Tangled Up in Christmas
There are some things even Bob Dylan shouldn’t try, and one of them is Christmas music. Dylan’s Yuletide homage, Christmas in the Heart, doesn’t inspire joy so much as bewilderment. The songs aren’t necessarily bad — most of them are traditional carols such as “O Come All Ye Faithful” and “Silver Bells” — but imbued with Dylan’s gravelly drawl they lose much of their holiday cheer. Who wants to decorate the tree while listening to music by someone who sounds like a down-on-his-luck loner stumbling along empty city sidewalks with a bottle of bourbon in one hand? Also, isn’t he Jewish?
