Christmas album reviews

Is it too early to start talking about Christmas? I realize that the Halloween "holiday" doesn't even take place until next week, but as we have not really spent any time focusing on or talking to the kids about Halloween, I keep thinking it has already passed. My Halloween plans typically revolve around not going to the office costume party and trying to figure out how not to be at home for the trick-or-treaters.

Anyway, every year I typically buy one or more new Christmas CDs. I call it a tradition, but the only one who really pays any attention to the tradition is me, so that's probably a stretch. The last month or so, I have gotten several e-mails from Third Day regarding their new Christmas album, Christmas Offerings. As I have stated before, Third Day is one of the few Christian groups that I listen to with any frequency, and since the other two albums in the "Offerings" series have been pretty good, I was looking forward to this one. I bought it online when it was released. I also saw a new James Taylor Christmas CD at Wal*Mart the other day and picked it up on a whim. This one is titled, very originally, James Taylor at Christmas.

I listened to the Third Day CD in the van for the first time last week, and I have to say I was disappointed. I generally expect Third Day to do some interesting things on several of the songs on any particular album, and to put together a real gem or two. The original Offerings album begins with "King of Glory," which is one of my all-time favorite songs. It rocks, it quotes directly from the Bible, and it builds from this low-key guitar and vocal piece to a powerful full-throated band and choir number that can bring tears to your eyes if you're not careful. Even Offerings II: All I Have to Give features a few rousing numbers like "Sing a Song," although overall it is inferior to the first. The source of my let-down on the Christmas album is that I expected at least a couple of tunes that Third Day really put their stamp on, maybe even a couple of rockers. The best song on the album is probably "Do You Hear What I Hear?" which is just a live version of a song that they did for one of those in-store promotional Christian CDs that we already had anyway. The sad thing about it is that every one of the tracks could have been done by just about anyone - nothing terrible, but just 'blah.' There are a few original songs scattered amongst the traditional ones, and while they are slightly more interesting musically, in my opinion they are all lyrically weak. Without Mac Powell's distinct voice, well, I'd probably never listen to it again.

So before I bought the JT album, I had this musical washout on my hands. I picked up the James Taylor disc mainly because his Greatest Hits CD is a perennial favorite of ours, and I know he still has the voice. This album, which turns out to be a re-packaging of a Hallmark exclusive album released in 2004, nevertheless turned out to be a surprise. The arrangements of the traditional songs are jazzy and interesting, and as I said before, JT still has the voice. I remember LJ coming into the room while I was listening to it and asking "Is that 'Jingle Bells'?" She wasn't sure, because it sounded different - i.e., not like every other version of "Jingle Bells" ever recorded. I mean, once you've heard Bing Crosby sing "White Christmas," is there ever a need to hear anyone else attempt it? Negatory, good buddy. Aside from "Baby, It's Cold Outside," which I got tired of years ago (no offense to JT or Natalie Cole) this is an album I can tell that I'm going to listen to again and again for years to come.