5 comments about David Grisman's Acoustic Christmas.

1. This album is a true Grisman classic. Who else could put together such a distinct Christmas album? WHAT CHILD IS THIS is done in the old english style with mandolin accompanied by a band of minstrels playing recorders. SANTA CLAUS IS COMING TO TOWN is done bluegrass style with virtuoso Bela Fleck on banjo. Respighi's ANCIENT AIRES AND DANCES is a beautiful rendering of this classical composition done with mandonlin, mandola, and mandocello. THE CHRISTMAS SONG is a soft, jazzy, acoustic version of Mel Torme's classic. GOD REST YE MERRY GENTLEMEN is done as an acoustic jazz tune in 6/8 time. WE WISH YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS offers a touch of comic relief with Grisman's mandolin accompanying a Donald Duck impersonator. WHITE CHRISTMAS presents jazz guitar virtuoso Martin Taylor and John Stafford on tenor sax. THE FLOWER CAROL is another old english style number done with an accompanying hurdy-gurdy, crumhorns, and recorders. WINTER WONDERLAND is done in a swing style reminiscent of the Hot Club Quintet with Django Reinhardt and Stephane Grappelli. SILENT NIGHT is done in a bossa nova (?) style with accompnying vocal percussion and vocal trumpet. AULD LANG SYNE also presents Bela Fleck on banjo with a slower beginning tempo which kicks into bluegrass overdrive upon the key modulation.

   With former DGQ members Darol Anger, Mike Marshall, and Rob Wasserman providing the rhythm section this album reflects what I believe to have been the glory days of the Grisman legacy. Displaying Grisman's unique musical diversity, ingenius arrangements, and mandolin virtuosity with this all-star lineup, ACOUSTIC CHRISTMAS is a Christmas album in a class of its own. It actually makes a musical statement apart from the context of it being a holiday album. This is a must buy for fans of Grisman, jazz, bluegrass, or Christmas music in general.




2. What a truly wonderful recording! Like a breath of fresh air... or that feeling you get right after a big, heavy sigh. So pleasant and relaxing that you can just put the CD player on repeat and smile all day. This instantly became one of my favorite CDs - not just for Christmas music, but in general!



3. Just so all you Dawg Fans know, David has revealed that it is the voice of Clarence Nash, the original voice of Donald Duck, singing on "We Wish You A Merry Christmas". It seems Mr. Nash was also a mandolin player and entertainer in vaudeville, and one day David, who is a vintage cartoon art fan, spotted a picture of Nash holding a Gibson mandolin. David's wife, a journalist tracked Nash down, and soon the two met. Here's an account by Grisman of what happened next:
   "About a year later, while finishing my Christmas album, I had one of those rare flashes of vision, and imagined an arrangement of the perennial favorite, "We Wish You A Merry Christmas," featuring Clarence on vocal and myself on mandolin. Fortunately, "Ducky" liked the idea, and thanks to the kind permission of the Disney studios, Clarence and I met in a recording studio two hours before the record was to be mastered, and recorded our little arrangement. The only catch was that the Disney executives insisted Clarence not be credited on the album. Therefore, no one realized that it was the real Donald Duck doing the singing. In fact, a lot of folks thought it was me! Sadly, Mr. Nash passed away a couple of years later, and so now I'd like you all to know that it was, in fact, Donald Duck himself on the Acoustic Christmas album."
   
   Cool, huh?



4. Each cut on this album is a gem unto itself. The arrangements are diverse, each individually tailored to the piece at hand, and the music covers a wide range from Renaissance carols to 20th century tunes like "Winter Wonderland". The instruments themselves range from bagpipes to acoustic strings to "vocalized" trumpets (on "Silent Night") and the original singing Donald Duck (on "We Wish You a Merry Christmas"). Beauty and humor both abound. I'm listening to this album as I write this review, and it's been a staple of my holiday celebrations for over 10 years. Read the other reviews for more specifics on the musicians, but all you need to know, really, is that they're all supurb. Like all of the Grisman Quintet's albums, this one radiates the pure joy of making great music. This is one holiday purchase you won't regret -- ever.



5. You have probably heard the plucky Winter Wonderland playing in the mall and wondered where it came from- well now you know. But there is MUCH more here, including a White Christmas as smooth and sultry (with a raspy tenor) as melted butter floating on cream. Ditto for the guitar solo in The Christmas Song. And an edgy jazz God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Throw that Kenny G on the flaming yule log and GET THIS! (in fact, get two in case you lose one!)

No comments about Comfort & Joy: Volume Two.

2 comments about Ultimate St. Patrick's Day Celebration.

1. We're listening to this(along with several other wonderful Irish cds)at our St. Patrick's party, & it will be played several times more as the evening wears on. The faster, marching band type tunes make you want to dance, & the ballads will have everybody singing along while hoisting their glasses of Guiness. A must-have for your party. Toora-loora-loora!



2. I was happy that this CD came in time for St. Patrick's Day. And it is certainly a jolly listening experience. Thank you!

2 comments about The New Andy Williams Christmas Album.

1. The packaging was very nice for a collector's limited edition. The quality of the digital technology makes the sound awesome. I felt as
   if I was "in person" with Andy Williams live in concert.



2. I have always loved Andy Williams singing and his records were always a part of our Christmases when my children were growing up. This is a great album that includes traditional and fun songs, plus some nice additions from a couple of his Christmas specials. It is WONDERFUL and I just LOVE it!!! Thanks!

No comments about Turned on Christmas.

No comments about Christmas on the Range: Cowboy Classics from Capitol Records.

No comments about Songs of America from Another American.

5 comments about Handel - Messiah / Röschmann, Gritton, Fink , C. Daniels, N. Davies; McCreesh.

1. I bought this CD in 1998, almost 10 years ago. I have never enjoyed it from beginning to finish. It lacks severely in the ability to pull you right through: the tempi are wayward, varies uncomfortably, and leaves you wondering why an oratorio called Messiah should have rhythms so wayward and diverse without any emotional link.
   I wouldn't comment on individual pieces: they also vary in standard of performances.
   As a whole, it fails sadly to convince listeners that it IS the Messiah that Haendel would want it to be.



2. This can often be too clinical of a version. Overrall, it is excellent: the soloists are especially wonderful, as is the choir. I've been enjoying this version for quite some time, and it is as fresh and slick as you could want. But it lacks the humanity and warmth of even Marriner's double decca set. So while I am giving it four worthy stars, be sure it isn't the only one you get.



3. Maestro McCreesh's 1996 effort is a strong contender among the PI (period instrument) crowd. The orchestra doesn't screech, the chorus has weight, decent diction and color and the soloists have fine voices particularly the sopranos and the contralto.
   McCreesh appears to see the Messiah as drama or perhaps as opera. For example, contralto Bernarda Fink's desire for us feel her pain in "He was despised..." is over the top and distracting. The apparent intent of the players to strive for effect and to shade every word robs the performance of genuine sincerity-this is a work of spiritual expression after all. Nevertheless I enjoyed the performance for what it was and the interpretative approach will appeal to many.



4. People's preferences about Handel's Messiah are typically built on whether or not they enjoy the version being put forth. Paul McCreesh's performance, from the end of the last century, is the Foundling Hopsital performing version Handel may have known in his day. It substitutes certain women's voices -- and a countertenor in other recordings -- for certain arias a bass sings in traditional performances such as those led by Marriner and Colin Davis.
   
   I think this is a five-star performance for fans of the authenticity movement even though I have a few quibbles -- the tenor overinterprets my favorite aria, "Comfort Ye, Comfort Ye My People", and one of the sopranoes, I don't know which one, has an uncontrollabe vibrato in "He Shall Feed His Flock". In addition, the "Hallelujah" chorus hardly bursts forth from a big band orchestra to tumultuous singing by a 200-member choir; that's what you get in an authentic reading using a choir of 45 or less.
   
   These few quibbles aside, I think this is an outstanding performance that gets a big boost from the passion and somewhat eccentric leadership of Paul McCreesh, whose Mozart C Minor Mass, released last year, had all the same qualities as this performance of Messiah. McCreesh clearly is not a pasty-faced authenticist trying to minimize everything or deliver the goods in as chaste an aural environment as possible, something I often find tangbile in Gardiner's readings of great vocal scores.
   
   On the contrary, McCreesh leads the combined forces as if this is indeed a passion. He uses speeds both slower (Glory to God in the Highest) and faster than the norm (Surely He Hath Born Our Griefs) to express his vision. This is in keeping with the practice I've known among choral directors that have told the singers to be louder and quieter than the score markings recommend. This leads to an end product that, while not extreme, transcends the ordinary.
   
   Anyone looking for an ordinary performance won't like this one. While traditionalists may not enjoy the goings on and long for the days of Beecham, no argument can be made this is a poorly performed or badly sung version. Quite the contrary; the singing is as spectacular as I've ever heard in Messiah. For an example, listen to exposition of Handelian counterpoint in "Lift Up Your Gates".
   
   Fans of the version you sang in high school won't like the tempi selected throughout this performance, either. Still, McCreesh and his singers are outstanding throughout and everything is delivered in a wonderfully clear recording that lacks resonance and aura. I don't think this is because it was miked closely; I think it is the relative purtiy of approach one gets from a relatively small band and choir.
   
   DG has reissued this in super audio sound; I haven't heard that one. I'd say the stereo is very good in terms of clarity and delivery. You can understand everything everyone sings and it's delivered in crystal clear acoustics. The recording, in stereo, is not warm and friedly, however, and hall ambience does not exist. Yet the signing is the important thing and that's done better here than in other period performances I've heard led by Parrott and Pinnock. I don't know if this is the best period recording available of Messiah but it's a good one nonetheless.



5. It's hard to have one favorite for a work with so many diverse challenges and rewards; it's far too big for any one performance. But though I have a dozen or so recordings, this is the Messiah I've had the highest joys-to-frustrations ratio with for the last few years.
   
   Perhaps its strongest point, to my ears, is the technical assurance of the soloists, at no cost to their musicality. The thing that has jarred me most often from my enjoyment of this work is soloists just not quite hitting notes or articulating them cleanly, even with baroque specialists in other well regarded period performances, such as Hogwood and Pinnock. ("I shall shake" may as well be "I shall slide" in most recordings.) I agree with a previous reviewer who observes that McCreesh benefits from the maturity of period performance practices, which made great advances even in the decade leading up to this recording. The soloists here do amazingly well.
   
   As another reviewer pointed out, the chorus is "top-heavy," i.e. biased toward the sopranos, who sound appropriately angelic. I would have been happy to hear more strength and depth in the bass. It may be in part a technical artifact of the recording, or it could be an artistic choice. (Maybe we need to import some Russian basses! But could they sing Handel?) Like the soloists, the chorus is astonishingly technically secure, very musical, and never sounds like it's panting.
   
   The orchestra's playing is very well shaped, exceptionally crisp and nimble but expressively modulated. Indeed, that applies to the singing as well, each note and line lovingly contoured. My only real reservation on the instrumental side, which I notice again at each listening, is that the horn on "The Trumpet Shall Sound" seems too pastoral, too relaxed, too smooth, too legato, rather than sharing the appropriately urgent forcefulness of the vocal soloist. Beautiful but not quite fitting, for my view of what the piece is about.
   
   I enjoy the bracing rhythmic spring of many of the pieces, not breathless or over-punched but appropriately lively. On the other extreme, I understand the complaint I see here about the very slow "He Was Despised," but I find it highly effective. It draws me into the words in a way more typically delivered performances don't, without seeming overly mannered to me. The singing is beautiful. (There are reasons to think the piece was originally intended to be a showpiece for a favorite soloist who had very public reasons to identify with the lyrics.)
   
   Similarly, though I see the cause, I disagree with the reviewer who finds "Comfort Ye" over-interpreted. Again, it works very well for me. I see less cause for the same reviewer's feeling that the soprano singing "He Shall Feed His Flock" has an "uncontrollable" vibrato. To me it sounds tight and finely controlled, beautiful. Some have complained of the contralto's vibrato, which is more pronounced (as in "O Thou that Tellest Good Tidings"), but I think the complaints are overblown. Ms. Fink manages it pretty well. Whether it's "authentic" is a matter of some controversy but of relatively little weight in comparison to other points, I think, such as how well she hits the notes and fits the overall style, which she does very well. She does seem a bit underpowered to me, but only a bit.
   
   This performance leans slightly towards the theatrical, operatic side of the work, which McCreesh calls attention to in his notes. That doesn't make it less devotional, only less staid. I can't say I think every piece hits the sweet spot as to tempo and style. Some do strike me as too light, in particular, though never without some benefits from it. Even with the expressiveness throughout, and great feeling in some parts, I still occasionally long for a fuller measure of passion or forcefulness. I'm not sure there is a single sweet spot for many of the pieces, though, and I'm glad to hear and enjoy the choices made here as well as in other performances that bring out other sides of this great music.

5 comments about Christmas Extraordinaire.

1. I like Mannheim Steamroller's other Christmas albums. So, I kind of got carried away and bought this one without listening to it ahead of time. That was a mistake. I should have paid more attention to the negative reviews, as it's remarkably boring. The tunes all sound sort of similar as most feature either bells or a generic synthesizer. The layered complexity that made their other albums gems is missing. The melodies are so broken apart as to be almost unrecognizable, which for a Christmas album is not a good thing. I recommend skipping this one altogether and getting one of their better albums (e.g. Christmas in the Aire).



2. Excellent start with Hallelujah chorus and then fizzled after that with a few intermittent high points. I just did not like this particular package of songs. Too much new age sound toward the end. Wish I would have read the other reviews before purchase.



3. I purchased this CD for "Faeries" which I had heard on the radio...However, I find the whole CD has become one of my favorite Christmas albums. The Mannheim Steamroller's CD is truly 'extraordinaire'.



4. CD was in perfect condition!
   music is great! Added a different touch to my Christmas collection.



5. I bought this for my daughter for Christmas since I already had one. It is a great CD for Christmas.

1 comments about The Ultimate Christmas Album, Vol. 4: WCBS 101.1.

1. With the exception of this past year(1999), from '94-98 New York's Oldies Station's Ultimate Christmas Albums have become an annual holiday event. Each collection contains music we've all grown up with & some songs are rarities you might be hearing for the first time. Vol. 4 opens with Elvis' golden chestnut, Blue Christmas, & also included are Merry Christmas Baby as sung by Otis Redding, plus a hard to find version of Peace On Earth/Little Drummer Boy by David Bowie & Bing Crosby. I could go on & list every tune but won't, you'll just have to take my word for it that this is a great collection that you'll enjoy for many Christmases to come. This month Ultimate Christmas Album 5 will be released, and I anxiously look forward to adding it to my own collection. Get these collections & you're sure to have a really Cool Yule. Highly recommended.