Itâs hard to believe that in the midst of their 16-year career, the guys from Rascal FlattsâGary LeVox, Jay DeMarcus and Joe Don Rooneyâhave yet to put out a Christmas album. Until now. The âI Like the Sound of Thatâ trio is excited to release their first-ever Christmas album, The Greatest Gift of All, tomorrow (Oct. 21).
âThe timing never seemed right,â Jay told Nash Country Daily. âWe were touring and always busy and going 90 miles a minute. We were asked early enough out this time. Scott Borchettaâpresident of Big Machine Record Labelâcame to us and said âLook, you guys can do whatever you want to do, whatever songs you want to do and take your time with it and do it the way you want to do it.â So it just felt right. It felt like it was time and the fans have been asking for it for a long time. We gathered up a bunch of songs that have been our favorites over the years and just took our time and really had a ball making it.â
Produced by all three members of the band, The Greatest Gift of All consists of a 10-track collection of both classic and contemporary country songsâ each song with its own nuanced arrangements varying from big band and jazz to R&B and traditional sounding.
âWe wanted to do something different,â adds Gary. âThatâs kind of what we cut our teeth on in the pastâthese songs have been done so many times that youâve got to do something to make them fresh and new and your own and something that sounds like Rascal Flatts.â
The making of the Christmas album was a collaborative effort among the men. Emails and voice recordings were shared as they decided which songs would best fit their album.
âIt was a collaborative effort in the sense that I told them what we were going to do,â jokes Jay.
âHe [Jay] sent us a list of classic songsâwhich all made this record,â said Joe Don. âBut Jay said âI think we have a couple of spots for some outside songs that may be a little more current and âStrange Way to Save the World,â recorded by Contemporary Christian group 4Him, is one of those that Jay brought to us.
Gary, Jay and Joe Donâs favorite Christmas songs on the album?
Gary: Itâs kind of hard to beat âSilent Nightâ on this one with our kids on it. That one will hold a very special and dear place in our heart for life.
Jay: âStrange Way to Save the World.â To have a song written from Josephâs perspective is so unique and the weight and responsibility he must have felt and the things that mustâve been going through his mind as he looked at the birth of the Savior in that manger is really incredible.
Joe Don: I think âO, Holy Nightâ is one of my favorite Christmas songs ever. The melody is just amazing. That song in particular too is one a lot of singerâs singers tackle because itâs really fun for them to pull off and Gary was just wow. Itâs a beautiful arrangement and he really just brings that one home.
âWe sang that on a CMA Country Christmas a couple of years back but we never recorded it. So it was fun to take it back in the studio and re-do it again. The other one was âSomeday at Christmas,â the Stevie Wonder tune, which has been re-cut by a lot of people through the years, it has truly become a classic. But it is a more up-tempo fun yet throwback kind of retro sound. Iâm really proud of this record overall, I really am. Itâs something thatâs been waiting for a long time for us to do and I think it probably took us 16 years to get it done.â
The Greatest Gift of All is the gift that keeps on giving, a gift that shines with the striking Flatts harmonies weâve come to expect, that will keep you warm on a cold winterâs nightâalong with their non-traditional depiction of fan-favorites such as âJoy to the World,â âLet It Snow and âThe First Noel.â
âSilent Nightâ is one of the cuts that stands out due to the help of Gary, Jay and Joe Donâs children. All seven of the Rascal Flatts kidsâBrittany, Brooklyn, Madeleine, Dylan, Jagger, Raquel and Devonâcan be heard singing on the opening verse, with Garyâs daughter Brittany taking the lead.
âThat kid loves to sing. Brittany just loves to sing,â Gary says proudly. âBrittany and Brooklyn were in the studio and Brittany just takes over. Who knows in the future what will happen with her.â
âIt was fun,â Jay says of having the kids in the studio. âSome of them were awful,â he jokes. âI mean they have some really bad pitch problems. Iâm not gonna call anybody out butâŠâ He turns serious, âIt was precious to have them in the room singing it. Joe Don and I were out there trying to direct them and lead them. They were shy but they opened up about the third or fourth time through.â
Gary, Jay and Joe Don can be seen at the 50th Annual CMA Awards on Nov. 2 where they will be vying for the Vocal Group of the Year trophy followed by a One Night Only concert on Nov.14 at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York where they will perform songs from their newly released Christmas album.
THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL Track List:
Photo by Todd Owyoung/The Greenroom PR
