[.ca] Christmas Is Almost Here Again

Oh, I disagree!!!:
This CD is quiet and understated.If flash and lots of studio processing is what you are after,get another artist.I found this CD touching.It made me happy to hear it.

Not To Be Confused...:
Not to be confused with last year's Christmas CD entitled "Christmas Is Almost Here" which showed a lot of originality and a nice duet with her son on God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen as well as a spirited duet with Willy Nelson on "Pretty Paper."

Great C.D.!!:
This is a beautiful c.d. It's simple and understated in some ways and in some ways it's bigger and bolder than any other Christmas recording on the market. Carly Simon makes music that is "stripped back" and intimate. The miracle, the mystery, the seeking and the celebration are all components that Carly Simon has put in front of the listener. The spiritual Christmas songs like "Silent Night", "O Come, All Ye Faithful", are treated with grace and tenderness. The soulful, "Twelve Gates To the City" is a song you'll find yourself singing over and over. Carly Simon's arrangement of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen" is just great! The reggae beat along with Ben Taylor, her son, make this a classic remake. The Christmas standards "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and "I'll be Home for Christmas" are just beautiful. Carly knows how to take a standard and put her stamp on it without taking away from the song. "White Christmas" with Burt Bacharach, again has her stamp on it. "The Land of Christmas (Mary)" is a song that Carly wrote and is probably one of the best songs she has written in years. It has all the qualities that you expect from a self-penned song by Carly. It's a great song with lots of emotion and soul. She also wrote "Forgive" which is very simple and beautiful. Andreas Vollenweider plays harp. "Christmas is Almost Here" written by Livingston Taylor, "Pretty Paper" a duet with Willie Nelson and John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War is Over) are all well preformed by Carly and very enjoyable. "Heaven" is the song on this c.d. that brings it all together. Written by Lucy Simon (her sister) and Carly, it sets a tone that puts a "yearning" in the listener's heart to experience the miracle, the mystery, the celebration, the search and the Savior. If you're looking for a "over produced" c.d. with all the "whistles and bells" then this may not be the c.d. for you. If you're looking for something that seems like Carly is singing in your living room while music is being played by Willie Nelson, Billy Preston, Burt Bacharach, Andreas Vollenweider, and other great musicians then this is the c.d.!! This is a c.d. that will be played and enjoyed for years to come.

Carly Shines:
Carly stays true to form with this FABULOUS seasonal album. A mixture of standards and original works, "Heaven" and "The Land of Christmas" are heartbreakingly beautiful--Carly's voice is in top form. The spontaneous making of this album is apparent with the somewhat "raw" sound (although it has been sort-of 'mixed'), but you can tell it comes from Carly's heart to ours. :-)

Appalling vocals:
I usually like Carly Simon, and I love Christmas music, but this album is dreadful. Much is made in the liner notes of it being "spontaneous" and "almost live." That's great, but since Carly does admit to some re-editing done later, couldn't she have re-done some of the vocals? Her voice here sounds raw, raspy, forced and uncomfortable. Much of the music sounds too high and makes me wonder how much voice Carly has left. The sound quality is fair, but the arrangements are just unpleasant. The "duet" with Burt Bacharach, which consists of him moaning for a few off-key seconds, is embarrassing, and so is "The Land Of Christmas," where Carly seems to be channeling Janis Joplin. While "O Little Town of Bethlehem" is lovely, the endless song "Twelve Gates to the City" which is the same verse over and over for four minutes, is a mistake. Another nails-on-the-chalkboard moment comes when Carly adds her own lyrics to one of my favorite songs, "I'll be Home for Christmas." What's with this "I won't have to sit in the driveway" garbage? The only good thing about this Christmas CD is that it's not quite as bad as Neil Diamond's! NOT recommended.

• Christmas Is Almost Here
• White Christmas \o*\c - Burt Bacharach, Carly Simon
• O Come All Ye Faithful
• Land of Christmas (Mary)
• Silent Night
• Twelve Gates to the City
• I'll Be Home for Christmas
• God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
• Heaven
• Pretty Paper
• Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
• Happy Xmas (War Is Over)
• Forgive \o*\c