Are you freakin' kidding me????

First of all, this is NOT the true Lynyrd Skynyrd, this is merely a tribute band!!! Only 3 of these guys even have the right to use the Skynyrd name. And a Christmas CD??? Are you joking??? Ronnie Van Zant must be rolling in his grave!!! The original Skynyrd charisma, attitude, and chemistry died in a swamp in October 1977...let it lie people!!! This is a disgrace!!!

My favorite band + my favorite holiday = YES, FINALLY!

I love this CD so much I listen to it way before the Christmas season. Skynyrd and frynds (.38 Special and Charlie Daniels) sing great songs, as always. I can't really name a favorite because they're all so great. If you like Skynyrd and you like Christmas music, I think this is a must have!

The Rossington-Powell Band Christmas Album

There seem to be plenty of people out there who are willing to accept this band as Lynyrd Skynyrd, but I am not one of them. Three pre-plane crash members (guitarist Gary Rossington, keyboardist Billy Powell, and bassist Leon Wilkeson) are credited on the cover, but if you examine the lineups listed for each song, Wilkeson (who has since passed away) is not listed on a single song. The band now includes a collection of members of other defunct bands like Blackfoot, the Outlaws, and Damn Yankees, as well as original singer/songwriter Ronnie Van Zant's younger brother Johnny. This disc features many additional session musicians and a children's choir, and one song each by the Charlie Daniels Band and .38 Special.
OK, so whether or not this is the "real" Skynyrd, the question is "Is this a good Christmas CD?", and the answer is "Sort of." The best song on it is CDB doing "Santa Claus is Coming to Town", and there are some other good traditional songs and more recent rock/blues covers. Billy Powell is still an incredible piano player, and the current crop of guitarists are all solid musicians. Johnny Van Zant seems to be trying too hard to sound soulful with his "mmm-hmm's" and "ohh-whoa's", especially on the few original songs. The worst songs are the cheesy instrumental "Classical Christmas" and the synth-heavy "Greensleeves" that sounds more like Yanni than Southern rock.