My review of "Christmas on Death Row"

[R-Tistic]

I have been listening to this album every year for the past five years for Christmas, and I decided to make a review of it. Without being biased, I think this is the most accurate review of this album that you will find, mainly because I'm a fan of West Coast rap, especially in this era, but also because I have an ear for R&B, Jazz, and soul.

1. Santa Clause Goes Straight To The Ghetto - Dope, almost classic rap Christmas attempt, even though it's still a bit too gangsta. However, as a single, it definitely set the wrong idea for the album and what most of it was.

2. The Christmas Song - Great track...everything from the vocals, to the changes, to the breakdowns were dope.

3. I Wish - Decent song, but a bit depressing for a Christmas song. Beat sounds similar to "Crush on you". Could have been the second single if they tried to push it as a rap album.

4. Silver Bells - Pretty good song...she sounds forced at times, but arrangement is nice, especially the change up at the end.

5. Peaceful Christmas - One of the best songs on here. Different story, and a bit of a hood song, but is very dope for an original Christmas song. Has a different message from what we are used to, but is still dope. Danny is nice on it.

6. Christmas In The Ghetto - Almost a terrible song. Not really that it sucks that bad, but it kills the mood of the album, especially with the harsh curse words on it. Sounds out of place.

7. Silent Night - Great arrangement...one of the best I've heard of this song. They flipped it nice as hell. Chords are vicious on it, especially at the end. Sounds like something Kirk Franklin would have done. Something you could play and even your mom would be like "hey, what album is that on?"

8. Be Thankful - Song made for us West coast and Nate Dogg fans. Not really a great beat, but has some good lyrics on it and a decent melody. Won't appeal to the older crowd.

9. On This Glorious Day - Another strong song that sounds like Gospel. Very mellow, and smooth arangement.

10. Frosty The Snowman - Decent...has potential to be better than what it is. Still a good remake of this song, a lot better than what I usually hear. 

11. O Holy Night - This is a very good reindition of this track, and everything is on point. The vocals are very smooth, and definitely match the composition. I could see SWV being on this track here, but the female singers hold their own on it.
 
12. Party 4 Da Homies - Decent song, sounds very 95. Nice upbeat song that you could hear at a work or "during the week Church" Christmas party.

13. White Christmas - Nice song. Guess sounds a lil bit out of tune at some parts, especially at the end, but a pretty good arrangement of this song. Just as the other songs, this arrangement is different from what I usually hear for this song.

14. This Christmas - Very good song. Sounds very polished, and Danny sounds very good on it. This song could have been a GREAT single for the R&B stations like 100.3 (well now) and 102.3, and could still be in rotation this time of year.

15. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - One of the most unorthodox arrangements you'll ever hear for this song, if not the most. The arrangement is ridiculous, and if you aren't a fan of Take 6 and aren't used to this type of song, it's a good chance that you won't like it much. The vocals are a lil bit out of tune at parts, but the changes and overall production of this track is nearly amazing if you have the ear for it. The harmonies on here, going along with the chords on the keyboard are great.

16. Christmas Everyday - Very good song, upbeat and has a strong mid 90's feel, almost like somethin Brandy would have sung to. They flipped this track about the best anyone could ever do. Harmonies are on point, and overall melody is good. This also sounds like one of those "Christmas party" songs.

OVERALL: This album faced many issues that resulted in very low sales, and it's mainly because this album has too much conflict going on. For one, the fact that it is a Death Row album, and is called "Christmas on Death Row", along with the fact that the first single is from Snoop and his DPG affiliates, will make anyone with half a brain believe that this entire album is a gangsta rap attempt at a Christmas album. However, there are only three songs that have rap on here, and being critical, these are the worst songs on here. On the other hand....this album has GREAT music for an R&B or even gospel album, and it rivals the best of the best Christmas albums I've heard, and is far better than most modern R&B Christmas attempts. Thing is, NOBODY from this audience would even consider listening to this album because of it's title and the main faces on here. The R&B songs all feature unknown artists, which would have made it impossible to sell to R&B fans at the time unless a different company had pushed it. Even worst, the people who might buy this album because of Snoop and DPG will probably not like this album much, just because they didn't buy it for these soulful songs, and they might find these songs as being corny or boring.

If you could remove the rap songs, and possibly even Nate's song (I know y'all will hate me for saying it)...this CD could have been a 9.5/10 CD, packaged as an R&B or Gospel album. But the rap songs alone, and the fact that they conflict with the rest of the album, drop it to just an 8/10. I usually will never knock a good album because of 2-3 bad or out of place songs...but in this case, it's a Christmas album, and it is supposed to have a certain feel and vibe to it.

I'd definitely recommend buying/downloading it though...it's in the Hookup spot right now.

[Layeth THe Smacketh Down]

I had this album back in the day and loved it, but I had to sell it at a local record shop because I was dead broke.

[teecee]

Actually, that Be Thankful song was my favourite on the album, great lyrics and a different style for Nate, plus its got Butch Cassidy's first appearance on there.  Its a beautiful Christmas song to me; IMO its not really at all typical of the westcoast sound so how is it made for westcoast fans?   

Decent review though........

[R-Tistic]

Actually, that Be Thankful song was my favourite on the album, great lyrics and a different style for Nate, plus its got Butch Cassidy's first appearance on there.  Its a beautiful Christmas song to me; IMO its not really at all typical of the westcoast sound so how is it made for westcoast fans?   

Decent review though........

I just think most of us who are already Nate fans will be biased to this song, because his singing is nowhere near the level of Danny Boy or the other singers on here. If I played this song for someone older, they wouldn't like it nearly as much as they like the other songs. The beat doesn't sound like G-Funk at all, but it is more aimed at rap fans than the other soulful songs on there.

[J$crILLa]

i liked the 3 rap songs most... but thats me, its a cool album

[T-Dogg]

I'm listening Santa Claus Goes Straight To The Ghetto as I read your review. It's a breath of fresh air admist all other usual stuff they force on you during the Christmas season. The sample works nice as hell as a Christmas song.

Never heard the full album though.

[R-Tistic]

I guess I could up this since it's Christmas time....

Somebody upped it in hook-ups too.

[Darksider]

i liked the 3 rap songs most... but thats me, its a cool album

[SAINTX3]

I think this guys being a little too critical on disecting every song like that....it's Deathrow, what do you expect. I love the album....I dust it off every holiday season and play it all day....Danny Boy got down on "The Christmas Song" & "This Christmas". I like "I Wish"...thats some real shit right there...all in all I think it was a great Christmas album considering the source (Deathrow)...although I wouldn't have minded a little more Danny Boy...maybe a duet with Jewel and some DJ Quik production....maybe a 2pac cameo or two....

[Lazar]

Just got this record for a few days but Iīm loving it  Fav tracks are "Santa Claus Goes Straight to the Ghetto" and "Christmas Song"