By Kristin Battestella
Though often longer than albums of
yore, these more recent holiday releases provide mostly quality carols, big
notes, affordable festives, and swift listening for today’s December audiences
young and old.
Dream a Dream – Teen
songstress Charlotte Church provides plenty of international caroling delights with
O Come All Ye Faithful, The Little Drummer Boy, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, and
What Child is This in this hour long best seller from 2000. Church belts out
the titular hit along with lighter fair such as Winter Wonderland, The
Christmas Song, and a whimsical Ding Dong Merrily on High, but the treat here
is in the infrequently heard Coventry Carol, Gabriel’s Message, Draw Tua
Bethlehem, and Lo How a Rose E’er Blooming. Mary’s Little Boy Child and When a Child is
Born remain softer melodies, and the carols keep on coming with Hark the Herald
Angels Sing, Joy to the World, and Ave Maria. The lofty notes continue for O
Holy Night before the fitting Silent Night finale. Of course, there are different
track listings with The First Noel and O Tannebaum included depending on region
or store exclusives, but download editions today offer the chance to pick and
choose. This also isn’t exactly a laid-back listen for the kids to sing along –
Church may even annoy some audiences, for not all Christmas tunes need a
somewhat pretentious, so loud, and high sound that one can’t understand the usually
casual or easy on the ear fair. This at times exclusive, stuffy feeling is
perhaps why many people dislike carols or find them too churchly or old
fashioned. Fortunately, operatic fans will delight nonetheless in the rarer
carols and big arrangements here. 
Joy: A Holiday
Collection – Crossover singer Jewel appropriately adds happy choir
motifs and keeps the traditional sounds of Joy to the World and Hark the Herald
Angels Sing whilst also making this 1999 album a festive and modern 44 minutes.
Where audiences perhaps expect bombastic, O Holy Night is surprisingly soft and
subdued – a respectful voice and guitar are all that’s needed. Silent Night, O
Little Town of Bethlehem, Ave Maria, and I Wonder as I Wander continue the slow
reverence, and originals tracks such as Face of Love, Gloria, and Hands keep
the personal deep down and soulful. The Go Tell it on the Mountain/Life
Uncommon/From a Distance medley brings an unfortunately less and less heard
gospel rock out and Christian hope, but I wish these had been separate, longer
tracks instead of a 6-minute medley. It’s also odd that “holiday” is part of
the title when the folksy Winter Wonderland and quick Rudolph the Red Nosed
Reindeer seem out of place amid the church going, decidedly spiritual content. Granted,
some lyrics or notes will seem mumbly to those that dislike Jewel’s slightly
shrill and yodel-esque singing style. However, this is a largely pleasant,
tender session full of tradition that remains easy on the millennial ear.
Merry Christmas with Love – American Idol crooner Clay Aiken sets
the modern easy listening tone of this 40-minute, 2004 multi million seller with
an O Holy Night opener while making more room for big notes and accents around
the traditional styles of Silent Night and a Hark the Herald Angels Sing/O Come
All Ye Faithful medley. Aiken keeps the swanky going through Winter Wonderland,
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas, The Christmas Song, Sleigh Ride, and
Joy to the World. Granted, there are less carols here when one might have expected
Clay to take on the more difficult or rare ones. However, new, big, melancholy
pop renditions of Mary Did You Know, What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve, Merry
Christmas with Love, and Don’t Save It All for Christmas Day more than make up any
difference. The album as a whole perhaps plays it too safe in its primary focus
to deliver the mellow merriment for maximum mainstream heartstrings – rather
than bringing down the house or breaking the mold with more reverence, it keeps
a cookie cutter design. That said, this does a pretty darn fine job in
fulfilling that sentimental December demand, certainly evidenced by the
platinum status and continued success here.
A
Skipper!
Through the Many Winters: A Christmas
Album
– I always find it tough to listen to this 2005 40 minutes from ex-Doobie
Brother Michael McDonald, whom I normally enjoy. I thought it was just me, but after
reading other reviews for this session, it seems calypso O Holy Night, funk
Come O Come Emmanuel/What Month Was Jesus Born In, and a – is that bluesy?
–Deck the Halls/Jingle Bells are polarizing to most audiences. The eponymous
track is far, far too long at almost seven minutes, and Silent Night sounds as
if its guitar has popped a few strings. The Wexford Carol and Christmas on the
Bayou are, well, unintelligible at times, God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman becomes a
slow jam, and why is O Tannebaum here twice with an unrecognizable Auld Lang
Syne? I get that most people today may not like ultra traditional carols.
Unfortunately, this experimentation for the sake of it is too grating, even
extreme, and I have no idea who the audience is for this kind of holiday album.
Adult contemporary listeners will have their better favorites, and younger iPod
audiences won’t be bothered to find something they like in this all over the
place set.
No comments:
Post a Comment