Get Your Music on Amazon!
Get Your Music - and everything else - on Amazon! All purchases made on Amazon through this link earn a commission for Jesusfreakhideout.com!

JFH Music Review


Dave Barnes, Very Merry Christmas
CLICK COVER TO ENLARGE

Dave Barnes
Very Merry Christmas



Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 10 tracks: 35 minutes, 24 seconds
Street Date: November 9, 2010


Christmas albums by rising stars have a wide field of potential, either to become forever-endearing classics to be played for years to come, or come off as recyclable, poorly-conceived projects that exist only to make a quick buck. Instead of opting for the latter, Tennessee's Dave Barnes makes a considerable attempt with his hat in the ring; with last spring's What We Want, What We Get showcasing his array of polished, southern-style talent, the singer/songwriter returns this November with the lighthearted, but charming, Very Merry Christmas.

Considering the style Barnes is going for, the classic Christmas favorites Barnes chooses to cover fit the bill spot on. The Mariah Carey classic "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and "I'll Be Home For Christmas" both get a southern spin that doesn't offer too many surprises in their execution but are nonetheless done well. "Family Tree" connects the cold weather to family gatherings, and "The Christmas Song," made famous by Nat King Cole, gets a respectable rendition. Even though none of the covers here are particularly profound, they fit the album's overall feel quite well.

What Barnes majors most on Very Merry Christmas, however, are the songs penned by Barnes himself. The opening title track sets the mood for the rest of the album with soft bluesy beats and sparingly placed guitar strums. Lyrically, it's a simple reminiscing about holiday traditions and fun times with family and friends that's hard not to appreciate. "Christmas Tonight" follows Barnes and guest vocalist Hillary Scott (of Lady Antebellum fame) conferring on whether to go out for Christmas festivities or stay inside where it's warm; the duet works well with the song's theme, complementing the Christmas cheer found in the track's composition. It does feel a little too similar to the popular holiday song "Baby, It's Cold Outside" in its premise with its back-and-forth bits between Barnes and Scott, but the track still stands out in the pack as a clever original.

Christmastime romance finds its way into "Meet Me At the Mistletoe," but with lyric choices that feel a tad hackneyed ("the mistletoe is looking so good tonight/let's rendezvous and sneak a kiss, the time is right"), the whole track borders on trite. "I Pray On Christmas" brings a purely-gospel twang to the table with handclap beats and a background choir, and the ballad "Holiday Made For Two" longs for another's love during the yuletide season. The most spiritual track on the album, however, is found in the closing acoustic number "Mary and Joseph;" the track describes the story of the nativity while giving Mary and Joseph a quality of humanness, and it eventually leads into Jesus' death on the cross. Connecting the coming of Jesus to why He indeed came, the album is ended on more than an appropriate and worshipful note.

Very Merry Christmas is so distinctly a Dave Barnes project that there are very few real surprises flung toward the listener familiar with his previous work. Also, there's very little presented here that delves too deep into the sacredness of the holiday, but instead of missing the mark, most of the songs here succeed as fun tributes to Christmas and its celebratory nature, and they fit Barnes' musical charisma like a glove. With both southern hospitality and Christmas cheer in tow, Very Merry Christmas is a fine Christmas journey to warm up to this season.

- Review date: 11/7/10, written by Roger Gelwicks of Jesusfreakhideout.com



(JFH Sponsor Spot)

Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!

 

. Record Label: Razor & Tie
. Album length: 10 tracks: 35 minutes, 24 seconds
. Street Date: November 9, 2010
. Buy It: iTunes
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. Very Merry Christmas (3:50)
  2. Christmas Tonight (With Hillary Scott) (3:19)
  3. All I Want For Christmas Is You (3:56)
  4. Meet Me At The Mistletoe (2:44)
  5. I'll Be Home For Christmas (3:03)
  6. I Pray On Christmas (3:10)
  7. Family Tree (3:57)
  8. Holiday Made For Two (3:54)
  9. The Christmas Song (3:37)
  10. Mary And Joseph (3:59)
  11. O Come Emmanuel (iTunes bonus)

 

 

go to main Album review page
go to Album review archive

 

 

                 
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 13!

Search JFH



This Friday, July 25, 2025
ALBUMS
Anchor & Braille New Mexico [Equal Vision]
B. Tee Told You [Syntax]
Bride Scarecrow Messiah CD Re-Release [Girder]
Empowered SALT - EP (independent)
Homesick Prodigals Different Good (independent)
KDNS After Eden [Syntax]
Olivia Lane Songs About Jesus (Deluxe Edition) [BEC]
Tasha Cobbs Leonard TASHA [Motown Gospel]
Kevi Morse Kingston We Winning [Syntax]
Pulpit Vomit Hospital Lens [Rottweiler]
Anthony & Tiffany Salerno Dance for Jesus - EP (independent)
Taylor & Co Worship Breakthrough - EP (independent)
Josh Wright LEAD (independent)

SINGLES
abenezer i was lost - Single [Gotee]
Joe L Barnes Good Shepherd (Studio Version) - Single [Provident]
Sho Baraka Still Got Faith (ft. L3xdivine) - Single [Syntax]
Gracie Binion Easy To Please - Single [BEC]
Katty Camargo Shine Upon Me - Single (independent)
The CCC Collective Thankful - Single (independent)
C4 Crotona Mr. Gritty - Single [Syntax]
CXMMXNS Trust and Obey (feat. CAIN) - Single [Provident]
EJ Swavv & Nickwit2Ks Growth - Single [Syntax]
Forrest Frank GOD'S GOT MY BACK - Single [River House / 10K]
Andrew Gonoude Closer To You - Single (independent)
Noah Paul Harrison Oh Lord My God (Live) - Single [Bethel]
J.Solo All I Have (ft. Kaboose & MotionPlus) - Single [Syntax]
Kings Kaleidoscope + Kings Kaleidoscope Hymns Amazing Grace - Single [BEC]
Tasha Layton Life In Me - Single [BEC]
Lecrae Bless You (feat. Torey D'Shaun) - Single [Reach]
TobyMac God Did It (feat. Jamie MacDonald) - Single [Capitol CMG]
Matt Maher Wait (Radio Version) - Single [Provident]
Hunter Plake Down to Earth - Single [BEC]
QEW JOYXFIX (ft. Stevie Rizo) - Single [Syntax]
Naomi Raine God Will Work It Out - Single [Tribl]
Rave Jesus Runnin' - Single [Provident]
Saints in Exile Bad Vibes - Single [Syntax]
Xander Sallows infinite - Single [DREAM]
Silent Reflection Left Me for Dead - Single [Syntax]
Michael W. Smith Your Love Is A Flood - Single [The Fuel]
John Stratton The Body and the Blood - Single [Pure Mosaic Services]
Regina Vandereijk You're the Light - Single (independent)
Joel Vaughn Feel It - Single [DREAM]
Zach Williams Killed A Man - Single [Provident]
Zauntee Jesus Down In Florida - Single [BEC]

VINYL
Bride Scarecrow Messiah Vinyl [Girder]

DVD
Jordan Smith The People's Hymnal DVD [Gaither]

This Saturday, July 26, 2025
SINGLES
Anthony & Tiffany Salerno What Would You Do? - Single (independent)

Next Friday, August 1, 2025
ALBUMS
Crash Rickshaw Big Sir - EP [Velvet Blue]
McKamey Legacy Holding to Truth [Horizon]
Ordained Thunder Roar [Girder]
V1 Worship Archives [DREAM Worship]

SINGLES
Dan Bremnes Human - Single [Curb]
Lauren Daigle Let It Be A Hallelujah - Single [Centricity]
Sleeping At Last Believe - Single (independent)

VINYL
Disciple Attack! (Limited Run Vinyl) Vinyl [Girder]



For all release dates, click here!
 

Join honey and save on online purchases!
Get all of JFH's indie compilation now totally free!
Check out depositphotos for royalty free images