Cledus Navidad (CD - 2002)

Personnel includes: Cledus T. Judd (vocals); Wes Hightower, Julie Reeves, Trenno Barnes, Lil' Chris Clark (vocals); Stephen Davenport (acoustic guitar, 6-string banjo); Paul Scholten (drums, percussion).

Personnel: Maddie Radcliff, Trenna Barnes, Julie Reeves, Wes Hightower (vocals); Stephen Davenport (acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, fiddle); Gary Burnette, Michael Spriggs (acoustic guitar, banjo); Steven Sheehan (acoustic guitar, ukulele); Russ Pahl (electric guitar, steel guitar, dobro, banjo); Troy Lancaster, J.T. Corenflos, Billy Panda (electric guitar); Glen Duncan (mandolin, fiddle); Jonathan Yudkin (fiddle); Larry Paxton (tuba); Gary "Bud" Smith (piano, organ, keyboards); Jeff Hazard (keyboards); Paul Scholten (drums, percussion); John Singer (drums); Hillary Radcliff, Meredith Bell, Melissa Bell (background vocals).

Audio Mixer: Steve Marcantonio.

Recording information: County Q Studios, Nashville, TN.

Photographer: Dean Dixon.

On their Christmas albums, most performers draw upon the existing body of holiday music for their selections, re-creating old favorites in their own style. Country music comedian Cledus T. Judd is no exception on his seasonal album, Cledus Navidad. Acknowledging the humor of Christmases past, he covers Spike Jones' "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" (adapting it into a weak rap parody called "All I Want for Christmas Is Two Gold Front Teef"), Ray Stevens' "Santa Claus Is Watchin' You," and Elmo & Patsy's "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" (done in an outlaw country-rock arrangement). But while remakes are often the highlights of more serious artists' Christmas albums, far superior to the new attempts to join the pantheon, these songs are the least of Judd's collection. The best tracks are the new ones, starting with "Cledus' Christmas Ball," which has sharp remarks for some current country stars, the wittiest being the swipe at Garth Brooks, poking fun at the star's repeated withdrawals from the music business. ("Garth retired early again, but he'll be back next year.") The other standout is a parody of Johnny Cash's "Ring of Fire," "Tree's on Fire," sung in an impersonation of the Man in Black himself. Of course, the humor gets gross ("Don't Serve Beans") and politically incorrect ("Stephon the Alternative Lifestyle Reindeer") on occasion, but that's to be expected from a country comedian. Judd may not be quite up to his predecessors in seasonal humor, but he's trying and frequently succeeding. There are a lot of laughs here. ~ William Ruhlmann

For his first Christmas album CLEDUS NAVIDAD, Cledus T. Judd once again spares no one as he aims his keen powers of parody at a wide swath of victims. Aside from the obligatory cover of the perennial "Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer," Judd keeps the comedic meter in the red. "Only 364 Shopping Days 'Til Christmas" makes a humorous argument for keeping the tree up year round, "Stephon The Alternative Lifestyle Reindeer" skewers the PC movement and the double-entendre-filled "Cledus' Christmas Ball" drops plenty of names including the Dixie Chicks, Garth Brooks and Dolly Parton. Other numbers of note include parodies of "Ring of Fire" ("This Tree's On Fire") and "All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth" ("All I Want For Christmas Is My Two Gold Front Teef"). Most appropriately, Cledus T. Judd pays homage to country comedic predecessor Ray Stevens with a rollicking interpretation of "Santa Claus Is Watching" that finds Judd sounding very close to its author. minimize