Music Review: The Sing-Off - Harmonies for the Holidays

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.

Yes, there are a couple of weak tracks on The Sing Off: Harmonies for the Holidays, but it is still an enjoyable addition to my Christmas music collection.  If you enjoy a cappella music, and especially if you enjoy the show, you'll want to get this disc.