OK, so this review might feel like a bit of deja vu for any of you who actually cared what I had to say about an obscure Christmas album that was put out by a Christian rock band called Relient K four years ago. The reason for that is simple - it's because the band has re-released the album. Normally I wouldn't consider a re-release of an album I'd already reviewed to be worth doing a new write-up on, but in Relient K's case, several factors are in play:

1) They've become much more well-known, including making some headway in mainstream rock, since the original release of this album.
2) The original release was merely a nugget for fans, sold as a bonus disc with copies of Two Lefts Don't Make a Right, But Three Do, and felt rather unfinished at roughly 26 minutes in length, so this can be seen as the completed version.
3) They've added six new songs to the previous version's ten (plus one winter-themed song they recorded in 2005 for good measure), so that new material alone would have warranted a review.
4) They've become one of my favorite bands since I last reviewed this, so it's kind of fun to revisit the old stuff and compare it to the new.

Yeah, I think that about sums it up. To briefly clue you in if you've never heard of this band, Relient K is a five-piece pop/punk act that puts such much-needed wit and composition into a genre that has worn thin with many listeners over the last decade or so. It's never been a genre that I'd personally call a favorite, but Relient K's willingness to experiment by writing songs with "sections", throwing in a hefty dose of piano, etc., is really what wins me over. It stands to reason that most bands would soften things up a bit and get more sentimental when recording a Christmas album, so there comes a point where it's almost useless to refer to the word "punk" at all when describing their sound. But their older material, as well as one of the newer tracks, does serve as a reminder of their (relatively) more rambunctious roots. Perhaps that makes this update of their Christmas disc a little disjointed, but I'd also say that it's caused the project to graduate from "cute stocking stuffer" to "sits under the tree, individually wrapped, with a pretty bow", because for the most part it's a vast improvement.

It appears that I've forgotten to actually tell you what the darn thing's called, and that's only because it's one of those unwieldy puns that seems to get worse with every new album the band puts out (Mmhmm being the only exception). Try to get through this one without wincing: Let It Snow, Baby... Let It Reindeer. Yeah, I know. GROAN. Fortunately, what's contained within is not just a bunch of novelty songs with bad jokes that will make you want to spew your half-digested chestnuts all over the open fire. (Though there are a few of those.) Particularly on several of the newer tracks, the band shows a sensitivity to both the spiritual and sentimental sides of Christmas, that extends beyond just reliving nostalgia and actually gives some thought to the meaning of the holiday season and the emotions that it triggers in real people (sometimes even the lonely, depressed ones). The band covers a surprising amount of ground in 17 tracks, mirroring the versatility of their non-seasonal albums, but letting the humor shine through a little more often. Really, a hodgepodge of holiday-themed songs recorded over the past six years (the oldest tracks were originally released on the BEC Recordings compilation Happy Christmas, Vol. 3 in 2001) should translate to a total mess, so it's a testament to the band's knack for great harmonies and clever arrangements that it doesn't. The fact that someone like me who normally ducks and covers at the first sign of Christmas music every year would actually rate this puppy four stars really oughta tell you everything you need to know about this one, but I'll go into the usual details anyway.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
The first track gets things off to a bit off a soft start, actually - they've re-imagined this sentimental tune as a rock shuffle, but despite the prominent use of electric guitar, it's more mushy than edgy. The bells are a nice touch, and Matt Thiessen's falsetto is quite effective here, so there are worse ways to open a Christmas album, even if this lacks the punch of the opening from the original version of this album (we'll hear that song further in).

Sleigh Ride
This is definitely one of those winter-themed songs that crops up every Christmas and that I always roll my eyes at, because it's all about jolly winter weather, and this L.A. kid who has never been on a sleigh ride can't relate to all of the imagery about sleigh bells ring-ting-tingling and the freezing weather making your lover's cheeks all red and pretty. RK seems to have gone a bit soft with two tracks in a row, due to Matt's slow, dramatic first verse on the piano, but then the bass picks up and they cleverly make it sound like swing, before finally kicking into high gear with the electric guitars and Matt's voice on full blast. It's these clever change-ups, plus an unexpected key change, that remind me of Relient K's talent for not just playing fun, catchy tunes, but also taking great care to arrange them effectively. Despite the sentimental schmaltz, this is probably my favorite of the new tracks (a live rendition complete with an indoor snow machine certainly helped when I saw them on tour with Switchfoot last month).

Merry Christmas, Here's to Many More
It always hurt to be all by myself this time of year
A cold and lonely Christmas Eve
And living out my days alone, well, that had been my deepest fear
But You promised You won't leave...
The band's more "mature" side remains at the forefront for this original song, an acoustic guitar-driven ballad that finds Matt reflecting on a year gone by, admitting to feeling a bit lonely and out-of-tune with the spirit of the season, but ultimately expressing thanks to Jesus Christ for getting him through. After the light-hearted carols that opened this album, it seems like it's a little soon to get all serious and introspective, but the band does lighten up the song about with the background vocals singing "Fa la la" during the bridge (though this trick was sort of borrowed from an older Christmas song of theirs) and the funny little tuba blurting during the chorus. I'm not sure that all of this works the way they intended it to, but what the heck, Christian radio seems to love this one, and for once, that ain't a bad thing.

Angels We Have Heard on High
The original version of the album got off to a rip-roaring start with exactly the kind of cover of this well-known carol that you'd expect from a young pop/punk band. Of course, Relient K generally tries to have at least one unpredictable element in everything they do, and in this case that means some wonderfully layered backing vocals that weave in and out during the infamous long "o" in "Gloria". All four of the guys who were in the band at the time (bassist Brian Pittman left in 2004, but the original recordings from 2003 are still intact on this album) could sing, and at the time, it was rare when they got to fully show off how good they sound together when singing different parts, so it's nice to get a glimpse of it here. Aside from that, it's a fairly standard "slightly snotty pop/punk" cover. They skip the chorus and go through the last two verses back to back, so the whole thing is only about two minutes long.

Deck the Halls
The "title track" from the original version of the album (which was called Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand, if you can believe it) one has never been one of my favorite carols, but Relient K keeps it fun by not playing it entirely straight. Guitarist Matt Hoopes builds the song around a repeating riff that plays with the "Fa la la la la" melody of the song while taking it through an unexpected chord progression. Aside from that, the song does its thing in just over a minute and then gets out of the way, fading into an interesting synth outro that might be intended as a half-joking tribute to Manheim Steamroller.

12 Days of Christmas
What's a partridge? And what's a pear tree?
Well, I don't know, so please don't ask me
But I can bet those are terrible gifts to get...
As far as the fun songs go, this one might be the album's masterstroke. While "12 Days of Christmas" was a fun song while I was a kid, because any song about numbers put a smile on my face (I was a math geek, after all), you'd think that a recorded version of this song would get old somewhere around day seven. Relient K manages to rip through it in record time (seriously, the first five verses take about 30 seconds total), and in the process, they make sure to add a little something unexpected at various points, just to catch the listener off guard (including adding their own little refrain that comments on how dumb these gifts are). It's not so much funny as it is amusing, but nevertheless I have to keep myself from snorting and snickering too loudly in my cubicle when I listen to this one at work. It's almost as much of a guilty pleasure as their cover of "The Pirates Who Don't Do Anything".

Silent Night/Away in a Manger
The band slows things down here, using mostly piano and programmed rhythm, as Matt Thiessen lowers the "snotty" level in his voice long enough to sing a sensitive medley of two of my favorite slower carols. (Because, as you know, medleys are a requirement on all Christmas albums) He only does a few verses of "Silent Night" before shifting into "Away in a Manger", which sounds like he's attempting it in too low of a key, but the rolling piano makes for an excellent segue into the next song.

I Celebrate the Day
Here is where You're finding me
In the exact same place as New Year's Eve
And from a lack of my persistency
We're less than half as close as I want to be...
This was my far the most sensitive and surprising of the original songs on the 2003 version of this album. It's a simple, honest, and moving reflection on mankind's tendency to continually miss the point of Christmas, mixed with a bit of musing on whether our Savior knew his purpose from the moment He took His first breath as a human baby. (Reminds me a bit of Rich Mullins' classic "Boy Like Me/Man Like You".) The song builds gently on Matt's rolling piano (a rarity at the time, but the piano has become a signature part of their sound since then), with the percussion adding momentum and yet not being too obtrusive - in many ways it reminds me of their older song "Less Is More". Definitely one of the best original Christmas songs I've ever heard.

In Like a Lion (Always Winter)
When February rolls around, I'll roll my eyes
Turn a cold shoulder to these even colder skies
And by the fire my heart it heaves a sigh
For the green grass waiting on the other side...
After 5 songs in a row from the original album, the band breaks up that old track listing to give us something slightly newer - it's another piano-based track that was recorded in 2005 with the hopes of it being included on the Music Inspired by the Chronicles of Narnia album, which was released that year to coincide with the expected holiday blockbuster film. For whatever reason, it didn't make the cut for that album (the fact that the line "It's always winter, and never Christmas" provided a tangential connection at best to the Narnia story might have had something to do with it, but then it's a more specific reference to the story than most of the ho-hum songs offered by CCM artists that did make the project could manage), and it appeared instead on the band's Apathetic EP, and now appears again here due to the winter theme. If you're heard "High of 75", then you know where Matt's going with this one - he's got Seasonal Affective Disorder, and is trying to talk himself into being at peace with the changing of seasons that brings frozen weather, knowing that this in turn will lead to spring. He uses this as a metaphor for the times when it seems that God isn't with us, reminding himself that the proverbial "spring" will come around again. It's not specifically a Christmas song, but then again, neither is "Sleigh Ride".

I'm Getting Nuttin' for Christmas
Next year I'll be going straight
Next year I'll be good, just wait
I'd start now, but it's too late
Somebody snitched on me...
ONE TWO THREE FOUR!!! Alright, the bratty punk attitude is back, and what better way to capture that attitude than by covering a novelty song from the 50's, sung from the point of view of a kid who knows he's ticked off his parents enough to get nothing but a big old lump of coal in his stocking? This one's as hilarious as it is obnoxious, what with the other guys in the band chiming in, using the goofiest voices possible, and a short little rant by Matt at the end stating that he's getting nothing for Christmas because he contributed to global warming. That part makes me laugh every time!

We Wish You a Merry Christmas
So we'll drive as fast as we can go
Through the black night, black ice and all snow
'Til we see some street signs that we know
We're coming home...
I have mixed feelings about RK's take on this song. They managed to stray a bit from the mind-numbing repetition of the carol by adding a few new "verses" of their own, so when it starts off, it sounds like one of their more aggressive original songs, sneering vocals and all. But they're mostly singing about how they'll drive all night through the snow to come to your town and bring good tidings. I'm kind of bummed that they skipped the "figgy pudding" verse, but oh well. The guitar outro is kind of cool, even if the track ends up feeling like random snippets instead of a coherent song.

Santa Claus Is Thumbing to Town
Unless something drastic happens fast
Say hello to the ghost of Christmas past...
This menacing little number is one of the two tracks first made its debut on Happy Christmas, Vol. 3, way back in 2001. It's another bad pun on a classic Christmas tune, depicting havoc being wreaked at the old North Pole (the toy factory burning down and the sled being in the shop and all that), and Santa being forced to hitchhike his way around the world on Christmas Eve. I have to admit, I never thought I'd hear the word "puking" in a Christmas song. I guess you could file this one in the same "looney bin" category as Weird Al Yankovic's "The Night Santa Went Crazy", though this one does lose a bit of its humorous punch due to the sheer speed at which Matt spits out the words. But you've gotta love the way "Jingle Bells" gets worked into the mischievous guitar riff.

Handel's Messiah (The Hallelujah Chorus)
OK, we've heard pop/punk covers of pop songs done to death... so how about a pop/punk cover of a classical composition? Relient K gives us a teaser here, once again employing their layered vocals and blowing through the classic "Hallelujah Chorus" in a matter of one minute. I kind of wish they'd gone on through more of it - but you know what they say about dead musicians turning over in their grave. It's amusing, even if it is a bit pointless and irreverent.

I Hate Christmas Parties
I can't figure it out
Is this what Christmas is all about?
'Cause it's a broken heart that you're giving me...
This is the second track that dates all the way back to 2001, and it was technically credited to Matt Thiessen and the Earthquakes at the time, which is a side project of Matt's, but I'm not sure I see the point in making the distinction, since a few of the quieter songs on RK's records appear to be mostly him as well. Like "I Celebrate the Day", it's a sensitive piano ballad, but instead of waxing spiritual this time, Matt is in full-on bitterness mode. You see, getting dumped around Christmas time is no fun, and I guess that's what happened to him back then. His little dejected pity party makes you want to simultaneously chuckle and shed a tear for the poor guy, as the piano does its best to tug at the heartstrings by shifting from major to minor key at just the right tear-jerking moment. It's a bit depressing for a Christmas tune, but having spent a number of Christmases without that "special someone", I can appreciate it. The bridge is a very nice touch, upping the tempo a bit for another found of sweet "Fa la la"s (that would presumably be where the got the idea to do it in "Merry Christmas, Here's to Many More"), and Matt plays the melodrama to the hilt, even ending the song on an unresolved sour note. It might feel like a drop of poison in your apple cider if you're all filled up with Christmas cheer, but for my money, it's the most honest, beautiful, and surprising moment on the album (well, assuming that listening to this album was your first time hearing all of these songs, anyway).

Boxing Day
Though hearts of man are bitter in weather
As cold as the snow that falls from above
But just for one day, we all came together
We showed the whole world that we know how to love...
Remembering our neighbors in... oh, I don't know, pretty much every English-speaking country other than the U.S. where they wisely declare December 26 to be an additional holiday, the band gives us a stark acoustic song that's all about taking down the decorations and throwing out all of the torn gift wrapping and trying to remember what Christmas was actually supposed to be all about now that it's over. Matt sounds rather weary in this one, but he seems to be recovering from his glum attitude in the previous song by remembering that just for that one day, at least some people who don't normally know how to love their fellow human being managed to give it the old college try. I think they could have done a little more with this one musically - it feels kind of dry. But I do appreciate the more personal thoughts here.

Auld Lang Syne
As if to shrug off the pain of yesteryear, the band closes out the album with a surprising acapella rendition of the perennial New Year's tune. They do it in classic barbershop style, with Matt Thiessen and Matt Hoopes doing a cheesy voice-over (replacing Brian Pittman's from the original recording) just to give the audience a personal Christmas greeting on behalf of the band. Admittedly, that little spoof makes the song more of a novelty than anything else, but it's still pretty amazing to listen to the harmony these guys can pull off (as previously witnessed in the interlude "Lion Wilson" from The Anatomy of the Tongue in Cheek - I should note that what they're doing here is also meant to directly reference The Beach Boys). They float through some rather difficult key changes like it's nobody's business. (I'm still holding out for that awesome EP of acapella songs that I'm certain this group must have up their sleeve!)

Good King Wenceslas
The album technically ended with "Auld Lang Syne", but of course the band couldn't resist tacking on a cheesy hidden track (thankfully, they chose not to include the pointless "12 days of Christmas" outtakes from the original album). This one finds the group pretending to be a pre-teen boys' choir, trying to play this old carol as solemnly and traditionally as possible, with a mandolin just to give it that extra dose of medieval flavor. They can't quite keep a straight face (or stay entirely on key), though, due to the fact that their voices are being strained to the breaking point. All five guys get their own verse, and what's really hilarious is how one of the guys (likely Jon Schneck or John Warne) puts forth no pretense of being able to sing falsetto, so instead he goes the other way and sings way too low for his vocal range. This one can get annoying rather quickly if you're not in the mood, but hey, it's a hidden track. Chuckle at it once, then ignore it if you need to.

So is this album worth buying if you're already the proud owner of a copy of Deck the Halls, Bruise Your Hand? That's hard to say. I feel like some value has been added, and nothing has been taken away, so if you know of a fellow RK fan that you can give the original away to, that might justify purchasing the expanded version. At the same time, the original could become a collector's item one day (though if you have that sort of mindset, you'll probably want to own both anyway). It's definitely worth it for RK fans who didn't catch Deck the Halls back in '03, or for rock fans in general who want something a little more youthful to rescue them from endless replaying of the same old Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith chestnuts. If you could only buy one seasonal album this year, I'd definitely have to go with Jars of Clay's Christmas Songs, but if you can buy two, definitely pick up Let It Snow, Baby... Let It Reindeer as well.

ALBUM WORTH:
Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas $.50
Sleigh Ride $1.50
Merry Christmas, Here's to Many More $1
Angels We Have Heard on High $.50
Deck the Halls $.50
12 Days of Christmas $1.50
Silent Night / Away in a Manger $1
I Celebrate the Day $1.50
In Like a Lion (Always Winter) $1
I'm Getting Nuttin' for Christmas $1.50
We Wish You a Merry Christmas $.50
Santa Claus Is Thumbing to Town $1
Handel's Messiah $.50
I Hate Christmas Parties $2
Boxing Day $.50
Auld Lang Syne $1
Good King Wenceslas $.50
TOTAL: $16.50

Band Members:
Matt Thiessen: Lead vocals, guitars, piano
Matt Hoopes: Guitars, backing vocals
Dave Douglas: Drums, backing vocals
John Warne: Bass, backing vocals
Jon Schneck: Guitars, keyboards, backing vocals, other random instruments

Websites:
http://www.relientk.com
http://www.myspace.com/relientk

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Hanging With Friends