Music Review: The Voice of Christmas by Sandi Patty

Stars: 3 out of 5
Pros: Good Christmas Songs
Cons: The best have already been released
The Bottom Line:
Too much opera
Especially on the new tracks
Stick with her others




A Compilation of Christmas Memories

Sandi Patty has been wowing audiences since the early 80's with her amazing voice. With a range of multiple octaves, she can sing any song with ease.

I've been a fan since the late 80's when she was at the height of her popularity in Christian music. One of the first albums I got was her first Christmas project, The Gift Goes On. I have loved that project ever since and listen to it multiple times every year.

I've bought her other official Christmas releases as well. Since she just released a project last year, I was surprised to find she had another one out this year. Naturally, I snapped The Voice of Christmas up right away. Unfortunately, it's a bit of a disappointment.

The CD is billed as mostly rare recordings. Half of the tracks are indeed songs I didn't have in my Sandi Christmas collection. They originated on two Hallmark releases I had some how missed. The other six tracks are from her first two wide releases. I love them, especially "Bethlehem Morning" and "Carol of the Bells." The CD closes with "Merry Christmas with Love," which has closed two of her three previous Christmas releases. Here, it isn't paired with "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." I find I miss that coupling.

The problem really comes with the new to me songs. Sandi has a tendency to go into the upper octaves for extended periods of time or build in intensity until she gets there. She does it often enough I've started calling it her "opera approach." This is something she's done through her entire career but does more and more with each new release. When she does it on one or two songs per project, it's wonderful. Her voice truly is amazing, and I love listening to it. However, when she does it on every song, it gets tiring. Unfortunately, that's what happens here. Four of the six songs are "opera approach" in nature from start to finish. I was excited when I saw two of my favorite carols, "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing" among the offerings, but the arrangements here make it hard to listen to them. Since several of the songs I already had also fall into this style, it makes the disc monotonous to listen to.

That's not to say that the six new songs are all bad. She does two songs with Peabo Bryson here. "How Great Our Joy!" does a fun round on the last verse. "Go Tell it on the Mountain" has a laid back Gospel feel to it that makes it one of my favorite versions of this classic carol. And since it's a song I'm only now growing to appreciate, that's saying something.

Since my favorite tracks on here are the ones I already had, I doubt I'll give The Voice of Christmas more then one or two spins each year.

CD Length: 43:57

Tracks:

1. O Magnify the Lord

2. The First Noel

3. How Great Our Joy! (with Peabo Bryson)

4. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel

5. Bethlehem Morning

6. O Holy Night!

7. Hark! the Herald Angels Sing

8. Worship the King

9. Carol of the Bells

10. Ave Maria

11. Go Tell it on the Mountain (with Peabo Bryson)

12. Merry Christmas with Love