The mostly tepid "All-Star Country Christmas" will fit the bill only if you're after some softly twangy background music. Even the "Fall on your knees" line in "O Holy Night," usually a guaranteed shiver-producer, goes by un-remarkably in Reba McEntire's version.
A few songs have kick. Gary Allan's rendition of Harry Connick Jr.'s "(It Must Have Been Ol') Santa Claus" sports a bouncy New Orleans rhythm, and Dwight Yoakam's "Santa Can't Stay" is a cute ditty with a driving bass line. Clint Black's "Looking for Christmas" adds Celtic flavor. Vince Gill sings "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear" in a surprisingly high key; it's a crystalline, sweet rendition. Nothing else stands out, including cuts by country chart-toppers Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, George Strait and Toby Keith.
