Search - Marshall Tucker Band :: Carolina Christmas

WOW! CHRISTMAS IN CAROLINA! FANTASTIC MTB

James E. Barton | Indiana | 12/03/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is now my favorite Christmas cd. 1, If you dig the MTB? This is just great. 2, If you like the horn & flute playing of Tucker? You are going to love this. Doug Gray is on top of his game. Chris Hicks is superb. (I love ya Chris! Loved your stuff with the Outlaws as well, Stay right where you are) Doug's Daughter Gabrielle sings lead on "I'll be home for Christmas" She sings like an angel. Clay is back lending a hand. B.B. does a good little tune. One of the best tunes is a duet by Doug & Chris titled "Leave the Christmas lights on" What makes this tune special????? The co-writer of this song is Mr. George McCorkle! George even plays guitar on the track! I have Skynyrd's Christmas cd. I have 38 Specials Christmas cd. They can't even come close too this Marshall Tucker Carolina Christmas!! Buy this quick, Christmas is close! I could listen to this MTB cd in July. It's that GOOD! Happy Holidays to everyone."

Carolina Christmas Delivers Good Vibes

Craig Cumebrland | Turlock, CA United States | 12/18/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In the liner notes Doug states that MTB had started talking about doing a Christmas CD in the early 70s... I've wanted them to do one for years too. I'm sure Tuckerhads everywhere have! Now we all get our wish... and it was certainly worth the wait. I know Christmas will have an extra special glow this year.



Doug gets the festivities rolling with White Christmas, sung in a traditional style but after the last chorus the band kinks it into jammin' overdrive. Very cool! Christmas in Carolina is a joyful celebration - just what you'd expect from Chris. His music always seems to lift your spirit and this original is no different. David Muse plays sax and horns and takes it over the top.



Doug's daughter, Gabrielle, sings vocals on I'll Be Home for Christmas. We were first introduced to her on the Gospel CD when she duetted with her Pops on His Eye Is On the Sparrow. She sounded like a songbird then and I'm glad she was given the reins on a song all to herself. She is one angelic singer! Cousin Clay Cook plays a perfectly subtle acoustic guitar. Brushes offer a sultry edge to a song that would have sounded perfectly at home on the radio in the 40's. This young lady has a voice like the classic torch singers from that era. I'm not sure what she's been doing since Gospel but she needs to release a CD of her own. Her voice is pure ear candy!



The boys give their Tucker treatment to Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I think Tommy would be proud. For some reason this song brought him to mind... Could be that Jerry plays the sax on this one... or it could be Stuart's lead guitar, which sounds a lot like Toy... or mybe it's Paul Hornsby's keyboards. Whatever the case, it sounds like vintage Tucker, circa Together Forever era...



Clay delivers a perky rendition of Let Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Our favorite sound engineer, Keith Glenn, plays bells and does a mighty fine job! A soulful version of Silent Night is delivered full force by Chris with an equally powerful sax solo from David Muse. Chris takes lead again on Snowfall in Georgia - and once again it sounds like classic Tucker, from Paul Hornsby's piano to the nimble guitar work of Stuart and Chris. This song goes down as easy as warm cider on a cold winter's day.



My Christmas in Custody is a riot! BB's sense of humor shines on this one. Chris' harmonica and David's horns are the prefect accent. The jubilation rolls on with Jingle Bells. Family and friends all join in and it's obvious everyone is having fun. Doug takes a bluesy turn on Merry Christmas Baby and does it only the way he can... and Stuart once again is smokin' on the fret board. That new guitar has him sounding better then ever! And man, Paul Hornsby... so awesome to have on board for this ride!



And if something feels right about Leave the Christmas Lights On perhaps it's because it's a George McCorkle original. Doug and Chris sing it as a duet and they compliment each other perfectly. Like the season itself, this song brings warmth to the soul.



A spoken rendition of Twas the Night Before Christmas finishes the CD. Steve Keeter of Sevenmoore plays backing keyboards. It's a perfect bookend to this Carolina Christmas.



There's so many great Christmas songs I'd love to hear from MTB. For me, this is like that one Christmas gift you get to open on Chritmas Eve... Awesome, but you can't wait for more!"