Sunday, 16 November 2025

Bryan Adams & Friends - A Great Big Holiday Jam


39 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Buy A Great Big Holiday Jam album here (external link)

How festively fabulous that, in recent years, Bryan Adams has embarked on a Christmas music adventure every three years or so. Following his Christmas EP in 2019 and song Let's Get Christmas Going in 2022, Bryan is back this year with a TV special and accompanying album called A Great Big Holiday Jam! And jam he does because he's feeling all sorts of convivial this year, bringing a calvacade of stars along to help him unwrap holiday classics old and new. Helping him out are the likes of Barenaked Ladies, Alessia Cara, Lights, The Sheepdogs and Alan Doyle whose musical talents are weaved into the magic of every song. It's like one huge party that everyone's invited too - making you feel merry and bright from start to finish. Let's hope it is a new three year holiday tradition...
  • Little Saint Nick ~ of course Bryan kicks the album off with the Beach Boys classic song that itself has become an indelible part of the Great Big Holiday Songbook (and now A Great Big Holiday Jam)! The Christmas camaraderie is instantly tangible, making this an infectious first outing for the gang - one that is sung with such cheer that it makes you feel merry and bright straight away. The Barenaked Ladies and Sheepdogs are living it up in the studio, this expansive wall of sound feeling intimate enough that it takes you back to the days when you might have been playing pop star in your bedroom or rockin' out with friends in the garage. 
  • Green Christmas ~ taken directly from the Barenaked Ladies holiday opus (Barenaked for the Holidays), this was originally written for the Jim Carrey festive movie The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. It retains the quirky alt-rock style of the original, with the green of the title referring to the envy that often occurs at the most jealous time of the year. This update with Bryan keeps the sneer of the original yet it is offset by the upbeat nature of the instrumental. What a way to celebrate its 21st birthday!
  • Christmas All Over Again ~ the Tom Petty classic is perfect for this swaggering cohort of chums. The Sheepdogs are in keeping with the petty atmosphere of the original, while the jam session catches the chaotic energy of the holiday season. There's an urgent energy to the pace of the song, as if trying to keep up with Santa's sleigh. While making it their own, the combo don't shy away from embracing the layered ELO style sounds whilst infusing it with their own sense of the messy reality of the festivities. 
  • Jingle Bell Rock ~ Alessia Cara has created her own bangin' Christmas song (more on that in a moment) but teams up with Bryan on this seasonal standard. There's some creative choices with the instrumental that work really well - somehow, the contemporary guitar works really well with violin to make it feel like it was lifted from the most avant garde Christmas movies the Golden Age of Hollywood ever produced. Alessia is in fine vocal fettle on this, a ringmaster of a thoroughly enjoyable circus of a song!
  • Santa Man ~ this is a ho-ho-hootenanny of a song, a rollicking run through what it must be like to be December 24th's most famous pilot. There's a thrilling gritty texture to the music, while The Sheepdog's add a gravity to a fun subject that gives the song something of a weighty anchor. It's no wonder they are so familiar and comfortable in this setting as it was their great big holiday single as a band n their own right last year (the green vinyl was a real treat). Bryan is one lucky lad to be able to join in (the rest of us just sing along at home).
  • I'll Be There Christmas Eve ~ Alan Doyle's composition from 2018 may be the beating heart of the album; the first real introspective emotion of the project. He sings with such sincerity, accompanied by all the pals in a lovely textured chorus, that you can't help believe in his titular promise (whoever you think it might apply to). There's a lilting country music aura to the production, proving that Bryan may collate an eclectic smorgasbord of sound yet he can still bring it all together to make it feel cohesive. 
  • I Saw Three Ships ~ Alan stays up by the mic on this reinvigoration of a song the Barenaked Ladies made their own on that aces Barenaked For The Holidays opus. It's still a boat load full of finger click enchantment as the vigorous instrumental buoys the vocals brilliantly. This song chugs along, sallying forth with singular intent to just make the listener a little bit happier for listening to such jolly japes. It's a full on sail away party by the final bars of the song - like the bars of a cruise liner on sail away day!
  • California Christmas ~ the whole gang is on board for the album's first single, an effusive pop-rock romp that has you ditching sleigh rides and winter wonderlands for silver bells in the city. There's a breezy west coast vibe to the song, thanks to some contagious guitar riffs, Beach Boy style backing vocals and a peppy percussive groove that propels the song forward in a way the LA traffic never could. Little Saint Nick would be singing his heart out to this soaring chorus, a refrain so infectious you'll be singing it all the live long day (wherever you are).  There's some witty observations within the lyrics that leave you with a big smile on your face.
  • Make It To Christmas ~ remember I mentioned Alessia's own Christmas number? Well here it is - and the captivating pop original has been given A Great Big Holiday Jam makeover. Natually, it has more of a live feel to the score, but that only accentutates the message of the lyrics - still ridiculously infectious. If you didn't know this song before, you'll be toe tapping away. And if you were familiar with the original, it's like a Bryan Adams remix to make it feel fresh and exciting all over again. Perfect song to make it to Christmas.
  • Footprints ~ one of my favourite songs from Barenaked For The Holidays (alongside Elf's Lament), this is a delightfully poignant piece written from the point of view of a snowman (before the world was overtaken by Olaf). It's nice to see that slower moments are embraced, as if taking a pause to re-energise but also savour the words of the more sentimental moments of the season. One thing about shining a spotlight on these songs is it may bring them to a new audience who haven't yet heard/appreciated. 
  • Deck The Halls ~ bravo to Lights for transforming this into not only something that sounds both timely and timeless (a new take on an old favourite) but by also making it something of a shoe gaze and drone classic. Her voice blends well with Bryan's tones, giving the words a different intent than you might have realised before. Jack Frost nipping at your toes? At least you'll see the scamp before you hear him - in the best possible way. Adding some seriousness to the fa-la-la-la-levity of the original. 
  • Christmas Time ~ Bryan Adams' 1985 single turns 40 this year; and what a way to celebrate by getting all of the holiday jammers on board to acknowledge its longevity. It is still a timely reminder of how we should embrace the magic of the season and keep it with us all year round. In fact, in today's troubled times the lyrics and earnest delivery feel more vital than ever. Nothing reckless about this rowdy singalong - it is the booziest feeling pub song since The Darkness urged us to not let the bells end...
  • Oh Christmas Tree ~ one final song before you go into the night, feeling merry and bright as you stumble home for the big day. Bryan sends everyone off with a solo moment, a serenade for a winter's night as a thank you for all the bon vivance and good cheer his holiday collective have bought to the project. There's a quietness to it after everything that came before - and while all of that was thoroughly enjoyable, this is a soothing farewell that makes you feel welcome to come back for more any time. Just hit repeat.
**Ghosts of Christmas Past**
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