This Christmas compilation CD is part of the Kohl’s Cares® series of Christmas CDs that were made available in Kohl’s department stores starting in 2000.  This edition was made available in 2011 and features Country artists performing familiar Christmas songs.  All these songs are available on the respective artists’ Christmas releases.  These are not live or re-recordings of Christmas songs made exclusively for Kohl’s, but songs repackaged by Sony Music Entertainment for Kohl’s to sell through their Kohl’s Cares For Kids® program.

The CD cover is very festive.  It shows an acoustic guitar with gold ribbon and red ornaments against a red background with black snowflake designs.  The CD title appears at the top in white letters.  The artists’ names are listed in a green bar towards the bottom.  At the bottom is the Kohl’s Cares® logo.  A green border surrounds the front cover.

The back of the CD has a dark green background decorated with red snowflake designs.  All the printing is in white letters.  The CD title appears at the top and below is a numerical track listing that includes time signatures and performing artist credits.  At the bottom are typical release copywrite notices.

The front cover opens along a single fold out.  Inside, there is a numerical track listing with time signatures.  Along with each song title are writer and performing artist credits and publishing credits, which helps place a year of recording to all the songs.  That’s very helpful.  All is presented against a white background that features the same snowflake designs, but this time they are in pink.

The back of the front cover has the same dark green background as on the back of the CD along with the same red snowflake designs.  In the center is a message from Kohl’s Cares® thanking you for the purchase of this CD.

There are 12 songs featured on this compilation CD, and they are a mix of traditional Christmas hymns and secular Christmas songs from the 20^th century.

The CD begins with Alan Jackson singing A Holly Jolly Christmas from his first Christmas CD in 1993.  The song opens with jingling sleigh bells and relies on lap steel guitar and fiddle to produce the melody.  Alan Jackson does a fine job with the vocals, delivered in a traditional manner.

The 2^nd song, Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, comes from Martina McBride’s Christmas album from 2007.  The song opens with triumphant brass instruments aided by a cello before all stops and Martina begins her vocals.  The melody is light, played mostly by piano, and in between the verses the brass and cello announce the next verse.  The second verse features more instruments and a chorus as Martina increases her passion for the lyrics.  The brass and cello return to finish the song.

On the 3^rd song, Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, Lonestar presents a soft introduction of light acoustic guitar while a string orchestra comes in to provide support for the melody.  The second verse features more traditional band instruments along with the strings.  All the while, Lonestar’s vocals are soft and passionate.  A nice fiddle is present to keep the Country flavor going.  As the song builds, so does Lonestar’s vocals, always remaining passionate and endearing.  The melody finishes as quietly as it began with an electric piano, and fiddle accompanied by the strings.

For the 4^th song, Kellie Pickler pleads the lyrics to Santa Baby.  The song comes from a single she released in 2007.  The melody is performed with a full orchestra.  The arrangement is traditional, and Kellie presents one of the best versions of this song I’ve heard.

The 5^th song is The First Noel, sung by Carrie Underwood, recorded in 2008.  After an introduction with solo piano, a light string orchestra comes in before all quietens down for the first verse.  Carrie Underwood begins the lyrics accompanied by acoustic guitar and piano.  As the song progresses, the arrangement gets stronger.  Carrie Underwood has a lot of passion and conviction in her voice.  A children’s chorus shows up at the end to add a little harmony.

Kenny Chesney provides a slow, soulful version of O Little Town Of Bethlehem for the 6^th song.  The melody is played mainly with a synthesizer and an acoustic piano.  This does not sound like Country music at all.  In fact, most of the songs on this CD feature string orchestras and traditional arrangements that make you forget you are listening to Country music.  Perhaps the only clue would be in the dialects of the singers.

And that sentiment continues with the 7^th song, I’ll Be Home For Christmas.  Sara Evans delivers an endearing vocal rendition of this Christmas standard.  The melody seems to be mostly synthesizers and piano accompanied by lap steel guitar that keeps the Country flavor going.  Acoustic guitar is featured in the middle instrumental part.  Sara Evans keeps the Country feel going with her deep southern dialect.

Almost out of place is Willie Nelson singing Frosty The Snowman from his Christmas album released in 1979.  Most of the other songs presented here are from the early 2000s and two are from the 1990s.  This song is still heard on Christmas music stations every year.  Acoustic guitar, organ and snare drum provide a light melody.  Willie Nelson provides a traditional interpretation of this Christmas classic.

The 9^th song, O Holy Night, comes from Danny Gokey, and was recorded in 2011.  The melody is produced with piano and acoustic guitar paired together, so the arrangement is very light.  Danny Gokey has a strong, pleading tone in his vocals.  This song gets better as it progresses.  The song ends beautifully as all the instruments stop and Danny Gokey takes control of the lyrics, almost a cappella, until the piano comes back for the last two measures.

The 10^th song is The Christmas Song, by Brooks & Dunn from their Christmas CD in 2002.  If you’re familiar with Brooks & Dunn, then you may be surprised with this song.  The lush string arrangement that opens the song and stays throughout is unlike any of their Country hits.  The arrangement is traditional, but certainly not traditional Country.  I don’t know Brooks & Dunn well enough to know if it’s Kix Brooks or Ronnie Dunn who provides the vocals, but whoever it is does a great job.

Dolly Parton makes an appearance for the 11^th song, Joy To The World.  The arrangement is mostly acoustic.  A string orchestra and light chorus show up to give the song a festive softness.  This comes from Dolly’s Christmas album from 1990.  Dolly uses her natural vibrato to great effect with this Christmas standard.

The CD closes with Brad Paisley singing Silent Night from his 2006 Christmas CD.  The song opens with acoustic guitar and lap steel guitar, and as the song progresses, the instrumentation grows to include synthesizer and electric guitar.  The middle instrumental part features a great acoustic guitar along with the synthesizer providing an ominous background.  Brad Paisley delivers a terrific interpretation of this most recorded Christmas hymn.

This CD is not a typical Country Christmas CD.  Because it combines many different artists, it doesn’t feature the same style of music in every song.  Most arrangements are lush, even though acoustic guitar and lap steel guitar feature in many of the songs.  The only hint that this might be a Country Christmas CD is in the vocals themselves.  You can take the artist out of the Country, but it’s hard to take the Country out of the artist.

Most listeners would be surprised to know who is singing many of these Christmas standards.  There really is not a bad song on here.  All these songs would mix in very well with any Christmas music collection from the 21^st century.  Some are a little Contemporary, some are a little Sacred and some are straight orchestral Pop, but all are great Christmas songs.

I give this CD :

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