Well, first off, it must be qualified that not all of the artists on this disc are T&N artists. Five of the fourteen tracks on this disc lend stylings from artists not on Tooth & Nail, most notably Switchfoot and Relient K. Switchfoot offers up a track written by the band that leads the disc off, Evergreen. The track offers pretty simple musical stylings with typically Switchfoot/Jon Foreman vocals and lyrics. Basically, if you're a Foot Soldier, you're going to enjoy it. If you're not a big fan of the whole Switchfoot revolution, this will only add to your reasoning to dislike them. Relient K offers up a track from the previously mentioned EP, Deck The Halls, Bruise Your Hands. I Celebrate The Day combines some great work on the piano with some other simple and soft musical elements to allow the track to really be focused on lyrics that are thought-provoking and likely to resonate with the vast majority of people. It's simple, it's soft, and it is a great offering.
One of the other artists featured on the disc not from Tooth & Nail is Kenny Vasoli, lead singer of Geffen Records and Drive Thru Records' The Starting Line. He appears with Aaron Gillespie of Underoath on a track the two co-wrote, Yule Be Sorry. Chock full of hard rock music and plenty of screaming, it's anything but your typical Christmas track. It's possible that this track will just make people scratch their heads. But, based on the recent popularity of Underoath in both the Christian and mainstream realms (As well as the addition of the lead singer of an up-and-comer), it's far more likely that this track is going to be enjoyed by quite a few people.
On the Tooth & Nail side of songs, the results are mixed. Some of the songs are relatively average. Emery's (Ho Ho Hey) A Way For Santa's Sleigh is decent on every level, but it doesn't do anything to separate itself from the pack. Likewise, Hawk Nelson's track, Last Christmas, is above average, but it doesn't compare to some of the tracks on this disc (That being said, an above average track from a normally abismal band is a major improvement). A few of the songs are pretty poor. Mae's interpretation of Carol Of The Bells falls flat, especially when following up the aforementioned Yule Be Sorry. Likewise, Copeland's version of Do You Hear What I Hear keeps the trend of songs leading to boredom going strong (Thankfully, the trend is ended after these two tracks with Relient K's track). However, there are some tracks that definitely make this disc a worthwhile purchase. The Fold's version of O Holy Night manages to create a nice mix between the traditional mix and a little bit of musical flair. And Anberlin's Baby Please Come Home is the standout track of the disc. The music, the lyrics, the vocals; all of it melds together and creates a great Christmas song with the Anberlin edge.
Overall, Happy Christmas Volume 4 is a solid offering. Aside from a few tracks that are lagging far behind the rest, the disc has a pretty good feel to it. Anberlin and Relient K offer tracks that are definitely above the rest, but even tracks from Switchfoot, Eisley, Emery, and others bring something to the table. If there's an artist or two on this disc that you're a fan of, it's probably worth it to check out the rest of this disc as well. You're bound to find a few other tracks you'll enjoy quite a bit.