Eric Clapton
If you are expecting the standard Christmas CD with the same 10-12 songs everybody else does in the exact same way, this CD isn’t for you. If you are looking for a new interpretation of a few standards with a bluesy bent and some newer or more obscure Christmas songs, this is the perfect CD! Music legend Eric Clapton has been able to make many holiday classics and hidden holiday gems fun to listen to again.
Clapton is releasing his first-ever Christmas album as his forthcoming 24th studio album, Happy Xmas. With his signature sound and arrangements, this album embodies that warm holiday feeling and transforms these songs into inviting lyrics and guitar riffs. From bluesy classics to traditional Clapton rock, Happy Xmas has everything you could want to listen to while decorating the house and cutting loose and enjoying family time—plus great production, stellar lead vocals, and amazing guitar licks by a master artist.
If you want a timeless holiday reality check done well, here it is! The old chestnuts—“White Christmas,” “Away in a Manger,” “Home for the Holidays,” “Silent Night”—are mixed together with new and lesser known songs, with a danceable “Jingle Bells” to rock the clubs, the searing blues of “Merry Christmas Baby,” “Lonesome Christmas” done Blues Breakers style, “Sentimental Moments” in a jazzy vein, and “Christmas Tears” down and dirty. Add to that a downright tender version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and it’s 14 tracks that run the gamut of inspired holiday interpretations. Nobody plays guitar like Eric Clapton! Happy Holidays, y’all! EricClapton.com
—L. B.