Honky Tonk Christmas
How is a honky-tonk Christmas different than a regular Christmas? Well, the predominant color is blue, rather than the more traditional red and green, and the stockings aren't filled exactly the way they were when you were a little one. But when Alan Jackson sings the songs of a honky-tonk holiday, the spirit is as infectious as can be, whether he's exploring the secular side of the holiday (as on a moving rendition of Merle Haggard's "If We Make it Through December") or delving into the spiritual (as on his duet with Alison Krauss, "The Angels Cried"). The Chipmunks--Alan's special guests on the silly "Santa's Gonna Come in a Pickup Truck"--are a little out of place, but it's a little too Grinch-like to dwell on that one flaw.--David Sprague