Album Review: MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET CHRISTMAS Brings Together The 4 Legendary Voices Of Christmas Past From This Rock & Roll Musical Recreation

Heigh Ho, dear lovely rainbow tribe, Bobby Patrick, your rainbow reviewer is back in CD-Land to offer another broken-down breakdown of a new music release. So, strap in and get ready, as Bobby goes on the record ABOUT the record.

This week's album entry in the BobbyFiles comes from the present cast of Million Dollar Quartet as they jam some holiday tunes on MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET CHRISTMAS. For those who may not know, MDQ was a hit Broadway jukebox musical that clocked 500+ performances and a TONY win in its run way back in 2010/11. Over the last decade, there have been many iterations (oh that word!!) of this original outing on the road and in regional theatres across the nation. It is a show that basically KILLS wherever it goes. The premise is historic - Elvis, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis actually all came together for a single day in Sun Records' storefront studio in Memphis in 1956. They jammed, argued, worked together, made stuff up, shared their skills and ideas, and jammed some more in a legendary moment dubbed... you guessed it: the Million Dollar Quartet. It happened only once, under the creative prodding of DJ/Producer Sam Phillips, who lucked into the gathering and had the foresight to run with it and record it.

Now, on to Bobby's fave time of the year - CHRISTMAAAAASSSSS!!! This album brings together the latest Quartet: Jared Freiburg as Jerry Lee Lewis, Mark Andrew Miller as Carl Perkins, Bill Scott Sheets as Johnny Cash, and Alex Swindle as Elvis Presley with the FAB Kathleen Macari as Dyanne (a fictional character written in, so the MDQ's would have a female voice to sing with). Further supporting cast members include Michael Sinclair as Brother Jay, and Jamie Pittle as Drummer W.S. "Fluke" Holland. More than a quartet to be sure, my lambs, and all of them go together to make up this ensemble of a brand new Christmas show based on the original production that was based on the original Quartet, but it is the five (1 quartet + 1 Kathleen ) main actors and the recreations of those historic rockers that are the reasons to make this a Christmas must. Now, it is true that much of the music on this album was originally recorded by the originals during their original careers - BLUE CHRISTMAS by Elvis, SILENT NIGHT by Johnny Cash, etc. and so we can almost hear you shouting, "BUT BOBBY!! Why should we buy this album to listen to "sound-alikes" instead of the original legends?" (And let that be our last ORIGINAL!) Well, Bobby will break it down for you a bit my dearlings. It is this cast of "sound-alikes" that take their performances and elevate them beyond that of impersonation OR impression. It is true that they are all gifted singers and musicians, perhaps even more musically inclined in some ways than their predecessors, in terms of their training for the theatrical stage - though that can only be assumed. "Well, are they exact vocal replicas here Bobby?" In the case of three of them, they are pretty darn close. The most notable variance belongs to Bill Scott Sheets as Johnny Cash, whose very well-trained, trumpet-like vocal production comes, as they say, through the mask of his face, rather than the deeper, woodsy, fireside warmth of Mr. Cash's chest voice. HOWEVER, as we listened through the album, it was Mr. Sheets who took the ear prize and became our favorite of the four. Opting to not try to force his voice through too small a window in range and power, Bill Scott built his own house with his best materials and then decorated that house with Johnny Cash's vocal ornaments. There are moments of listening to him sing SILENT NIGHT that gave Little Bobby the gay gasps, as the spirit of Cash seemed to just inhabit this actor. This is to take positively NOTHING away from his fellow players, who did the opposite of this process. For them, It was the vocal homes of the originals (OK - Bobby Lied) decorated by their present-day occupants, and, in all, the mix is truly wonderful. And then there is Kathleen Macari as Dyanne... not to be overshadowed by fine singers playing real legends, KM's clear, strong, belting voice did not bother with too many adornments but kept her music as straight-up and powerful as it gets. Her SANTA BABY was a standout, with some real bump & grind sex appeal to it. Another hot number from the cast, with Ms. Macari, was the mashup of ROCKIN' AROUND THE CHRISTMAS TREE / JINGLE BELL ROCK, where the company kicked it hard - a real barn raiser. Another prize must be awarded to Mark Andrew Miller, recreating Carl Perkins' performance of the foot stomper COTTON TOP. Though we can't be sure of this song's holiday provenance, Miller plays it wonderfully and the voice is spot on.

So, to answer your question, my dear rainbow readers - The reason to pick up MILLION DOLLAR QUARTET CHRISTMAS, even if you are uncompromising fans of that epic moment in music history and those four rock and roll icons, is this company of players. Delivering with love and respect all the musical ingenuities of Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Elvis Messrs. Sheets, Miller, Freiburg, & Swindle have given their all to give you a single source for this Christmas music with performances that will have you dancing about the house for the holidays... And so we must give this album our very sturdy...

4 Out Of 5 Rainbows

Additional musicians on this album include; Jonny Baird, Martin Lynds, and Chuck Mead

To Stream This For Your Holidays Just Go: HERE

To Find Out About, Or Perhaps Buy Tickets To The Show, Go: HERE

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