Personnel: James Taylor , Billy Panda (acoustic guitar); Chris Leuzinger (electric guitar); Bruce Bouton (steel guitar); Stuart Duncan (mandolin); Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Dennis Burnside (strings, horns); Robbie Shankle, Doug Moffett, Kelsey Mire, Sam Levine , Jimmy Bowland (woodwinds); Prentiss Hobbs, Mike Haynes , Preston Bailey, Roy Agee, Chris McDonald, Jeff Bailey , Barry Green , Steve Patrick (horns); Bobby Wood (keyboards); Sam Bacco, Milton Sledge (drums, percussion).
Christmas Together is the second holiday album from both Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, but it's the first the wedded couple has made together. It's a swift affair, with 11 songs clocking in at 28 minutes, its brevity suggesting it may not have been made with much care, but its casualness is also its charm. Neither Brooks nor Yearwood -- who duet on several songs, then have their own showcases -- toss away their performances, but the album does feel like it was recorded swiftly, as if the couple knocked off these tunes in a couple of afternoons. In the case of Brooks, this means he relies on humor, joshing his way through "Ugly Christmas Sweater" and mincing around on the duets "Marshmallow World" and "Baby, It's Cold Outside," but Yearwood casually pulls off a stunner on a smoldering "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" These two approaches illustrate the gulf in skill between the two singers, yet Christmas Together also shows that they're nicely matched: there's real chemistry between this husband and wife, who generate so much good cheer that Christmas Together winds up as a chipper soundtrack to all manner of holiday parties. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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