays is actually a re-release of an earlier disc, a seven-song limited edition holiday disc released in 2003. This expanded disc adds four new tracks, including the hilariously funny Bruce Robison original, "Oklahoma Christmas," recorded live (although where is never mentioned anywhere in the liner notes). Wherever it is, though, the audience is really appreciative of the song! Also new is the redneck favorite, "Please, Daddy, Don't Get Drunk This Christmas," a version of Charlie Louvin's "Shut In At Christmas," and another country Christmas favorite, "Daddy Looked A Lot Like Santa." The beauty of Kelly's vocals do wonders for making a lot of these old songs new again, especially with one of my least favorite Christmas tunes, "Santa Baby." From Kelly, I actually like it. With a little country blues swing, she makes it her own. She also turns out a brilliant version of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," just as lovely as Judy Garland's original.

With hubby Bruce she has a fun time with the wintery tune "Baby, It's Cold Outside," while Bruce sings lead on "The Christmas Waltz" and the beautiful R.B. Morris tune, "A Winter's Tale," which perfectly showcases Bruce's vocal talents.

Since nearly every recording artist out there has done a Christmas album (even a number of notable Jewish singers), in order to make "yet another one" worthwhile, there has to be something unique, something new, or just something that appeals not only to the artist's fans, but to a wider audience. I think Kelly and Bruce achieve that near-impossible goal with unusual selections like "A Winter's Tale" and "Shut In At Christmas," and they completely manage to avoid any "standards" appearing on dozens of other Christmas collections, except for possibly "Blue Christmas," but Kelly does a bang-up job with it, so it really shouldn't matter if you already have four or five other versions in your collection already. (After all, any good country fan already has at least three versions of "Daddy Looked A Lot Like Santa" and two versions of "Please, Daddy, Don't Get Drunk This Christmas.") There's enough here to make the CD worth the getting, if for no other reason than to listen to Kelly's gorgeous voice (and to laugh along with "Oklahoma Christmas").

Song List:

1. Santa Baby
2. A Winter's Tale
3. In The Bleak Midwinter
4. Baby, It's Cold Outside
5. Christmas Waltz
6. Please, Daddy, Don't Get Drunk
7. Blue Christmas
8. Shut In At Christmas
9. Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy
10. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
11. Oklahoma Christmas