I suspect this is the only Christmas album we’ll be reviewing this year so I’m happy to say that it’s an interesting and varied piece of work. ‘I’d Rather be Merry’ is Mean Mary’s nineteenth album and it applies her usual talents of banjo picking, pure and clean vocals, and a certain amount of songwriting, to a Christmas theme. As always, it’s a combined effort with her brother Frank and brings a certain amount of humour associated with the brother/sister dynamic as well as superb musicianship.

The album is an interesting combination of traditional Christmas carol settings with contemporary elements and a bit of bluegrass thrown in for good measure. ‘I Saw Three Ships’, which opens the album, has a jaunty, contemporary feel with Mary’s trademark clean enunciation, lovely harmonies and the almost obligatory banjo solo, while ‘Jingle Bells’ starts as a traditional carol before a fiddle solo morphs it into a bluegrass setting. The interpretations of the Christmas standards are varied and interesting and enjoyable listening, but it’s the originals that really create the mood of the album with Mary’s characteristic humour and humanity. There are two humorous songs and the album’s closer ‘Ding Dong Day’ which we’ll get to shortly.

‘Cardboard Box’ is a fairly typical humorous Mean Mary song with a Christmas theme involving accidental violence against a partner while ‘I’d Rather Be Merry’ features verbal sparring and wordplay around the names of the siblings Frank and Mary. And back to ‘Ding Dong Day’, which is a previously released Mean Mary song that has a particular relevance in 2023 with its references to over-commercialisation of Christmas and pressure on ordinary people to spend to excess to celebrate a religious holiday.

‘I’d Rather Be Merry’ is released on Friday December 1^st on Woodrock Records (WDRK – 4305)

Here’s the video for ‘Cardboard Box’ (don’t try this at home folks):