As seasonal albums go, Bruce Cockburn's Christmas is as reliable as any to pick up: plenty of good songs, imaginative arrangements, and some choices that you don't hear too often elsewhere. Part of that has to do with Cockburn, who wears his Christianity on his (flannel) sleeve ... the type of sleeve he'd probably wipe his mouth with after chowing down on a solid breakfast. That's my mental image of Cockburn, anyway.
Mary Had a Baby is a spiritual that has made its way through the years; for me, it's a great song for a weekend morning, as the day is shaping up, food is being made, coffee is being enjoyed. And it's sometimes hard to resist clapping along, too!
