Americana is the most nostalgic of the American music genres, suggesting even in its name an America that was as much as or more than the America that is, and if there's a musical genre that matches this sense of nostalgia, it's Christmas music, which relies on a shared landscape of past Christmases to build a soundtrack for the one in the present. This set, which includes seasonal holiday fare from folk, country, rock, and pop icons Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan, Emmylou Harris, the Band, John Prine, Dwight Yoakam, and others, amounts to a pleasing nostalgia-on-nostaglia playlist that is perfect for a casual and no-feathers-ruffled Christmas gathering. ~ Steve Leggett
