38 Special does NOT rock and absolutely wants you to take their pop seriously in “It’s Christmas and I Miss You“. Sorry, couldn’t keep a straight upper case.
Gary Roberts sleepwalks through “I Don’t Think She’ll Be Here for Christmas” almost holding onto the long notes like he was singing, not simply kvetching. Country with regrets.
“It Wouldn’t Be Christmas” has Chris Bennett trying her best to vamp some life into wet blanket lyrics about nothing sparkling without you. Lounge morphing into showtune.
J-Wonn (feat. Big Yayo) commiserate with R+B about how “She Left Me for Christmas“. Did Christmas offer something she couldn’t refuse?
AI and Dennis Johnson bring us hopes and dreams of your return “Under the Moonlight Snow“. Elements of brooding ballad, tinted with slow pop.
You want lounge? The Mavericks lean into “It’s Christmas Without You” like a producer’s watching, giving it a gutless go that suggests actual heartache. Yeah, it’s supposed to be country–but it got overproduced. I like the mess that it is now.