With
Gerry Beckley
and
Dewey Bunnell
handling all guitars and vocals on this
holiday
album,
Andrew Gold
becomes a third member of sorts, producing, arranging, engineering, and playing all the other instruments (except for the viola on
"Let It Snow"
). Although three of these 13 tracks are
-themed originals, the bulk is devoted to
America
's interpretation of
Christmas
standards
, most of them very well-known:
"Winter Wonderland,"
"Let It Snow,"
"White Christmas,"
"Sleigh Ride,"
"Silver Bells,"
"Frosty the Snowman,"
"Silent Night,"
"The First Noel."
It's competent, but has the air of a throwaway, in common with many
albums by past-their-prime acts. Certainly
-type traits are often heard, as on the curtain-raising
where some of the harmonies seem arranged to mimic the ones from their old hit
"A Horse With No Name."
It's an understated, tame, and inconsequential recording with a smooth
adult contemporary
rock
sheen, not high on the ladder of options for either
collections or
releases. ~ Richie Unterberger