Chuck Lipsig penned this review,
Based in Saratoga Springs, NY, the McKrells are a bluegrass group comprised (in this recording) of Kevin McKrell (lead vocals, readings), Chris “Bullets” Leske (banjo, mandolin, and guitar), Craig “Laz” Vance (Flatpick guitar), Brian Melick (percussion), John Kribs (bass, guitar), and Sara Milanovich (fiddle and flute). In addition, all members of the band take part in the singing at one time or another. Merry Christmas was put together at Kribs’ home in the Adirondacks and has the feel of a bunch of friends getting together to play for the fun of it — as indeed it basically was.
Most of the songs are traditional Christmas standards with only the first two tracks being original pieces. “Daddy It’s Snowing Out Today” is a solid accounting of upstate New York weather in winter. The lyrics, “Hear the rumble of the plow/ Can we please go, hurry, now,” definitely brings back memories of growing up in upstate New York, although for me it was hearing the rumble of the plow at night that I really liked. Milanovich’s “Cead Caloige Sneachta” is a nicely written and played air — all the more remarkable for Milanovich being only 16 years old at the time of this recording. (The McKrells Web site indicate she’s recorded several previous solo albums, including her first at age 12).
The old standards are given a certain twist by the bluegrass arrangements. The McKrells’ arrangement of “Silent Night” moves along nicely driven by the Leske’s banjo. Oddly enough, the result has a passing resemblance to the sea shanty, “Blow the Man Down.” “Angels We Have Heard on High” plays like a drive down a rural highway, After a standard choir-style singing of the “O Come All Ye Faithful,” the band breaks into a ragtime version — with the triangle still playing. Several of the songs are paired with readings by McKrell, including a well-read, extended excerpt for Dickens’ “A Christmas Carol” — the Cratchit family’s dinner — following up on “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.”
With its cover art of Victorian carolers, you basically know what to expect from this CD: Solid performances of the standard carols. The bluegrass arrangements — especially with Leske’s banjo playing — make some of the songs more up-tempo than normal, but that’s certainly not a complaint from this corner.
(Draguin Records, 1999)
