Every 2024 Eagles Christmas Album song reviewed, as they come out

The first single on the third volume of the Eagles Christmas Album, which is officially called A Philly Special Christmas Party, has arrived.

“It’s Christmas Time (In Cleveland Heights)” is a Kelce brothers special. Jason and Travis Kelce debuted as singing siblings on their 2023 update of the Pogues, “Fairytale in Philadelphia.” Now they’re back on this melancholy holiday tune written by Dr. Dog keyboard player Zach Miller, who’s been a core player in the Philly Specials band for all three Christmas albums.

But the star power doesn’t stop with the Kelce bros. Miller’s moody pop-R&B tune also welcomes Boyz II Men into the Philly Specials fold. Shawn Stockman, Nathan Morris, and Wanya Morris of the Philly vocal trio add trademark vocal flourishes to Miller’s story song about coming home for the holidays only to find that your old stomping grounds aren’t what they once used to be — and neither are you.

The song is the Eagles Christmas album 3.0′s most star studded moment, save for a Stevie Nicks’ duet with Jason Kelce on a track whose title has not yet been revealed, but will drop as one of the singles that will be released every Friday this month in advance of the full album coming out on Nov. 22.

Miller’s tune is the second full-fledged original Christmas song to be written by a member of the Philly Specials cast who work under the direction of producer Charlie Hall. “Santa’s Night,” on last year’s A Philly Special Christmas Special, on which Kelce cosplayed as St. Nick, was written by the former Eagles center himself.

“It’s Christmas Time (in Cleveland Heights” is well designed as a vehicle for the Kelces, named as it is after their suburban hometown outside of Cleveland that also inspired their New Heights podcast.

The song begins with Boyz II Men’s swooping, sumptuous vocals over a percolating drum machine, leading into a Travis Kelce spoken intro.

Taylor Swift’s boyfriend leans into his lover man voice: “This is a shout out to everyone all around the world who’s thinking about home this Christmas,” he intones. “That’s right, it’s Christmas time.” (If there’s a new Eagles Christmas album, it must be.)

Travis, who’s a naturally self-confident vocalist, takes the first verse about “wandering the streets of my hometown, must have been years since I’ve been home.” Jason, who’s more workmanlike but improving every holiday season, takes the second: “All the empty stores and shopping malls I remember different in my mind / I think about the lives I left behind.”

Then Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men soars on the third on a the third verse song that fits in with the tinged-with-sadness tradition of such Christmas classics as “I’ll be Home For Christmas” and “Please Come For Christmas,” while adding its own spin about how “home” is a malleable concept, even when it comes to holiday tradition.

I’ll be reviewing all 12 songs on A Philly Special Christmas Party as they’re released, so check this space every Friday in November.