‘tis the
season to listen to Christmas carols…sometimes it seems I’m the only one who
actually looks forward to this. I must admit, though, I do get tired of just
hearing the same versions of the same songs over and over and am always looking
for something new. Sometimes it’s a Christmas album by an artist I love
(although this doesn’t always work; Dylan’s is painful to listen to),
othertimes I actually discover a new artist, or open up to someone I was never
able to appreciate before.
This one by
arguably the greatest lead guitarist in hard-rock history, “Joe Perry’s Merry
Christmas” is five years old and it is short but sweet. Of four tracks, two are
big-guitar instrumentals and the other two are classic rock-n-roll Christmas
tunes. ‘White Christmas’ and ‘Silent Night’, with Perry playing the melody on a
heavily-sustained guitar, prove that muzak can sometimes be powerful and
exciting (think Tommy Emmanuel or Carlos Santana’s solo career). ‘White
Christmas’ even comes on with a talkbox intro a-la ‘Sweet Emotion’ that, rather
than seeming clichéd actually helps to make the season bright. ‘Run Run
Rudolph’ shows Perry to be one of the few guitarist who can hold up to Chuck
Berry; the arrangement is big and reminiscent of his old band’s ‘Big Ten Inch’
from the Attic days; it’s as if Joe
Perry is saying, “I am Aerosmith.” ‘Santa
Claus is Back in Town’ is similarly orchestrated and more Blues Brothers than
Elvis.
All in all
a jolly rocker…Ho Ho Ho!
G.T. Evans
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