Christmas In The Heart Image
Metascore

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 34 Ratings

  • Summary: This is the first Christmas album for the singer and proceeds will be donated to the charities, Feeding America, The World Food Programme, and Crisis UK.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 17
  2. Negative: 1 out of 17
  1. The result is polished without being glib, and a sympathetic listener may find it addictive.
  2. Some will rank it among other gimcrack releases, like Dylan & the Dead. Still others will categorize it as an oddity, like Self Portrait. It’s all and none of these.
  3. Apart from the breakneck 'Must Be Santa,' which barrelhouses like a barroom, Dylan doesn't really reinterpret these songs as much as simply play them with his crackerjack road band, dropping in a little flair--restoring "we'll have to muddle through somehow" to 'Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,' singing the opening of 'O Come All Ye Faithful' in its original Latin--but never pushing tunes in unexpected directions.
  4. Aside from the obvious point that it is strange hearing Dylan, née Robert Zimmerman, singing Christmas songs, it is often just awkward to listen to the elder's scraggly croak making its way through commonly known carols.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 2 out of 4
  1. TimK.
    8
    I'm not much for Christmas albums, but this one stands out!
  2. NickiR.
    7
    Not everyone will like this, and if you'll only give it a listen or two, you will never return to it. But after the third time more and more tracks will stand out. Best number from Santa Bob is without a doubt 'Must be Santa'. Expand
  3. GregJ.
    1
    Don't be fooled by the critics - this is the nadir of Dylan;s career. Truly awful!
  4. BruceS
    0
    Stupid.