I Don't Want Christmas to End

Zach Williams knows how defy expectations in a good way. While most festive records thrive on exploiting the sentimentality of the season by endowing songs with bells and strings, Williams' debut Christmas album rocks on in a good southern style. Re-calling the classic records of The Gregg Allman Band, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Travis Tritt, I Don't Want Christmas to End isn't your typical Christmas muzak. Produced by Jonathan Smith, these 10 tracks were recorded at the legendary FAME studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. The locale where Aretha Franklin and Little Richard made their classic 60s albums. \\n\\n""""Christmas Time is Here"""" starts the album off on a high note. Despite the piano introduction, the southern funk kicks in as soon as Williams starts singing. He then delivers a Elvis-styled reading of """"White Christmas. """" Mark Lowry's evergreen """"Mary Did You Know"""" has often been interpreted as a sappy sentimental ballad. Williams brings some Gospel-soul into this Christmas classic accelerating the pace of the song into a rocker. Whether or not the backings are well-suited to a song about a teenage Mary wondering who her baby is, Williams' take does sound kickingly good.