12 Days of Christmas Music 2009
Sandi Patty - Christmas Live
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 1
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For Sandi Patty, this is Christmas album No. 4 in her illustrious 30-year career, not to mention the second release on her newly formed Stylos record label. What sets this CD/DVD combo apart from previous Christmas offerings, however, is it’s the first concert recording of the bunch. Your enthusiastic or indifferent reaction to that last tidbit is the best way to gauge whether Christmas Live is essential enough to buy.
Backed by a full orchestra and choir, Patty again proves herself one of the greatest American singers of our time. That’s not just because of this soprano’s tendency to belt a high note at the end of her songs either. Aside from vocal range and tone, Patty’s most outstanding trait is her versatility, which she gracefully applies throughout the concert (recorded last summer at First United Methodist Church in Richardson, Texas).
Nowadays, I tend to like Patty best when she’s gentle and jazzy, as demonstrated here on “The Christmas Song,” her “Home for the Holidays” medley, and of course, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” But then she contrasts such standouts with enjoyable pop selections from her previous Christmas albums (“Someday,” “Star of Bethlehem”), and even indulges her gospel side for “Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child.” All in all, it’s a varied blend of sacred and secular, old and new.
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Tags: Seabird - Silent Night EP
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 1 (bonus)
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This 2-song EP (available via download from Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, and iTunes) arrives just weeks before the street date of Seabird’s sophomore project, Rocks Into Rivers. Buzz across the Internet believes this band is creatively reinventing classic Christmas carols, but I can’t say I agree.
If you’re going to take a well-known Christmas carol and apply a new melody to it, you’re essentially telling me that you’re incapable of writing compelling Christmas lyrics to go with your original music. Seabird is hardly the first to try this approach—see previous Christmas offerings from Steven Curtis Chapman, Fernando Ortega, Sara Groves, and Bebo Norman to name just a few. But for me, the gimmick only works 1 out of 10 times that it’s tried; more often than not, the new melody doesn’t hold a candle to the old one.
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Family Force 5 - Family Force 5’s Christmas Pageant
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 2
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This is probably one of the last bands I’d expect a Christmas album from—and Family Force 5 more or less echoes that sentiment in their liner notes. But that’s part of what makes Family Force 5’s Christmas Pageant so intriguing and fun: This is one different Christmas album, fo’ sho’.
I’m happy to say that the production is much improved over FF5’s 2008 sophomore release, Dance or Die. This project combines the fun “crunk rock” that made the band’s debut so memorable with the kitschy ‘80s pop that FF5 has reveled in ever since. But overall, it’s a mix with mixed results. I do love me some retro synth-pop, but man, the overreliance on cheesy auto-tune effects gets old really quick.
A peppy, upbeat rendition of Vince Guaraldi’s “Christmas Time Is Here” is entertaining, as is the massive crunk overhaul of “Do You Hear What I Hear”. For that matter, after listening to the crunk heavy “Carol of the Bells,” it’s hard to believe these guys are white—imagine Duran Duran crossed with David Banner. I also like the playful take on “Little Drummer Boy,” reminiscent of Milli Vanilli from 20 years ago while delivering lines like, “Shall I play for you?/Pa-rum-pa-pum-pum/On my drum … machine.”
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Anthony Evans - What Christmas Means
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 3
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When it comes to his regular albums, Anthony Evans hasn’t tried anything adventurous with his predictable pop-worship style. But when his musical gifts and instincts are applied to a Christmas project like this one—available for mp3 download from Amazon and iTunes, or an exclusive CD through Evans’ site— the results are quite impressive.
I think it’s because Evans is dealing with stronger source material here that’s timeless, open to interpretation, yet still benefits from familiarity. Unlike an album of modern worship covers, What Christmas Means allows Evans to branch out into pop, soul, and jazz through the varied arrangements—and prove himself an impressive singer in the process.
Evans flourishes with the Motown styled title track, and his take on “This Christmas” is positively jubilant, performed to soulful perfection with horns and strings. But then his rendition of “Do You Hear What I Hear” adds a hint of rock, enough to fit in comfortably with Trans-Siberian Orchestra. There’s also a delicate pop cover of “Grown Up Christmas List” and an acoustic pop version of Mariah Carey’s “Where Are You Christmas?” to further demonstrate his stylistic range. And of course, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” allows for the usual jazzy dabbling.
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Francesca Battistelli - You're Here
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 3 (Bonus)
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For those who missed the news last year, newcomer Francesca Battistelli released a pair of Christmas digital downloads through iTunes and Amazon that are strong enough to merit a full length album in the future.
Much of Battistelli’s debut album My Paper Heart resembled the playful piano pop of Sarah Bareilles, in a good way. The same is true with her version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” It’s more upbeat and bouncy than usual for the song, yet it still retains just enough blues and jazz to remain true to it. It sounds contemporary yet classic and thus can appeal to listeners both old and young.
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Chris Tomlin - Glory in the Highest: Christmas Songs of Worship
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 4
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As one of the biggest names in Christian music these days, it was only a matter of time that Chris Tomlin would tackle a Christmas album. The result is the only kind of album one would expect Tomlin to make—a celebration that deemphasizes the holiday and reemphasizes the worship of the Savior King.
Still, Glory in the Highest is at its best when Tomlin keeps it sounding, well, Christmas-y. That’s mostly when he sticks to contemporary worship versions of classic Christmas hymns. He does a marvelous job with “O Come All Ye Faithful,” a perfectly effective Christmas-styled call to worship. Because the album was recorded in front of a live audience, the arrangement benefits from a chorus of voices gradually building in zeal, culminating with a chorus of “We’ll praise Your name forever” to the familiar Christmas tune.
Tracks like that one have added benefit in demonstrating how easily praise teams can adapt Christmas classics into their church repertoires. The upbeat “Joy to the World (Unspeakable Joy)” is another terrific example of Tomlin adding a catchy new chorus to timeless verses (even if, like most Tomlin songs, it’s a bit too high to sing for the average congregation). There’s nothing too remarkable about “O Holy Night” and “Hark! The Angels Sing” except that they’re simple enough to perform in a corporate setting and benefit from delicate and ethereal instrumentation that befits the season. The same could be said for “Angels We Have Heard on High,” even though it needlessly messes with the rhythm of the melody in the verses—it’ll take some getting used to for congregations.
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Aaron Shust - Christmas EP
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 4 (Bonus)
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One glance at the unimaginative “cover art” of this digital release (available through iTunes and Amazon’s MP3 store) pretty much says it all. This is very much an Aaron Shust recording (as if you couldn’t tell) and, yes, it is in fact a 3-song EP of Christmas music. But moreover, the plain and drab design, which I suppose is meant to evoke a stained-glass window, is a direct reflection of the lack of creativity in the music.
The EP’s only original track, “God Has Come to Earth,” is alright, but if it weren’t for the subtle bells and the lyrics about praising the infant King, it’d be virtually identical to previous Shust songs like “The Name of Jesus” and “Give Me Words to Speak” (both from his 2007 album Whispered and Shouted). There’s nothing wrong with it, except that it’s very typical sounding.
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Downhere - How Many Kings: Songs for Christmas
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 5
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Downhere has been performing Christmas shows in Nashville to local audiences for years. No doubt the experience led to the creation of two songs recorded for Bethlehem Skyline, their record label’s Christmas compilation: “Glory to God” and “How Many Kings.” And of course, the latter became one of Downhere’s biggest radio hits to date, so it only made sense from there to try their hand at a full-length Christmas project.
The song for which How Many Kings is named remains a great one, smartly written with lyrics that beautifully ponder how the Creator of the universe would lovingly become one of his created. In fact, Downhere includes their hit twice on the album, wrapping up with a “re-imagined” version that is interesting, but ultimately more ambiguous and less sing-able.
Other originals include the aforementioned “Glory to God,” an upbeat pop song about the angels’ announcement to the shepherds (i.e. the humble). “Gift Carol” is nearly as strong as “How Many Kings” in melody and writing, exploring the nature of giving and how Jesus represents the perfect gift. The weakest of the new songs is “Christmas in Our Hearts”—still good, but mostly as an enjoyable bouncy pop song about the spirit of the season.
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Handel’s Messiah Rocks: A Joyful Noise
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 6
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Handel’s Messiah has been reworked numerous times since its creation in 1741, including 1993’s contemporized The New Young Messiah featuring Christian pop heavyweights like Steven Curtis Chapman, Sandi Patty, Michael English, and Carman. Still, Handel’s Messiah Rocks is true to its title and could well be the most rocking version of the classical work you’ve ever heard. Imagine Handel’s masterpiece as performed by Trans-Siberian Orchestra with some nods to Jesus Christ Superstar and you’ve got a fairly good idea of what this sounds like.
The project does carry some serious musical and theatrical clout. The creators—director/librettist Dani Davis and her husband, composer/keyboardist/conductor Jason Howland—have contributed their talents to numerous musicals on Broadway. Two of the lead vocalists also gained prominence on Broadway: LaChanze (from Ragtime and The Color Purple) and J. Robert Spencer (Jersey Boys). MiG Ayesa, the third vocalist, is best known as the No. 3 finalist from TV’s Rockstar: INXS a few years ago. They’re supported by a very skilled rock band, including guitarist Alex Skolnik (Trans-Siberian Orchestra) and drummer Nir Z (Genesis, John Mayer), backed by a small orchestra. In fact, the DVD concert recording features conductor Keith Lockhart and members of The Boston Pops.
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Brandon Heath - The Night Before Christmas
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 6 (Bonus)
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I wish I could completely credit this one to Brandon Heath, but he notes on his site that his friend Regie Hamm wrote it. Either way, it’s one of the best new Christmas songs I’ve heard in recent years, up there with Downhere’s “How Many Kings” and Francesca Battistelli’s “You’re Here.” (And at least for December 2009, it’s available as a free digital download through Amazon’s MP3 site.)
“The Night Before Christmas” is rich with imagery evoking the Nativity, but the songwriting strikes a stronger punch in the chorus by cleverly recasting the titular phrase in a new spiritual light: “And the world didn’t know mercy was meek and so mild/And the world didn’t know that truth was as pure as a child … And the world didn’t know redemption was sweet and so strong/And the world didn’t know salvation was writing a song/The night before Christmas.”
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Dustin Kensrue - This Good Night Is Still Everywhere
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 7
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In 2007, Dustin Kensrue, the lead singer for alternative post-hardcore band Thirce, released his first solo album, Please Come Home, allowing him to indulge a quieter, alt-folk singer/songwriter style. He embraces a similar sound on This Good Night Is Still Everywhere, a digital-only Christmas album released for download just a month before Christmas in 2008.
For much of the album’s first half, This Good Night sounds like a Christmas album for sad, lonely people who don’t much like Christmas. Kensrue restores “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” to a classic rockabilly feel more in step with Phil Spector’s classic, saving his blues instead for a cover of “Christmas Blues.” The longing continues with a simple rendition of “Blue Christmas,” followed by a cover of The Pogues’ “Fairtytale of New York,” which depicts a drunk’s memories of lost love.
Before things get too mired in a rut, Kesnrue reflects on the beauty of the Christmas season with his original title song. From there, we finally get some Christmas carols, though “Hark the Herald Angels Sing” is performed as a simple folk two-step, and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” feels like a repetitive Jewish folk dance. “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” is a better fit for Kesnrue’s mournful acoustic sound, and he delivers a shimmering version of “O Holy Night” accompanied only by electric guitar.
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House of Heroes - The Christmas Classics EP
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 7 (Bonus)
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As if their own creative power pop wasn’t impressive enough, House of Heroes are proving themselves a terrific cover band with all the digital EPs they’re releasing between albums. First there was the enjoyable set of Beatles covers, and now this little collection of Christmas Classics.
“Silent Night” originally released as a downloadable single in November 2008, and it’s a terrific example of balance in a Christmas arrangement, staying true to the original while shading it with the band’s unique flavor. The mostly acoustic arrangement benefits from some quiet organ underneath before building into a gorgeously understated string solo, followed by tight vocal harmonies in the final verse.
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Phil Keaggy - Welcome Inn
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 8
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As outstanding a guitarist as Phil Keaggy is, I prefer his pop albums to his instrumental projects. After all, he’s nearly as good a singer/songwriter as a virtuoso, so why not appreciate both?
Along that line of thinking, Keaggy has recorded at least a couple Christmas albums before, but always as an instrumentalist. Welcome Inn is his first holiday offering with vocals, similar to his classic Way Back Home album with his familiar Paul McCartney-styled acoustic pop. It’s also very much a family affair, recorded at home and featuring guest vocals by daughter Olivia and son Ian on some of the tracks.
Though all the tracks are new recordings, Welcome Inn is a mixture of old and new songs; think of it as a “Greatest Christmas Hits” that features many of Keaggy’s seasonal contributions to previous albums. Fans will recognize “And on That Day” (a duet that previously featured Twila Paris) from 1995’s True Believer; this new version is not as produced or ethereal, but nonetheless lovely. There’s also his instrumental of “In the Bleak Midwinter” from the Christmas Treasures compilation, as well as that cool arrangement of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” that he did with Kim Hill 20 years ago for the Our Christmas album—again, not quite as good as the original recordings, but close enough. The best of the unearthed treasures is “Father,” a piano-based ballad he wrote 30 years ago, beautifully worshipping Father, Son, and Spirit for their parts in the Christmas story.
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DecembeRadio - Comfort and Joy EP
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 8 (Bonus)
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DecembeRadio made this digital-only EP available for download late in 2008, so there’s a good chance a lot of people don’t know about it. Admittedly, the idea of this band tackling Christmas music with their classic rock style is very tantalizing. Unfortunately, it’s not all that it could have been.
The arrangement of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” is good enough, featuring some excellent guitars and the impressive vocals of Josh Reedy. It’s the kind of acoustic classic rock that bands like Kansas were known for.
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Yancy - Have a Fancy Yancy Christmas
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 9
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One of the year’s more pleasant surprises in Christmas music comes from a relatively unknown indie artist, songwriter, children minister, and worship leader by the name of Yancy. She’s actually been floating around the industry since 2001, opening for a number of prominent Christian artists. She’s even written for the likes of Avalon (their hit “I Don’t Want to Go”) and Jaci Velasquez (“Something Beautiful”).
Based on the cover art and Yancy’s attire, it would be tempting but unfair to simply peg her music as “chick rock.” This is not Superchick or even BarlowGirl; think more along the lines of Velasquez, Plumb, and Kendall Payne in terms of modern pop/rock. And with the help of producer Stephen Leiweke (Chris Sligh, Cindy Morgan) for her Christmas album, the arrangements are often smart and sophisticated.
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Future of Forestry - Advent Christmas EP
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 9 (Bonus)
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What a pity that this Advent Christmas EP is only available at CBD and Future of Forestry’s site, and not downloadable through iTunes or Amazon. It deserves more widespread access and attention. As one of the year’s best Christmas releases, it’s still well worth seeking out.
Though Advent Christmas only has 5 songs, the arrangements are long enough to provide nearly 30 minutes of music. That’s because Eric Owyoung and company take their time with the music, creating a gentle alt-pop atmosphere with ethereal sounds and tons of reverb. (Part Sigur Ros, part Delirious, with bits of Coldplay for good measure.) You don’t so much listen to this one as much as immerse in it. And while it’s not the typical Christmas sound, there’s something about it that works in a distinct way.
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Various Artists - Worship and Adore: A Christmas Offering
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 10
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Worship and Adore: A Christmas Offering is a collection of worship songs that assembles some of the biggest names among Integrity’s worship artist roster: Paul Baloche, Lincoln Brewster, Jared Anderson, Glenn Packiam, Kari Jobe, and Kathryn Scott, as well as less familiar talent like Joel Augé, Christy Johnson (of Worth Dying For), country/Christian songwriter Dan Poythress, and newly acquired Vineyard veteran Vicky Beeching. Top all those names off with assistance from Jason Morant, Jeremy Redmon (Big Daddy Weave), Brent Milligan, and Kara Williamson, and you’d think it’s a recipe for fruitful creativity.
Alas, in most instances, the artists are simply singing someone else’s songs (Poythress had a hand in most of them).The result? A lot of well-sung worship songs that lack imagination in music, lyrics, and arrangements.
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NeedToBreathe - Go Tell It on the Mountain
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 10 (Bonus)
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NeedToBreathe’s one-off Christmas single from late 2008 certainly succeeds in smartly selecting and adapting a traditional favorite to their sound. “Go Tell It on the Mountain” gets the soulful Southern pop treatment a la Gavin DeGraw or Blues Traveler, coloring a steady shuffle with piano, mandolin, and fiddle.
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Big Daddy Weave - Christ Is Come
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 11
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I’ve heard more than a few people refer to Big Daddy Weave as MercyMe, Jr. due to their similarities in sound. So consider that MercyMe’s Christmas album was a lot of fun, and arguably even the best of their career due to the musical variety and willingness to try different styles. Does “Junior” follow suit? Sort of, though like most of Big Daddy Weave’s albums, some parts are quite good, but others, not so much.
BDW is always at their best when they let their distinctive musical qualities shine, and the same is true here. They turn “Joy to the World” into a playful Southern stomp with banjo and some saxophone. It’s like a lite version of Dave Matthews Band (or at least O.A.R.), as is “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” with guitars and saxophones giving it a dark hue and a touch of jazz. Their arrangement of “Go Tell It on the Mountain” is probably the darkest and most ambiguous I’ve ever heard, its tonal center fuzzy until the spirited chorus brings it back into focus—now if only they didn’t tweak the melody of the chorus. And the band’s original “Glory” offers a nice pop shuffle underneath words connecting the truth of the Christmas story to our hearts; the slightly jazzy melody and sax again make it stand out in comparison to the usual AC pop fare.
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Ayiesha Woods - Christmas Like This
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 12
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Ayiesha Woods made her debut a few years ago with a style that made the old seem new again. Which is precisely what you want out of a Christmas recording, so it’s no wonder that Christmas Like This is such a treat with its delightfully retro and nostalgic sound. Somewhere between an EP and a full-length album, this 9-track collection combines R&B, jazz, pop, and more in a manner befitting of Tina Turner, Macy Gray, and Alicia Keys.
Available primarily as a digital download, the majority of Christmas Like This draws heavily on classic Motown influences. “Merry Christmas Baby” thankfully resembles Johnny Moore’s Three Blazers more than it does Bruce Springsteen’s messy rendition, and you know that Wood’s neo-soul-pop style is perfect for Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas.” But the classic ‘50s Motown rock style works surprisingly well for other holiday favorites too, like “Winter Wonderland” and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” Woods also tackles “O Holy Night” with loads of soul, backed by an old-school pop arrangement heavy on strings.
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Chris Sligh - Christmas EP
12 Days of Christmas Music: Day 12 (Bonus)
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With just one album to his credit—two if you want to include his stint as Half Past Forever—it’s somewhat surprising to see Chris Sligh tackling a Christmas project so soon. But then again, releasing a Christmas-themed EP or single digitally through iTunes or Amazon is all the rage these days, even if the music isn’t essential listening.
Besides, anyone who remembers Sligh from his time on American Idol already knows he has a great voice and a knack for song interpretation. In that sense, a Christmas recording makes perfect sense. Sligh tackles “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” as a simple rocker heavy on synth and electric guitar for “O’ Come,” and with his powerful singing at the forefront, it’s a strong arrangement that’s both familiar and new.
Wish I could say the same for “What Child (Greensleeves),” here transformed into a straightforward pop ballad that’s only distinctive for Sligh’s voice and the fact that the song is adjusted to 4/4 time. Similarly, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” is performed as jazzy acoustic pop with a 6/8 time signature, but not much else can be said for it.
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