Q (1/93, p.95) - 3 Stars - Good - "...even out of the seasonal period, Brooks's interpretations and arrangements stand up admirably...an album worth more than a yearly spin..."
Personnel: Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood (vocals); Mark Casstevens (acoustic guitar); Chris Leuzinger (acoustic & electric guitars); Bruce Bouton (steel guitar); Rob Hajacos (fiddle); Cynthia Reynolds Wyatt (harp); The Nashville String Machine, Carl Gorodetzky, Pamela Sixfin, Gary Vanosdale, Bob Mason (strings); Joey Miskulin (accordion); Bobby Wood (piano, keyboards); Mike Chapman (bass); Milton Sledge (drums); Pat Alger, Stephanie Davis, Larry Bastian, Victoria Shaw, Tony Arata, Allen Reynolds, Jim Rooney, Christ Church Choir, Donna McElroy, Bob Bailey, Vicki Hampton, Howard Smith, Yvonne Hodges, Johnny Cobb, Jana King, Dennis Wilson, Emily Harris, Gary Chapman, Donna Morris, Christ Church Choir (background vocals).
Recorded at Jack's Tracks Recording Studio, Nashville, Tennessee.
This collection of Christmas and holiday tunes by country superstar Garth Brooks reflects his Christian faith and traditional values. Brooks fans will enjoy hearing Christmas standards delivered in the pure country voice they so admire. He approaches these songs with earnestness and reverence, concentrating on songs that are mostly about the birth of Christ, as opposed to chestnuts roasting on an open fire.
Brooks supplies his own arrangements for several of the album's traditional songs including "Go Tell it on the Mountain" and "What Child is This," which are both bolstered by a swelling gospel choir. While Brooks takes a heartfelt approach to songs such as "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," he does loosen up on a few numbers: the fiddle-charged Buck Owens/Don Rich composition "Santa Looked A Lot Like Daddy" and on "The Old Man's Back in Town," which he co-wrote. The simplicity of his version of the standard "White Christmas" makes it stand out from some the some of the more lush arrangements on BEYOND THE SEASON.
