Who needs reindeer, Christmas lights and Santa Claus, when they have pickup trucks, KC lights and Jon Pardi? Christmas meets country in Jon Pardi’s newest album “Merry Christmas from Jon Pardi.” The bizarre mashup of melodies will force even the most avid country music fans to ask whether some things just don’t go better together.
The playlist opens with two original songs that find a good balance of “countrifying” Christmas traditions. Merry, fun and not taking itself too seriously, “Beer For Santa” and “400 Horsepower Sleigh” are probably my two favorite songs from the album. These two are exactly the kind of song I was hoping to get when I saw this album come out.
After that strong start, Pardi turns to a list of satisfactory covers of classics like “Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow” followed by more obnoxious singles like “Merry Christmas from the Keys” that try way too hard to squeeze Christmas into an unrelated country song.
Almost unbelievably, one of my other favorite songs on this soundtrack was Pardi’s version of “All I want for Christmas Is You.” Mixing in a little country flair, Pardi topped the admittedly very low bar of Mariah Carey’s song.
Halfway through the 40-minute collection, Pardi appears to find his stride in a new version of “Please Come Home For Christmas”. His sad-cowboy country style combines perfectly with the somber tone of the song. It was a clear standout from the other songs, until, in the most absurd decision in music since Mr. West changed his name to Ye, Pardi transitioned the ending of the song into a dreadful rendition of “Amazing Grace.” Attempting to turn the solemn tune of the song into a Broadway-esque spectacle, Pardi creates a flamboyant mess that would make even Dolly Parton blush.
After that, the playlist finishes with a few forgettable songs that I genuinely don’t recall. A penultimate rendition of “Winter Wonderland” that was only better than all the other versions you’ve never heard before almost saved the album from a crash landing. However, “A Long December” finally brought this album to an end with an intolerably repetitive, “na-na-na-na. Na, na, na, na-na-na-na. Na-na-na-na, yeah.”
While I definitely enjoyed a few songs in this album that I will continue to listen to for the rest of the season, I doubt many people will be listening to this playlist next year. But hey, at least it’s not Mariah Carey. And with that final note, I bid a Merry Christmas to all, and to all the Mariah Carey fans, Bah Humbug.
