Tuesday, December 10, 2019

'Merry Perry' - Joe Perry's Merry Christmas

            ‘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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