Go Tell It on the Mountain

1	Last Month of the Year 3:03
2	I Pray on Christmas 3:41
3	Go Tell It on the Mountain 3:57
4	The Little Drummer Boy 3:19
5	In the Bleak Midwinter 4:49
6	Joy to the World 2:25
7	Born in Bethlehem 6:36
8	The Christmas Song 2:34
9	Away in a Manger 5:22
10	Oh Come All Ye Faithful 2:10
11	White Christmas 4:03
12	Silent Night 3:19

Barnes & Noble

The legendary Blind Boys of Alabama put their gospel-blues stamp on 12 holiday treasures with Go Tell It on the Mountain, their first-ever holiday release. This stunning collection offers a double dose of treats, in that it features such special guests as Aaron Neville, Mavis Staples, Shelby Lynne, Robert Randolph, Chrissie Hynde, and Tom Waits. The Boys' trademark sound is a natural fit for such beloved holiday spirituals as "Born in Bethlehem" and the title track. But recent years have seen these Grammy winners put a spiritual spin on more contemporary material, and they do so here, largely with great success. Holiday standards like "The Christmas Song," sung with Lynne, and "White Christmas," featuring Les McCann, have an easy, loose feel, while the Harry Connick Jr. composition "I Pray on Christmas" (featuring the legendary Solomon Burke) offers a finger-snapping tempo sure to put a smile on even the grouchiest elf. "Away in a Manger" is transformed into a sultry 12-bar blues that completely turns this traditional carol on its end. Less easily transformed is "Oh Come All Ye Faithful," in which Me'Shell Ndegeocello speaks her lyrics as if roused from a long winter's nap. That aside, Mountain is a monumental holiday treat. Lisa Zhito

All Music Guide

Here we go. Why can't record labels leave well enough alone? Here is the third Five Blind Boys of Alabama record on which the legendary Southern gospel quartet has to have celebrity guests collaborate with them in order to get played on National Public Radio. To make this one seem different than the last two -- and for the record, Higher Ground was a monster album, as the group was backed by Robert Randolph & the Family Band -- this one is a Christmas outing. Here, Solomon Burke lends his talents to "I Pray on Christmas" and Tom Waits on the title track, with Michael Franti stepping in for "The Little Drummer Boy," Chrissie Hynde and Richard Thompson "adding" to the traditional "In the Bleak Midwinter" (which makes sense since Danny Thompson is the bassist on this date). Other guests include Shelby Lynne, Les McCann, Aaron Neville, Robert Randolph and George Clinton (a ridiculous collaboration -- Randolph, a brilliant ambitious musician, doesn't need the fumbling Clinton for anything, especially to play with the Blind Boys), and Me'Shell NdegéOcello. And thank god for Mavis Staples, who adds dimension, depth, and texture to an already glorious sound. Thom Jurek