Chris Isaak
distinguishes his second holiday album -- the first, the plainly titled
Christmas
, arrived back in 2004 -- by designing
Everybody Knows It's Christmas
as a throwback to the pre-
Beatles
days of rock & roll. Not for nothing is this released on
Sun Records
; the album consciously evokes the simple, spare rockabilly pioneered at the landmark Memphis studio in the 1950s. That doesn't mean this is a greasy, Dixie-fried affair, though. Working with producer
Dave Cobb
,
Isaak
achieves a clever blend of the
Sun
aesthetic and the form of early
Elvis
RCA Records
. It's lighthearted and playful -- it's a Christmas record, after all -- but it's not drenched in extraneous studio sweetening; whenever there are supporting vocal harmonies, they're not pushed into the forefront, they're used as subtle coloring.
and
Cobb
get the vibe just right, and the singer/songwriter also contributes a number of snappy originals, like the clever "Almost Christmas" that bops like vintage
Ricky Nelson
. All of it adds up to a minor Christmas miracle: a deliberate throwback that feels fresh and fun. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine