New Christmas Music - 2017

Right around October/November each year I start researching new Christmas album releases. It's pretty typical to find one or two exciting albums, a few with promise, and a truckload of garbage. This year was no different. Here's the breakdown:

• Exciting
• Sia - Everyday is Christmas
• Promising
• Gwen Stefani - You Make It Feel Like Christmas
• Fantasia - Christmas After Midnight
• Cheap Trick - Christmas Christmas
• Lindsey Stirling - Warmer in Winter
• Ugh
• Hanson
• 98°
• Blake Shelton
• Reba
• Josh Groban

Disclaimer! I haven't listened to the majority of these yet. But if you examine the track lists and know a little something about the artist, you can make a pretty solid prediction. A few quick examples:

Exciting: Yes, we're excited for Sia because this is her first foray into holiday music, but that's not all. Her entire album is originals! There is certainly nothing wrong with mixing in a few covers, but Sia is going all out and-SPOILER ALERT- it pays off.

Promising: I don't know that I'm the biggest Cheap Trick fan, but rock Christmas albums are always a fun addition to the canon.

Ugh: What usually ends up in the "Ugh" category are what I call "Obvious Money Grabs" (OMGs); When an artist throws together an uninspired Christmas album just for some easy revenue. This includes your frequent offenders (Reba, Amy Grant, Pentatonix (sorry, not sorry)) and your 90's pop-stars trying to become relevant again (Hanson, 98°) among others.

We won't be rash and outright discard a Christmas album on a hunch. So, my gift to you: I'm going to listen to all of these, and I'll report back with what's worthwhile and what's a lump of coal.