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Merry Christmas Baby
Words and Music: Lou Baxter, Johnny Moore
Lead Vocal: Taylor

This song turned out to be the signature song of this album. It was a song that they could perform live, and perform well. Taylor's vocals matured from the first major album to become extremely soulful. The lower voice suits him. Anyone who had doubts that his talent would carry over through puberty need worry no longer. With the first song on this album, you can tell that the voice is better than ever. The song is very catchy and Hanson's version is one of the best I've heard. Grade: A

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What Christmas Means To Me
Words and Music: Allen Story, Anna Gaye, George Gordy
Lead Vocal: Zac

Zac! Is that you? From the sweet, breathy voice in "Lucy" to this was a long and beautiful leap. Not only does his voice sound more controlled, it has a deep quality that he couldn't achieve on Middle of Nowhere. Could puberty be far off? If the transition from the last album to this one is any indication, Zac should have no trouble adjusting. This song is one you can definately dance to and Zac's "oh's" are just too cute. Grade: A

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Little Saint Nick
Words and Music: Brian Wilson, Mike Love
Lead Vocal: Isaac

Let me just say that I love those "wah wah wah's". Vintage Beach Boys. Isaac takes the lead for the first time in the album with this upbeat and catchy tune. It's a lot more rock n' roll than the original version. Isaac sounds very confindant in his vocals and I'm impressed by his range. Grade: A-

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At Christmas
Words and Music: Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson, Zachary Hanson
Lead Vocal: Isaac

It took me a little while to fully appreciate this song. Once I did though, I loved it. The cello in the back adds a sweet traditional tone to the song. Isaac does an amazing job with the vocals. I would like to say, though, that all three of them tend to pronounce "Christmas" as "Christmos" when singing it. I know, I'm being picky. It's just something I noticed. Isaac does tend to sing more clearly than Taylor. I can understand a lot more of what Ike sings, and you should definitely listen to the words in this song. They are some of the more mature and beautiful lyrics that the guys have written. Grade: A

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Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)
Words and Music: Phil Spector, Ellie Greenwich, Jeff Barry
Lead Vocal: Taylor

Now I can't fault Hanson for the fact that there is basically one verse in this song that Taylor keeps singing over and over again. If you've read any of my other reviews, you'll know that I have an aversion to that. I like variety. But the tune is so catchy that I can put the repeated lyrics aside. Taylor does his usual thing with this song. He really gets into the music and hey, I definitely believe that he wants his baby home. Grade: B+

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Rockin' Around The Christmas Tree
Words and Music: Johnny Marks
Lead Vocal: Zac

Aaaaaah, Zac. First off, I love this song. I have always loved it and Zac's precious vocals make it even better. He adds a lot more "rock" to the "rockin'". When my sister first heard the song she played it 5 times in a row. It's just a song you want to put on and dance around to. I thought the "oooo's" at the end were a nice touch. Again, Zac's voice sounds a lot more controlled and confidant. Grade: A

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Christmas Time
Words and Music: Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson, Zachary Hanson, Mark Hudson
Lead Vocal: Taylor

Okay! We have come to my favorite song on the album. I love this song and the fact that Hanson wrote it makes it even better. You could catagorize this as a power ballad. It's the kind of Christmas song that has long-lasting potential. I really wish that they had sang it live, or released it to radio stations, because I could see this song being one of those that would be played over and over each year. Taylor vocals are absolutely breath-taking. If you haven't guessed that I like the older sounding voice by now, then I suggest you go back and re-read my reviews. I couldn't name all the great things about this song. I do have a question though. Towards the end of the song, Tay sings "Do you really remember how it use to be," and then he sings a line that I can't decipher. The lyrics say it should be "sitting under the Christmas tree" but that is not what he says. If anyone knows then please tell me. Oh, there is one thing about this song that bothered me. Tay needs to sing more clearly. When he says "weapons" in this song, I could have sworn I heard "whale phones." I know, that doesn't make sense. But who cares, I love the song too much. Grade: A+

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Everybody Knows The Claus
Words and Music: Isaac Hanson, Taylor Hanson, Zachary Hanson
Lead Vocal: Taylor

He he he he. I love the lyrics of this song. Very original, I would say. Hmmmm, let's sing about the eating habits of good old Santa Claus. A strong beat and killer vocals from Tay make this song "a ton of fun" as Tay would put it. (Watch T, T & MoN to count the number of times he says that phrase, or looks like he's about to) The underlying harmony is also really good. Taylor's voice reaches cool and new deep places during this song. Grade: A

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Run Rudolph Run
Words and Music: Johnny Marks, Marvin Brodie
Lead Vocal: Isaac

Well, I don't listen to this song as much as the others on the album. However, I think that they really kick it live when they play it. They do an amazing job. Ike's guitar solo is extremely impressive as is Tay's fast keyboarding and Zac's tricky drumming. I can't blame Hanson for the fact that the tune is not my favorite. All I can say is that Isaac performs this song as well, if not better, live, which is a hard thing to do. The best part of this song, however, is the instrumentation. I was shocked at how good they were (and then I had to ask myself why that was). It's just that in no other song was the instrumentation the biggest part of the song. Some may disagree with me on that. But I do believe that the vocals played second to the music on this song. Grade: B+

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Silent Night Medley (O Holy Night, Silent Night, O Come All Ye Faithful)
Traditional Arrangement by Mark Hudson and Hanson

Stunning. That's what this arrangement is. My favorite Christmas song is O Holy Night and the harmonies in that portion of the song are amazing. Zac's solo on O Come All Ye Faithful is very impressive. We get to hear the full range of his voice, especially when he hits that really high note. Taylor's ending vocals on O Holy Night are very extrememely powerful. I felt like I was listening to a gospel choir. The arrangement was skillfully done and the pieces fit together very well. Grade: A

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White Christmas
Words and Music: Irving Berlin

When I first heard people talking about this song on the album, I could tell that some really didn't get the fact that the song was supposed to sound grainy, like an old recording. It ties in with the grainy sound that you hear right before "Merry Christmas Baby" so that thematically, you're suppose to feel like you're listening to a record player. Maybe it's reminiscent of their 50's and 60's influences. They have said that their household still owns a record player. Man, my parents gave ours away the moment my dad bought his first cd player. Too bad, we still have vinyl albums. Anyway, back to the song. The harmony is done well and the ending chat with Mackie was cute. Grade: A-

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Overall: A