Holiday Review: Sarah McLachlan-The Classic Christmas Album

Release Date: October, 2, 2015

Label: Legacy/ Rmg/ Arista

Website
 

Sarah McLachlan is an artist that grabs hold of your emotions and doesn’t let them go. This compilation of holiday songs covers many years of her performances both of well-known covers and original pieces. All of them resonate in this season of love and light and I think that’s what I most appreciate about this artist. She takes the lonely moments under the holiday lights and makes them poignant and just as beautiful as the shiniest Christmas tree. Little things bring joy and sorrow, but every bit of our human existence is precious to behold. Other artists on the album are: Diana Krall, The Barenaked Ladies and students from the Sarah McLachlan School Choir.

“Wintersong” is the first song on the album and is an original piece written and composed by Sarah McLachlan and Pierre Marchand in 2006. Isolation and the silence of a solitary Christmas morning shine as cold as the winter sun while McLachlan reminisces about the past.   Emotional and moving, the piano strokes illustrate the lonely starkness of the scene and gradually warm with the memories of the past. Reminders of her love are everywhere but she finds joy in the tender thoughts of Christmas past.

“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings” is a piece from 2006 performed by Sarah McLachlan and The Barenaked Ladies. A joyful song filled with strumming guitar movements and a sense of community and familial contentment, you can’t help but groove along with the percussive beat. Jazzy and buoyant, these two classic songs are blended together with seamless vocals and textured sound.

“The First Noel/Mary Mary” is a mashup of two traditional songs from 2006. The ethereal nature of the background music, complete with string and an echoing electronica and percussive elements give a celestial tone to this piece perfectly suited to the heavenly vocals. This is one of my favorite pieces on the album and one you don’t want to miss. What begins as sweet and lilting quickly shifts to an upbeat melody filled with holiday joy and hope.

“Song for a Winter’s Night” is a Gordon Lightfoot cover performed by McLachlan in 1994. This piece again looks at the brightest season of the year and the longing and loneliness that can creep in as we miss those who are closest to us. An empty glass, reading over and over but not comprehending as the urge to be with the one she loves becomes nearly overwhelming. The vocals are breathless, the music simple multi-instrumentation with a few guitar strums are a highlight but the center of this piece is by far the vocals.

Sarah McLachlan is an artist on my one click list. Her emotive vocals and capability to reach into the darkest parts of our hearts and lift out the joy makes me speechless every time. With every album she never ceases to amaze and this one is no different. Filled with an expanse of cover and original works, she brings old classics to life and gives us all a groove to drink eggnog to. Do your ears a favor and make sure this album is in your holiday stocking this year. You won’t be disappointed.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Wintersong, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings, The First Noel/Mary Mary, Song for a Winter’s Night

Tracks:
01. Wintersong
02. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
03. What Child Is This? (Greensleeves)
04. I'll Be Home for Christmas
05. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We three Kings  -  Sarah McLachlan Music Outreach Children's Choir and Youth Choir
06. Happy Xmas (War Is Over)  -  Sarah McLachlan School Choir
07. Prayer of St. Francis  -  Sarah McLachlan School Choir
08. I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day  -  Sarah McLachlan School Choir
09. Space on the Couch for Two  -  Sarah McLachlan School Choir
10. Find Your Voice  -  Sarah McLachlan School Choir
11. River
12. Silent Night
13. The O Little Town of Bethlehem
14. The First Noel/Mary Mary
15. Song for a Winter's Night
16. In a Bleak Mid Winter  - Diana Krall
17. Christmas Time Is Here  - Diana Krall

Dana Wright, Sr. Staff Writer

December 11, 2015

Review Provided By Write A Music Review

Holiday Review: Frank Sinatra-The Classic Christmas Album

Release Date: October 7, 2014
Label: Legacy Recordings
Website

Frank Sinatra is one of the best known crooners of his time and this year Sony Legacy has brought together a fourteen track album of his best loved holiday hits with two previously unreleased tracks."Baby It's Cold Outside" with singer Dorothy Kirsten and an alternate version of "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" with the Page Cavanaugh Trio. Another version of “Let It Snow” is also on the second track of the album with The B. Swanson Quartet and the two pieces are very different indeed. One is bright and shiny and the other more subdued, but both invoke the magic of the season.

As I sit at my writing desk and listen to this master performer belt out songs from my childhood and beyond, I can’t help but be reminded of a simpler time. That, to me, is the magic of Sinatra’s voice. You can here “Let It Snow” a million different ways, but when Sinatra does it, I always stop a moment and sigh.

“Adeste Fideles” or “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” is another classic that brings a sense of nostalgia. The bells and ornate instrumentation have an attention to musical detail that is often lost in modern performances. It made me feel like I did after watching a favorite old black and white holiday movie with my husband. Happy and dreaming of days when mangers were seen in front lawns and churches and Christmas trees were celebrated on main street and in our hearts. Not just the retail rush, but the rush of love for friends and family in this hectic time of year.

“Baby It’s Cold Outside” is from the MGM performance of “Neptune’s Daughter” and is one of two tracks previously unreleased until now. This track alone is worth getting the album. Joyful and full of the magic of young love, this song has always made me smile. This recording brings to life the visage of old Hollywood and lets us visit the sweet playfulness of yesteryear.

Frank Sinatra is the epitome of a music legend. His voice invokes the magic of the holidays and brings us back to simpler times in our lives we have only momentarily forgotten. For those who haven’t heard his magnificent voice, this album with two rare songs is a perfect one to start with. Chock full of the magic of the season, it will warm your heart.

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: Adeste Fideles, Baby It’s Cold Outside, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!

Tracks:

01. Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town
Frank Sinatra

02. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!
Frank Sinatra with The B. Swanson Quartet

03. It Came Upon the Midnight Clear
Frank Sinatra with the Ken Lane Singers

04. I've Got a Home in That Rock
Frank Sinatra with the Charioteers

05. Adeste Fideles (O Come All Ye Faithful)
Frank Sinatra with the Ken Lane Singers

06. Christmas Dreaming
Frank Sinatra

07. Jingle Bells
Frank Sinatra with the Ken Lane Singers

08. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
Frank Sinatra

09. O Little Town of Bethlehem
Frank Sinatra with the Ken Lane Singers

10. Jesus Is a Rock in the Weary Land
Frank Sinatra with the Charioteers

11. Silent Night, Holy Night
Frank Sinatra with the Ken Lane Singers

12. White Christmas
Frank Sinatra

13. Baby, It's Cold Outside (From the MGM Film, "Neptune's Daughter")
Frank Sinatra with Dorothy Kirsten

14. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! (From the CBS Radio Broadcast, "Songs by Sinatra") Frank Sinatra with the Page Cavanaugh Trio

Dana Wright, Sr. Staff Writer

November 25, 2014

Review Provided By Write A Music Review
 

Holiday Music Review: IL Divo-The Classic Christmas Album

Release Date: October 7, 2014

Label: Sony Legacy

Website

Music is about emotion brought to life by the training and skill to make it breathe. Il Divo is a quartet of vocalists, also called Simon Cowell’s “man band” that take operatic vocals and blur the lines into several genres including classical and pop. The Classic Christmas Album was previously released in 2005 as The Christmas Album, with the exception of one track. Now releasing with several Classic Hits albums in the new Sony Legacy collection, this album is timely with the flurry of holiday shoppers beginning to descend on shops and malls the world over. If you are not already a fan of this amazing group of singers, with one listen you will be. 

The band consists of Urs Buhler, Sebastian Izambard, Carlos Mann and David Miller. Three of the four are classically trained with Izambard being primarily self-taught. 

“O’ Holy Night” is the first song on the track list. Opening with beautiful piano strains and glowing vocals, this piece stopped me in my tracks to listen to the skilled vocalists’ rendition of this classic holiday song. The voices soar to majestic heights, each a light in the darkness calling forth heavenly music. Swirling instrumentals provide a backdrop for the men to craft a tapestry of sound introspective of the season and beyond.

“When a Child is Born” sparkles to life with chimes and keyboard work. Vocals, both crisp and clear come to pass and the others join in, adding depth. As with each song on this album, the layers and different nuances of each singer provide a puzzle piece that just fits. This song, with its highs and lows and blindingly fantastic vocals made me sigh and dream of Christmas.

“Adeste Fideles” is a song I remember from my childhood. Hearing this version with the tender vocals, bells and chimes made tears prickle in my eyes. Yes. “Come all ye faithful” is one I actually hum under my breath throughout the year. It brings joy on days when life is challenging and the heart needs comfort.

This is the first album by IL Divo I have listened to but it will not be the last. For listeners like me who are new to the group this is a powerful hook to reach out and attract new fans. It worked and here I am. These men each have different vocal skills. Baritone, tenor, classic and pop…they have it all and when you mix it all together you get magic. 

5/5 Stars

Key Tracks: When a Child Is Born, Adeste Fideles, O’Holy Night

Dana Wright, Sr. Staff Writer

November 18, 2014

Review Provided By Write A Music Review