The Sounds of the Season

Image courtesy of www.123rf.com

Image courtesy of www.123rf.com

As a very aural person, I love music, especially Christmas music. Now, I do have my limits. There are a couple of local radio stations that I no longer listen to because they begin playing Christmas music 24×7 on November 1st. I’m sorry, but there are only so many times one can hear Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer and I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas and remain sane; these stations hit that limit within a week.

I usually haul my Christmas CDs out the day after Thanksgiving. The music of the season is what really puts me in the Christmas mood and helps me relax when the stress would otherwise get the best of me. This year I found myself a week into December and feeling a bit blue and Grinch-y at best. Then I realized that my music was still gathering dust in the attic. I changed that Sunday afternoon. I have a 60 CD case that is pretty much full. However, out of all of my choices, there are 3 CDs that I play over and over.

 

Phillips, Craig and Dean: Repeat the Sounding Joy

I’ll be the first to admit that for the most part, I prefer male singers over female. I also love harmony, which is one of the things that drew me to this trio from the beginning. This album has non-traditional arrangements of traditional music and their rendition of O Come, O Come Emmanuel is breath-taking; this song is what I imagine the choirs of heaven sound like.

NewSong: The Christmas Shoes

Yes, those Christmas Shoes; the song that had us all weeping into our eggnog the year it released. (I’m including you here, guys. Don’t try to deny it. I’m sure plenty of you snuck off for a good sniffle when it played.) This album has my favorite renditions of Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree and You’re A Mean One Mr. Grinch. Like Phillips, Craig and Dean, NewSong harmonizes beautifully. Also, different group members perform the lead vocals on different tracks. However, there is one vocalist whose voice makes me weak in the knees; his rendition of O Holy Night has the ability to reduce me to tears – in a good way.

John Denver and the Muppets: A Christmas Together

Yes, you read that right. One of my all-time favorite Christmas albums includes the Muppets. I’ve always liked John Denver; he makes singing seem so effortless. This album is filled with a mixture of traditional and non-traditional songs; there isn’t a bad one in the bunch. This CD is such a tradition in our home that when my sons moved out, they received their own copies to continue the tradition in their new homes.

Which artists perform your Christmas favorites? I’m always looking for more music to add to my collection. :-)

2 comments

    • Isabella Norse says:

      Oooh – Aaron Neville. I didn’t know he had a Christmas album. I’ll have to check it out! Thanks for stopping by, Carrie. :-)

Leave a Reply to Carrie Rubin Cancel reply