Every year, the winter season is filled with countless new Christmas albums from the latest cavalcade of pop artists. Meanwhile, some legacy acts recycle the holiday classics for an easy paycheck. Of course, there are those timeless records we revisit again and again, with songs so deeply ingrained in our brains they can take us back in just a few short notes — Kenny & Dolly’s Once Upon A Christmas, anyone??
But for me, there is one album that outpaces all of them: Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart. Maybe it’s the soft gravel of his voice that contrasts the downright cheery disposition of the songs — all supported by Bob’s super-tight backing band. Maybe it’s the fifteen tracks themselves, which range from the most traditional, like “O’ Little Town of Bethlehem” and “Silent Night,” to the absurd — you have not experienced glee until you’ve seen this video of “Must Be Santa.” More than anything, I think it’s the sheer joy that comes across in every note. It’s what Christmas should be all about: silliness and happiness and cheesiness mixed with solemnity and tradition and memory.
Naturally then, to kick off our first-ever BGS Wraps series, we present the album in its entirety. Hopefully it becomes a holiday tradition in your family too.
