AMG Review of Sugar Plums: Holiday Treats from Sugar Hill

Dennis MacDonald
All Music Guide

Most of this CD is imbued with soft, sublime sounds of the season, including Jerry Douglas's double-tracked dobro/guitar rendering of "Away in a Manger," Dan Crary's guitar and sleigh bells version of "What Child Is This?" and the stately bluegrass harmonies of John Starling, Larry Stephenson, and Rickie Simpkins on "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem." Robin And Linda Williams sing Steve Earle's "Nothing but a Child" as if it were a Yule folk standard. The all-female Ranch Romance vamp up Elvis's "Santa Bring My Baby Back (To Me)" with sizzling accordion and fiddle, and Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers end the proceedings with a medley that'll make you "n'yuk n'yuk n'yuk."