George Strait - Classic Christmas

For his third holiday album -- he releases one every decade, more or less like clockwork -- George Strait concentrates on the basics, something that's evident from the very title of Classic Christmas. There's not a new tune or obscurity among the album's ten songs, as Strait relies heavily on carols like "Silent Night," "Joy to the World," and "O Come, All Ye Faithful," adding a couple relatively newer standards like "Jingle Bells" and "Up on the Housetop" for balance. This makes Classic Christmas quite a bit different from 1999's Merry Christmas Wherever You Are, which concentrated on brand-new tunes and secular favorites like "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!," "The Christmas Song," and "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" -- songs that he pulled off nicely, but the simplicity of these standards is well suited for Strait's warm, easygoing touch. Indeed, Classic Christmas is quite warm and easygoing, a relaxed collection of gentle acoustic numbers and subdued Western swing ("Jingle Bells" and "Upon on the Housetop" benefit quite a bit from the latter) that feels as true to Strait's sound as it does to the spirit of the season. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Name Credits Amy Garges Production Assistant Brady Barnett Digital Editing Casey Wood Mixing Assistant Chuck Ainlay Audio Engineer, Engineer Don Cobb Mastering, Audio Engineer Eric Conn Mastering, Audio Engineer George Strait Producer, Arranger, Audio Production Kyle Lehning Mixing Richard Hanson Mixing Assistant Todd Tidwell Assistant Engineer, Engineer Tony Brown Producer, Audio Production