Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Fun a cappella arrangements of classic Christmas carols
Cons: A couple tracks
don't work for me.
The Bottom Line:
Ten groups, ten carols
With an a cappella twist
It's diverse and good
Season Two's Contestants of The Sing-Off Wish You a Merry Christmas
Last year, I got hooked on NBC's The Sing-Off. Yes, it's a singing competition, which I
usually avoid. But since I love a
cappella music, I gave this a try and loved it.
For the second season, the show started out with ten different a
cappella groups. And, before the season
even started, each of those groups recorded one familiar Christmas song for The Sing Off: Harmonies for the Holidays.
The groups may all be a cappella groups, but they show a
great diversity of styles, and that is reflected in these ten tracks. If you only like one musical style, you won't
appreciate that diversity, but I actually find it fun for something different.
The disc opens with Pitch Slapped singing "Joy to the
World." The group is made up of
students from the Berklee College of Music in Boston .
The song starts out slow for the first verse, but after that they really
up the tempo for a fast, almost rock version.
On the Rocks is a group of 15 guys from Oregon .
Personally, I think they are trying to be the next Straight No Chaser
from their name to use of humor in their songs.
They tackle "White Christmas" and do a pretty impressive cover
of The Drifter's classic version of the song.
As a result, it's got a fun doo wop feel to it. The two soloists have amazing voices,
especially Jake Jepsen, whose low voice starts and ends the song.
The first misstep is The Backbeat's "O Holy
Night," which is a shame since I actually like this group of 20 something
men and women from Southern California.
The first verse is fine, but they try to amp things up for the second
verse and repeat of the chorus. Instead
of creating the tight harmonies I love in a cappella music, it gets overbearing
and just short of clashing. I'm sure someone
with a different ear will tell me how brilliant it is, but to me it turns to
noise.
Dubbed "The real life Glee" by the judges on the
show, Eleventh Hour is a mixed group of high school students from Ohio . Let me tell you, these teens can sing. They cover the Jackson 5 arrangement of "Santa Claus is
Comin' to Town," and it's as fast and fun as the original. Three or four of them trade off the lead
vocals, but no one misses a beat or a note.
You'll be smiling and tapping your toes in no time.
Men of Note is made up of eight guys who started singing
together in high school in New York . I'm not normally a fan of their song,
"The First Noel," because I find it too slow. But I actually find this version
interesting. Their harmonies are great,
and they have picked up the tempo slightly, which makes it less painful for
me. Also, one of the guys sings
incredibly high. I keep thinking this is
one of the mixed groups and that's a lady singing. But it doesn't come off as forced or fake at
all.
My favorite track has to be "God Rest Ye Merry
Gentlemen" by The Wiffenpoofs. This
all male group from Yale are the latest incarnation of a group that's been
around for over 100 years. They infuse
their track with a classic feel that changes the tempo quite often. The lead vocals are a tad dramatic, but that
just adds to the fun I have with it.
Committed is one of my favorite groups on the show, so it
was no surprise I liked their version of "Angels We Have Heard on
High." This is the only group in
the competition what doesn't use vocal percussion regularly. Instead, you get almost barbershop like
harmonies as these six guys they sing the familiar carol. After a mid-tempo first verse and chorus,
they introduce human made bell sounds that add some fun to the song.
Another disappointing track is Jerry Lawson & Talk of
the Town. While I had never heard of
Jerry Lawson before, his 40 years with The Persuasions certainly gives him a
nice pedigree when it comes to the competition.
While I'm not normally a huge R&B fan, I've enjoyed their choices on
the show. Sadly, "Silent
Night" doesn't fare so well. For
starters, they speed it up some. Now, don't
get me wrong, I have several versions of the song I like that are sped up. This time, however, the arrangement just sounds
like they are racing through it, almost as if they counted off too fast before
they started to sing. Then we get to the
part where Jerry recites part of "The Night Before Christmas" and
then acts like it's part of the Bible story.
I don't know, just strange if you ask me.
Thematically, I never would have put "We Three
Kings" and "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" together, but musically,
the two are a perfect match, especially when Groove for Thought sings
them. This group from Seattle started out as some music teachers,
but has evolved some since and now includes a father/daughter combo among the
members. They add a jazz twist to many
of their numbers, and it is perfect with these two songs. A couple times, their harmonies seem a little
off to me, but that only lasts a few seconds.
Overall, this is a fun track.
Finally, Street Corner Symphony closes out the disc with
"Auld Lang Syne." Their Nashville roots show as
they give it a Southern rock flair. As
always with these guys, the six members sound amazing. They do some stuff vocally that I didn't know
anyone could do. It's a fun end to a
good disc.
At a hair over 34 minutes, it's over very quickly. In fact, I almost wish we had a couple of
group numbers to make it a little longer.
But since the disc was recorded all over the country, that wouldn't have
been possible.
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