[.ca] Crystal Christmas In Sweden

From Amazon.com:
Join Crystal Gayle, John Davidson, David Hasselhoff, and Michael Damian as they celebrate Christmas in the "crystal kingdom": Kalmar and Orrefors, Sweden. This 46-minute video from 1987 features 13 favorite Christmas songs performed in various Swedish locales as well as a brief tour of the Orrefors glass-blowing factory. Solo performances include Gayle's "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "O Holy Night," Davidson's "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," Hasselhoff's "Country Christmas," and Damian's "Another Christmastime Without You." Gayle and Davidson pair up on "It's That Time of Year," Gayle and Hasselhoff join together on "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)," and the four collaborate on a medley of Christmas carols. Song arrangements are fairly traditional, with overlaid string, rhythm, and vocal tracks providing the accompaniment. World champion pair skaters Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner give a wonderfully photographed nighttime skating performance set to Gayle's "Silent Night." In addition to its musical content, this video explores several Swedish Christmastime customs, including the four Sundays of Advent, the tradition of Santa Lucia, and the formal midday feast on December 24. --Tami Horiuchi

Crystal DVD:
I am a big Crystal fan, and am always looking for something new from her, but I was really disapointed with the DVD. It was recorded several years ago, and many of the songs were dubbed from her Christmas CD, and were not even re-recorded for the DVD. In a word, stick to her Christmas CD.

Buy it for the singing not for the production:
I've had this video for a number of years. Sadly, each time I watch again at Christmas I notice one more example of bad filming and writing. No doubt, Crystal is a favorite of mine, and this being from her younger days, she shines in vocal abilities and beauty. But throughout the special, the writing is just plain bad, the lines corny, and the interactions awkward. It is mentioned that Crystal's guests are friends- David Hasselhoff, John Davidson, and Michael Damian. I don't mean to sound overly critical, but she didn't exactly choose gifted singers here. There is one scene with Crystal, David, and John singing together in a church, and at the end of the number, John goes totally off-key in his harmony attempts- and they didn't even cut it! We get an education of sorts of some different aspects of Sweden. Good attempts, but there are times when Crystal is what you could call the interviewer of sorts. She seems a bit unsure of what to say, and the scene just seems awkward. I couldn't help wonder how some of these scenes slipped through. The scenery does have its beauty. And without a doubt, Crystal Gayle's richness, power and vocal ability lend themselves beautifully to "White Christmas," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," and a host of others. If it were an hour-long video of Crystal singing those holiday gems, I would give it six stars if I could.

AWFUL!:
THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO SAY...AWFUL! THERE'S NOT ENOUGH ROOM TO SAY HOW AWFUL.