Music Review: Social Christmasing by Straight No Chaser

Stars: 3 out of 5

Pros: The covers of traditional songs are great

Cons: The lesser known tracks aren’t that great

The Bottom Line:

More Christmas music

Unfortunately, it’s mixed

But fans will still want

Mixed Bag of Christmas Songs

Over the last decade or so, Straight No Chaser has become a huge part of my Christmas music collection.  I’ve got all their releases (including the bonus tracks), and any new Christmas release gets bought immediately.  So when I spotted Social Christmasing last month, I immediately bought it as well.

If you aren’t familiar with the group, Straight No Chaser is an all-male a cappella group.  They launched to fame when their comedic take on “The 12 Days of Christmas” went viral on YouTube, and they’ve made a pretty successful career out of that.  Christmas songs have become their bread and butter since that is what brought them to everyone’s attention, and they have as many Christmas releases are regular releases at this point.

There are only so many standards when it comes to Christmas music.  And, by this point, Straight No Chaser has covered most of them.  In fact, I was a bit surprised to see some of the standards that were showing up on this disc for the first time.  Unfortunately, the new (or at least new to me) songs on this disc just aren’t grabbing me.

The most fun of these tracks is “I’m Your Snowman,” a love song written for the cold and snow.  As I said, this one is fun.  But in the middle of the disc, we get a run of original tracks that aren’t working for me.  “The Cold Don’t Bother Me” and “What Christmas Means” are just okay.  While not technically original, I hadn’t heard “Please Come Home for Christmas” or “A Long December” before either.  Again, the lyrics and music aren’t grabbing me.  Even “Office Party Blues,” which I was expecting to love based on some of their earlier original comedy songs, doesn’t pack the same number of laughs.

But the traditional songs?  They prove that these guys are still at the top of their game.  “Frosty the Snowman” is so much fun.  The combination of “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” with “O Come, All Ye Faithful” is beautiful.  I’m not a big fan of “Happy Holidays/The Holiday Season” but I am enjoying their version.  The talking is growing on me on “Holly Jolly Christmas,” and when they are singing on this track, it is wonderful.

Social Christmasing proves to be a mixed bag.  While the new tracks aren’t working for me, I’m definitely enjoying their fresh take on some more classic Christmas songs.

CD Length: 45:34

Tracks:

1. Silver Bells

2. The First Noel

3. I’m Your Snowman

4. Frosty the Snowman

5. Holly Jolly Christmas

6. The Cold Don’t Bother Me

7. Please Come Home for Christmas

8. What Christmas Means

9. A Long December

10. Away in a Manger

11. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

12. Office Party Blues

13. Snow Globe

14. Happy Holiday/The Holiday Season

15. O Come, O Come Emmanuel/O Come, All Ye Faithful