Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Lots of new songs and new arrangements
Cons: A couple songs I
don't care for
The Bottom Line:
New material
Mixed with new takes on classics
Makes for a good disc
With Lots of New Songs, Matthew West Gets to The Heart of Christmas
I can't remember the last year where I didn't buy at least one new Christmas CD. Seems my favorite artists rotate who is releasing a Christmas CD that year.
With the huge success of a Christmas duet with Amy Grant
last year, I wasn't at all surprised that Matthew West decided to release a
Christmas CD in 2011. The Heart Of Christmas is made up of over half new songs and some different takes on old
classics. Overall, it's a winner.
Matthew and Amy collaborated on "Give This Christmas
Away," which actually was part of last year's VeggieTales DVD
release. The idea behind this duet is to
tangibly share the love and joy of Christmas by giving to those less fortunate
than ourselves. It's a challenging
reminder as we enter a season that can be so busy we forget to look to those
around us.
Amy Grant's husband Vince Gill also appears on this disc,
doing a duet with Matthew on "Leaving Heaven." As far as I know, this is the first song
written from Jesus' point of view about Christmas. Slightly on the upbeat side, the guitar
picking really helps set it apart. The
lyrics really make you feel special as we are reminded Jesus came to Earth to
die for us.
Rounding out the trio of duets, Mandisa joins in on
"Christmas Makes Me Cry." The
song isn't as sad as it sounds, although the verses do point out the people who
don't have the merry Christmas we all look forward to. But the chorus turns that into "Tears of
thankfulness/Tears of hope." Still,
I'm not that big a fan.
The real tear jerker on the disc is "One Last
Christmas." It tells the story of a
town that came together to give a terminally ill little boy a last
Christmas. It's a slow piano ballad, and
I dare you to listen to it without having tears come to your eyes. There is a little warmth to it giving it a
bittersweet feel, so it's not as bad as some tear jerker Christmas songs, but
I'm not a fan again. Does that make me
heartless? Maybe, but there you go.
On the other hand, the disc opener and closer are
wonderful. "Come On,
Christmas" is a toe tapping upbeat number that captures my excitement for
the season perfectly with talk about not taking down decorations or singing
"Jingle Bell Rock" since July.
He even asks Santa to come a little early this year. It perfectly captures the magic and fun of
the season.
"Day After Christmas" talks about the letdown of
the season being behind us, but reminds us that "the light of the world is
still here." It's a nice way to
finish things off as face the rest of the year.
And I love his lines about "Come January I'm ready for summer/The
Super Bowl's over and I'll settle for spring." Yep, that's me exactly. (And I live in Southern
California . Imagine if I
had to deal with true winter.)
The final of the new tracks is the title track. "The Heart of Christmas" is a
slower number that encourages us to slow down and enjoy our family and friends
this Christmas instead of getting caught up in the busyness of the season. What surprises me is that he waits until the
bridge to mention Jesus. Even so, it's a
good reminder that people are more important that check lists.
When it comes to the classics, they are a mix of traditional
and unique. What do I mean? Well, "Silent Night" is a quiet
instrumental track. "Have Yourself
a Merry Little Christmas" and "O, Holy Night" are filled with
piano and strings and feel very familiar.
But then there's "Jingle Bells" that takes the song in a toe
tapping, jazzy direction and mixes in touches of "Deck the Halls." I'm not normally a fan of "O Come, All
Ye Faithful" because it is too slow and repetitive. That's not the case here as Matthew gives it
fresh life with an upbeat Gospel rendition with more hints of jazz. It's way too much fun.
Because the new tracks outnumber the old standards, this one
will take a couple years to begin to truly feel like Christmas to me. But, with as many Christmas CD's as I have,
it's nice to have something that is different.
The Heart Of Christmas won't be one of the first discs I
pull out every Christmas, but it should still get plenty of play each year
because of its terrific new songs and good classics.
CD Length: 48:49
Tracks:
1. Come On, Christmas
2. Jingle Bells
3. The Heart of Christmas
4. Leaving Heaven
5. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
6. One Last Christmas
7. Silent Night
8. Give This Christmas Away
9. O, Holy Night
10. Christmas Makes Me Cry
11. O Come, All Ye Faithful
12. Day After Christmas
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