Spotlight Album Review: Halley Neal & Sam Robbins "You & Me on Christmas Eve"

Sam Robbins has created a buzz in the folk community with his appealing, James Taylor-like melodies and manner. He’s been a winner at the prestigious Kerrville and Falcon Ridge folk festivals, he’s performed on my On Your Radar series, and I declared him my top Discovery of the Year in the 2023 WFUV Listener Poll. With two solo albums behind him, he’s teamed up with Berkelee College classmate (and new fiancée) Halley Neal for a holiday album, You & Me On Christmas Eve, that’s exquisite in every way.

Produced in Nashville, their hometown, by Dylan Alldredge (who’s worked with some of other faves, Amy Speace, Mary Gauthier, and Jesse Terry), it uses a handful of studio musicians to complement Halley and Sam’s vocals and Sam’s acoustic guitar. Two-thirds of the album’s 17 tracks are holiday standards – all tasteful ones, no schlock! “The Christmas Song” is a great duet with Halley showing her vocal range. “Christmas Time is Here” uses a fluegelhorn to accent Vince Guaraldi’s composition. The fluegelhorn is also present on Joni Mitchell’s “River,” which gets a great lead vocal from Halley.

One of my favorite holiday standards, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” gets a surprisingly bouncy treatment with pedal steel and piano backing.  Other standards include the waltz “Silver Bells,” the Rodgers & Hammerstein classic “My Favorite Things” (with Halley’s voice ringing out), and a stirring version of  Peter Yarrow’s “Light One Candle.” They sing the carol “Silent Night” in appropriately hushed tones, accompanied by vibraphone. The one unexpected choice is “Here Comes the Sun” (yes, a farewell to winter), which Sam takes at a leisurely pace, while channeling George Harrison’s guitar. It’s bracketed by a sweet version of “I’ll Be Home for Christmas.”

The original songs, most of them written by Halley and Sam together, measure up pretty well against those standards. The opening track, “Christmas Is Coming Soon” is an upbeat pop number, with the promise “it’s in the air…I can feel it everywhere.” Sam’s song, “Better This Way” itemizes some things they lack (a tree, mistletoe) but anticipates they’ll say it was better “before we had it made.”  “Finally Christmas Time” bursts with excitement, including applause at the end. Halley’s song , “New Year” (written with her Berkelee classmate Suzie Buist) offers conditional hope (“all we need is a little kindness”). The concluding title track, “You and Me on Christmas Eve,” has a strong pop hook, a love song for all seasons.

Both “You and Me on Christmas Eve” and “Christmas Is Coming Soon” were used in the Hallmark movie, “Christmas On the Cape.”  I don’t know how treacly the movie is, but the presence of their songs might make it worthwhile. Certainly the album is worth a place your perennial holiday collection.