A Skaggs Family Christmas

Amazon.com When the Skaggs and the Whites got together in Ricky Skaggs’s living room to play Christmas tunes, how could it not lead to an album? Both are steeped in America’s bluegrass and country music traditions and there’s nothing like Christmas to bring out the mandolins, guitars, piano, and distinctive vocals. Fans of both groups will admire the simple yet rich playing and singing. From Ricky’s lyrical arrangement and bouncy vocal of “Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow” and Molly Skaggs’s impossibly-young-sounding reading of “Christmas Time Is Here” to Cheryl White’s more stark delivery of “Mary, Did You Know?” underscored by a mandola and warm string section, the 13-song disc offers a balanced set of pop standards and hymns, with a homily-like story from Buck White called “The Christmas Guest.” But it’s Buck’s lived-in vocal and the families’ spirited playing on “Hangin’ Round the Mistletoe” that best characterizes what a friendly and fun Christmas gift this really is. –Martin Keller