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Released in November of 2005, The Happy Holidays features fifteen holiday tunes done bluegrass style. Includes two new songs; "The Happy Holidays" and "Heed His Fathers Call". With Art, Matt, Lisa, Mark and Jeff Whitson on banjo.
Critical Acclaim for The Happy Holidays
Bluegrass Unlimited: "A very well thought out and well-crafted effort ... as good as any I have heard." One can only speculate at the interest the bluegrass community might or might not have in yet another recording of most of these songs ("Angels We Have Heard On High," "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear," "Up On The Housetop," "Beautiful Star Of Bethlehem," "Holly Jolly Christmas," etc.), but this seems not to be just a knock-off cash-in-on Christmas effort recorded in those last two hours of studio time the band had already paid for. If you have a yearning for the sounds of Christmas with a bluegrass tinge this year, this is a very well thought out and well-crafted effort. Lisa Fuglie, who handles most of the band's leads, has a wonderful pure vocal delivery that complements these songs nicely. The instrumental support is also creative and tasteful. One nice touch is tagging "Jerusalem Ridge" onto a fairly jazzy version of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." It fits very well. The band members also contribute two originals, "Heed His Father's Call" by Anderson and "The Happy Holidays" by Anderson and Fuglie. There are a fair number of bluegrass Christmas releases out there already, and the seem to be available on a regular basis, but this release by Monroe Crossing, while not long on new material, is about as good as any I have heard. California Bluegrass Association “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is given an upbeat jazz-like treatment that undergoes a genesis into “Jerusalem Ridge.” When Monroe Crossing takes off on a snappy 4/4 arrangement of “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear,” it reminded me of the energy one might find in Reno and Smiley’s bluegrass repertoire. ...
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