Bob DylanAAEs Christmas album: ItAAEs a Hard Snow, a Gonna Fall.By Chris RichardsThis Christmas season, parents will introduce their children to a legendary sage from northern climes renowned for his unsettling facial hair and unmistakable voice.This man is, of course, Bob Dylan. His first-ever holiday album, AoChristmas in the HeartAo, arrived this week, with the 68-year-old ripping through a gaggle of jaunty Christmas carols as if they were so much gift wrap. From AoWinter WonderlandAo to AoSilver BellsAo to AoFirst NoelAo, itAAEs a bizarre and bewildering be·wil·der tr.v. be·wil·dered, be·wil·der·ing, be·wil·ders 1. To confuse or befuddle, especially with numerous conflicting situations, objects, or statements. See Synonyms at puzzle. 2. collection that, in many ways, embodies the rough-hewn traditionalism and forehead-slapping surrealism thatAAEs defined DylanAAEs career. The manAAEs serrated serrated /ser·rat·ed/ (ser´at-ed) having a sawlike edge. serrated (ser´āted), adj having a jagged or notched edge; saw-toothed. croon croon v. crooned, croon·ing, croons v.intr. 1. To hum or sing softly. 2. To sing popular songs in a soft, sentimental manner. 3. Scots To roar or bellow. isnAAEt just jarringAuit actually gives these chirpy chirp·y n. 1. Characterized by chirping tones: a bird with a chirpy song. 2. Tending to chirp: a chirpy parakeet. 3. old chestnuts a sense of menace.And it is awesome.The arrangements on AoChristmas in the HeartAo are both overtly cheerful and staunchly by-the-numbers, making DylanAAEs beleaguered be·lea·guer tr.v. be·lea·guered, be·lea·guer·ing, be·lea·guers 1. To harass; beset: We are beleaguered by problems. 2. To surround with troops; besiege. croak sound both maddening and sentimental, kinda like the Christmas season itself.He throws down the gauntlet immediately with the twinkling pep of AoHere Comes Santa ClausAo, one of the most annoying carols ever written. AoHere comes Santa Claus / Here comes Santa Claus / Right down Santa Claus lane,Ao Dylan rasps, making yuletide glee feel more like lunacy. AoMust Be SantaAo ramps up the insanity to even dizzier levels, with accordions moaning and cymbals cymbals (sĭm`bəlz), percussion instruments of ancient Asian origin. They consist of a pair of slightly concave metal plates which produce a vibrant sound of indeterminate pitch. crashing away at the speed of polka.Where the faster carols feel crazed, the slower carols feel creepy. DylanAAEs guttural guttural /gut·tur·al/ (gut´er-il) faucial; pertaining to the throat. gut·tur·al adj. Of or relating to the throat. guttural pertaining to the throat. braying on AoHark, the Herald Angels SingAo boggles the ears while the sparse AoIAAEll Be Home for ChristmasAo sounds like a reason to bolt your doors.Yet over the course of 15 songs, DylanAAEs huffing and puffing becomes familiar, almost meditativeAulike a snowblower snow·blow·er or snow blower n. A machine that clears snow from a surface by collecting a swath of snow and projecting it forcefully through a chute. Also called snow thrower. howling away on a December afternoon.As odd as this album is, AoChristmas in the HeartAo launches Dylan into the rarefied pantheon of pop icons whoAAEve contributed truly memorable songs to our communal Christmas jukeboxAuearning a spot next to the holiday heat of James BrownAAEs AoFunky ChristmasAo album and the dopey, electronic weirdness of Paul McCartneyAAEs AoWonderful ChristmasAo. The album also places the Bard of Hibbing in the ranks of Barbra Streisand and Neil DiamondAuother iconic Jewish-born singers with Christmas discs to their name. (DiamondAAEs effort, while nowhere near as visceral, also drops this week.)LATWP News Servic 2009 Jordan Press & publishing Co. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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