Kurt Russell and Darlene Love in “The Christmas Chronicles 2.”
Darlene Love and Kurt Russell duet on a new gospel-flavored Christmas song written by Steven Van Zandt in the movie “The Christmas Chronicles 2,” which debuted on Netflix Nov. 25. It’s a giddily upbeat song titled “The Spirit of Christmas” and features lines such as “The spirit of Christmas never goes away/The spirit of Christmas gonna save the day” and “Sooner or later you’ll realize you got to believe in yourself/But you can’t change the world alone, sometimes you need a little help.”
It gets a joyously over-the-top production number in the family-oriented movie, incorporating a gospel choir and band, a big crowd breaking into dance, and even a breakdancing cop.
You can listen to the entire song in the top video below. For those watching on Netflix, the segment with the song lasts from about the 1:10 to about the 1:18 mark, though there is a non-musical part in the middle (and then the song resumes).
Russell plays Santa Claus in the movie and Love plays an airport worker named Grace.
In the original “Christmas Chronicles” movie, in 2018, Van Zandt and members of his Disciples of Soul band backed Russell on the song “Santa Claus Is Back in Town.” Van Zandt and the DOS musicians do not appear in the sequel.
Like “The Christmas Chronicles,” “The Christmas Chronicles 2” was directed by Chris Columbus. He also directed the 1992 movie “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” whose soundtrack featured the Van Zandt-written “All Alone on Christmas,” sung by Love and featuring Van Zandt on guitar plus other Disciples of Soul and E Street Band members.
Van Zandt produced and wrote three songs for Love’s 2015 album, Introducing Darlene Love.
Here is the song’s video and a trailer for “The Christmas Chronicles 2.” The movie is currently available only on Netflix.
I have also included a clip of the “Santa Claus Is Back in Town” segment from “The Christmas Chronicles.”
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