Courtesy of Matt Jordan.
St. Louis-based singer/songwriter Matt Jordan doesn’t quite know why it took him so long to put out some Christmas music, other than the fact that he just didn’t want to screw it up.
“There's been so many good versions of these Christmas songs done,” the country rocker says. “I didn't want to try to replicate what someone else's done. Instead, I wanted to kind of take it and make it creatively and uniquely my own version of Christmas.”
And Jordan has accomplished just that with his new Christmas EP, produced by Grammy-Award-nominated producer Sal Oliveri, featuring two Christmas classics.
The first is "Please Come Home for Christmas," originally released by Charles Brown in 1960. “I grew up listening to the Eagles version of that song,” says Jordan. Also included on the EP is Jordan’s take on the Christmas standard “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” from Meet Me in St. Louis, a duet that Jordan ended up recording with his talented sister-in-law, Alex Jordan.
Matt Jordan. Courtesy of the artist.
“We used to sing on a worship team together,” explains Jordan, who also released his debut album, The Gamble, earlier this year. “She's got a great voice, and I wanted to bring her in because we had talked about doing some Christmas stuff together over the last several years.”
Whether solo or joining voices with another, Jordan sonically roughs these Christmas carols up a bit, putting his gravelly voice to good use to put his own spin on the classics.
“If I was going to do a Christmas song that people knew, I wanted to make sure that it still felt like me,” he explains. “The vocals are kind of gritty. That's just what I do. These songs almost have a bar band feel to them.”
Jordan says he also hopes these songs serve as the backdrop to many a holiday gathering in the days ahead.
“Having Christmas music in the background and Christmas lights on and stuff just kind of creates a mood that ends a year on a strong and joyful, grateful note,” says Jordan. His own plans include a trip to Santa's Magical Kingdom with his three children. “It's been a busy year. I've been on the road a lot. I've been in the studio a lot. But it’s nice to take in a deep breath.”
