Give the gift of music with the Statlers'
Christmas Present, which avoids the seasonal material endlessly recycled on so many country records in favor of ten new original songs written primarily by the group themselves. The nostalgia so much a constant of the Statlers' work is a particularly dominant theme here as well, as tracks like "Old Fashioned Christmas," "Old Toy Trains" and "For Mamma" vividly capture holiday memories, while "No Reservation at the Inn" and "Whose Birthday Is Christmas" underscore the quartet's gospel origins. ~ Marvin Jolly