You can't keep Larry Stewart, Paul Gregg, Dave Innis, Greg Jennings and John Dittrich from being restless for long.  Though there were periods of hiatuses, detours and breakups, after 30 years, Restless Heart is still together and going strong.  Eight years after their last album of new material "Still Restless," they are back with their first ever Christmas album conveniently titled "A Restless Heart Christmas."  And they are also headlining an extensive tour in celebration of their 30^th Anniversary.  What the Eagles is to pop music is what Restless Heart is to country music.  Over the period of 1986 to 1988, they have placed unblemished and unprecedented seven back to back number one hits starting with "That Rock Won't Roll" to "A Tender Lie."  Unlike other of their peers, Restless Heart was able to cross-pollinate into the Adult Contemporary chart with great triumph when their 1992 single "When She Cries" became a pop radio staple.  To this date, their song "Mending Fences" is still one of those once-in-a-lifetime revelation set to music gems about reconciliation.  Their tightly knitted harmonies have sired a mishpocha of similar groups within country groups such as Rascal Flatts, Zac Brown Band and Lonestar.     

Long term fan will not be flummoxed by the sound of "A Restless Heart Christmas." Never bludgeoned to submit to the derivative sounds of today's lacklustre style of music, "A Restless Heart Christmas" is rifled with their patented harmonies and those melodious Eagles-like guitar driven country that have first brought them to the dance.  Helmed by group member Greg Jennings, this festive set is book ended with two originals and eight seasonal trust-worthies.  Let's start first with the newbies:  serviced already to radio as the lead single is the Aaron Boswell, Steve and Connie Tittle's "Santa's Prayer."  Often Santa's CV has been freighted with frivolous activities such as taking photos with screaming kids and whispering empty promises into the ears of children, "Santa's Prayer" definitely adds a deeper spiritual dimension to Santa's job description.  Frustrated by the commercialism of Christmas, "Santa's Prayer" finds the man with the red bag on his knees praying to God: "I'm just a pawn but you were born a King/Sure they're gonna love the gifts I bring/But the greatest gift they ever will receive is the love that's bringing Santa to his knees/be reminded of that star so bright, let it shine down/ let the world see me as a second thought to the one that guides old Santa when he's lost."  

The other new track is album opener "Season of Harmony" penned by Wayne Kirkpatrick, Chris Harris and Mark Heimermann.  Piercing through the frosty cold of December, the preppy "Season of Harmony" reminds us that what warms Christmas is not a higher electric bill but family and loved ones.  Maybe it's because of the homely ambiance that "Tennessee Christmas" creates, it, has almost become an expected Christmas cover for many country artists recording a Christmas effort these days.  Restless Heart's version, though it is not spectacular, brings out a beauty that is hard not to put the track on repeat.  A little more obscure is Roger Miller's 1967 "Old Toy Trains;"  "Old Toy Trains" is essentially a children's lullaby magically transformed by Restless Heart into a future country classic with its old fashioned but delightful steel and fiddle underpinnings.  Dubbed as their Take 6 moment, with all instruments kept in abeyance, "Silent Nights" gets a stunning acapella treatment from the quintet. 

"Angels We Have Heard on High" and "Jingle Bell Rock" sound more Restless Heart than your average Christmas offering.  If you love Larry Stewart's soaring vocals on their previous favorites such as "I'll Be Loving You," "The Bluest Eyes in Texas" and "Fast Movin' Train" you will absolutely adore how they have treated these carols with their 70s styled guitar driven pop-country.  Thirty years may have passed, and while many of their peers have had called it a day, Restless Heart is still sounding as fresh and as engaging as in their commercial heyday.  If you love Restless Heart or Christmas music, you will not be disappointed with "A Restless Heart Christmas."