The Boxmasters - Christmas Cheer

The Boxmasters
Christmas Cheer

(Sawmill/Vanguard)

First Appeared in The Music Box, December 2008, Volume 15, #12

Written by John Metzger

Sat December 6, 2008, 06:30 AM CST

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Christmas Cheer, the latest offering from The Boxmasters, follows closely on the heels of the group’s self-titled debut, which was issued this past summer. With so little time between efforts, no one should expect the group to have made any dramatic alterations to its approach. Sure enough, Christmas Cheer merely reinforces The Boxmasters’ template of rugged country-rock. Much like its predecessor, the endeavor also is a flawed affair that pits Billy Bob Thornton’s plainspoken delivery against the rousing roadhouse ruckus that is raised by his collaborators. Yet, almost in spite of the outfit’s deficiencies, it is a surprisingly successful affair.

Without a doubt, the title to Christmas Cheer is meant to be taken as a tongue-in-cheek gesture. Although the music is too feisty to become mired in its own sorrow, the sentiments that are expressed throughout the endeavor are anything but joyous. Thornton dutifully plays his curmudgeonly role to the hilt — after all, it’s one to which he is well suited — while the rest of The Boxmasters supports his gruff delivery with an instrumental backing that packs a muscular, rockabilly-imbued punch. The band bashes its way, for example, through the spiritual We Three Kings, and with an uproarious air of determination, it forcefully renders Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer’s tale of an unwanted misfit who ultimately saves the day.

The point of Christmas Cheer, however, isn’t simply to revitalize a handful of well-worn holiday classics. Instead, The Boxmasters threads the traditional fare through a carefully constructed narrative framework that explores the sadder side of the Yuletide season. Beneath the surface of its truck-stop toughness, it seems, lies the beating heart of humanity. With tracks, such as a cover of John Prine’s Christmas in Prison and its own My Dreams of Christmas, the collective paints a sympathetic portrait of the pain and anguish that some folks face, as hard times wash away a child’s sugarplum visions and deepen an inmate’s feelings of lonely isolation.

If the economy doesn’t make a rapid recovery, Christmas Cheer may come to define this year’s holiday season. At the very least, it proves that with The Boxmasters, Thornton finally has found a comfortable home. starstarstar

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Of Further Interest...

Gene Autry - Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Other Christmas Classics

Dr. Elmo - Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer

Various Artists - Mother, Queen of My Heart

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Christmas Cheer is available
from Barnes & Noble. To order, Click Here!

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Ratings

1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!

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Copyright © 2008 The Music Box