Reviewed by Paul S Ganney

South Carolina-based singer, songwriter, registered nurse and beard enthusiast Weston Skaggs has a very gentle country-style voice. He complements this with fine vocal arrangements (especially on "Dickens Song" where it sounds like he's singing his own backing vocals as well on the verses) and has some fine guitar work behind it. The whole feel is mid-west country and western meets skiffle meets Christmas classics with some Ed Sheeran style phrasing (let's just say he likes to blur musical boundaries, shall we?). Lyrically this album is the Christmas story rather than "a fabulous family holiday" (although the bells are still there), as you'd expect from someone so clear about his faith. The musicianship is top notch, with arrangements that complement rather than fight with the vocal. I was reminded of Warren Zeavon in places, although he is (as noted above) a bit hard to pin down. "Prepare Him Room" has a very singable chorus (I'm already hoping to do this in church next December) and I particularly liked the "He could have made King Herod bow" line. An accomplished album, one that bears repeated listening.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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