‘Tis the season.
If you’re one that hates how early we start the Christmas festivities these days, you may want to look away.
On Friday, Jon Pardi released his first Christmas album titled Merry Christmas From Jon Pardi. The album features a mix of original songs and covers of Christmas classics, and comes just 13 months after his most recent album, Mr. Saturday Night. Pardi announced the album earlier this month on Instagram:
Christmas music is one of the most divisive topics of the entire holiday season. You’re either the person who starts playing “Jingle Bells” on November 1st, or you dread the day stores play the same five versions of the same five songs for nearly two months. I’m personally of the former camp. The sooner I hear Christmas music on the radio the better, so this is the perfect excuse to crank up the volume in the car and annoy those family members that can’t stand it.
The key to a good Christmas album is balancing your own originals with covers of existing songs, and the “Head Over Boots” singer finds that balance on this record. “Beer For Santa” and “400 Horsepower Sleigh” are both lighthearted tracks that put a fun country spin on classic Christmas imagery, and his duet with Pillbox Patti, “I’ve Been Bad, Santa” has me wanting to hear these two collaborate on a non-holiday track.
Pardi really shines when he’s putting his own touch on the Christmas hits we’ve been hearing for years. His version of “Winter Wonderland” has the perfect amount of country swing to freshen up the track, and his cut of “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” is one of my favorites I’ve heard. I didn’t think I’d ever hear a country version of Mariah Carey’s “All I want For Christmas Is You,” but Pardi manages to put a unique spin on the classic that made it a fun listen.
Christmas music is wonderful, but it is a stale genre as a whole. We need more country stars mixing up the holiday radio cycle with some new cuts, and I expect to hear Jon’s newest entries often this December.
Check out some of the new songs here: