Music Review: Home for Christmas by Committed

Stars: 4 out of 5

Pros: “Nativity Medley,” Overall fun

Cons: “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Short

The Bottom Line:

Committed Christmas

Fun takes on familiar songs

On this short EP

This Christmas Release from Committed Has a Home in My Music Collection

As a fan of The Sing-Off, I was rooting for Committed during their time on the show during season two.  So I’m not sure why it took me two years to buy Home for Christmas, their holiday EP.  I mean, I love Christmas music.  While it’s not going to jump to the top in my collection, I certainly do like it.

The disc starts off with their version of “The Chipmunk Song.”  Of course, as they point out early on, they don’t have the budget for Chipmunks.  Actually, I’m okay with that.  Yes, they do run one line in a Chipmunk voice, but the rest of the song is the five guys singing and harmonizing.  They include member Therry trying to tell them what he wants for Christmas, which is actually a lot of fun.

Since I have so many Christmas discs, I love getting original songs to add to my collection.  The closest we come here is “Nativity Melody,” which is filled with Christmas carols we already know and love.  They mix in bits of “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” “Away in a Manger,” “He is Born, the Holy Child,” and “O Holy Night” with just a tad of “Carol of the Bells.”  It’s a lot of fun.

The rest of the disc presents their unique a cappella arrangements of familiar songs.  I especially love their take on “Do You Hear What I Hear” which mixes a couple of verses together in an echo that really works.  As much as I love “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” I find their arrangement doesn’t really work for me.  It’s just got a few moments that are more awkward as they reach for some harmonizes that don’t quite work for me.  Maybe it’s just my ear, but it’s a minor complaint overall.

Being an EP, this disc only has six tracks on it.  But it is priced accordingly, so I can’t complain about that.

If, like me, you’ve been putting off buying Home for Christmas, don’t wait any longer.  While not perfect, it will still find a place in your Christmas music collection.

CD Length: 18:48

Tracks:

1. Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don’t Be Late)

2. I’ll be Home for Christmas

3. Do You Hear What I Hear?

4. Nativity Medley

5. Sleigh Ride

6. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas