Christmas Music 2019 Continued

First Amy Grant song of the season- Winter Wonderland.


In my memory, her sound on her first Christmas album; A Christmas Album, was young and fresh and her sound became more circumspect- not raspy but moving in that direction.  But here it was, a beautiful rendition, a little loungey.  Not bright eyed, but still far from jaded.  I really like it.  And I have always liked it.

I think A Christmas Album is one of the best Christmas albums- except some people don't like Amy Grant's voice.  I love her voice so at least like, or love, nearly every song I hear.  But some people just think it's not very professional.  To me it's not overly practiced or trained but just great- like lots of singers I like that just easily sing- not like they've worked on it.  I think it's great.  

But back to the album.  When I first got it, I was already in love with her voice.  So of course that helped me like it.  But what I found was something unexpected in that most artists don't do a Christmas album until later in their careers.  And I think this one was recorded in July (I think in Colorado) to be ready for market soon after Age to Age.  Marketing genius.  But as far as the selections themselves- it just is very balanced.  A couple of the traditional carols- probably the best ones- the two angels- Angels We Have Heard On High and Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, two traditional pop loungey classics- Winter Wonderland and Mel Torme's (Santa's On His Way) The Christmas Song(Chestnuts).  A couple of more traditional classic pop songs- Sleigh Ride     Some Contemporary Christian new tunes- Love Has Come, Emmanuel, A Christmas Hymn (Praise to God Who's Love Was Shown).  A couple new tunes that could be more mainstream Christmas genre and American- Tennessee Christmas and Heirlooms, a new melody for an old carol- Little Town Of Bethlehem.  There's a non Christmas hymn- A Mighty Fortress- and it's half of a medley too, with Angels We Have Heard On High and a larger medley starting with the instrumental newly-composed Preiset Dem Konig which works into the newly melodied Little Town and into the Christian standard- newly written also- Emmanuel.

So we've got the guitar round the campfire, let's slow it down for a minute singer-songwriter vibe, a synth instrumental, some a capella, some standards, some traditional and a surprisingly amount of new stuff to seem an instant classic.  And in terms of instrumentation we've got an orchestra, some sleigh bells and once again I'll mention the loungey saxes and combo sound.  

It's amazing that this album led to so many more Christmas albums and now they seem a blur- an endless playlist rather than albums.  But I haven't listened to those in their entirety like I have A Christmas Album.