Michael McDonald
Through the Many Winters: A Christmas Album (Hallmark)
Why would Michael McDonald kick off his second Christmas album with a somnambulant arrangement of “Silent Night”? Doesn’t everyone know that’s a born closer? To his credit, McDonald provides fans with a wassail-flavored Doobie fix on a “Come, O Come Emmanuel/What Month Was Jesus Born” medley, but otherwise, Winters‘ front-loaded snooze is a clear indication Hallmark should stick to greeting cards.
This article appears in December 23 • 2005.
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Greg Beets was born in Lubbock on the day Richard Nixon was elected president. He has covered music for the Chronicle since 1992, writing about everyone from Roky Erickson to Yanni. Beets has also written for Billboard,Uncut, Blurt, Elmore, and Pop Culture Press. Before his digestive tract cried uncle, he co-published Hey! Hey! Buffet!, an award-winning fanzine about all-you-can-eat buffets.
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