Christmas Albums 2011: #3 - A Very She & Him Christmas

A Very She & Him Christmas by She & Him (Merge Records, 2011. 32 minutes)

She & Him is comprised of Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward, and was originally formed in the city of Portland, Oregon. A Very She & Him Christmas marks the band’s third release, following their previous albums Volume One (2008), and Volume Two (2010).

My Exception 

I must confess that I love Zooey Deschanel. Ever since she appeared in the movie Elf , I have found her sarcastic wit and beautiful, sultry voice to be absolutely breathtaking. Especially in this highly produced and vocally auto-tuned age, I find her voice refreshing. Having stated my confession, I bought A Very She & Him Christmas, as well as She & Him’s earlier releases for Zooey Deschanel, not M. Ward. That being said, M. Ward functions well as the “Him” portion of the duo. While most of the tracks are wonderful on this album, I’ll share a few of the highlights.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas

With this classic Christmas tune, visions of Elvis are dancing in my head. A soft organ and a highly reverbed “boom-chuck” guitar play throughout the tune. Deschanel’s voice takes charge throughout this sparse song, and some background vocals appear at points in the song. This version captures the song incredibly well with its sparse instrumentation and simple vocal line.

Baby, It’s Cold Outside! 

She & Him performs an exceptional rendition of this classic Sammy Davis, Jr. song. But, instead of the man in the song slyly wooing the woman to stay because it’s cold outside, She & Him cleverly reverses the roles. Zooey is hoping the M. Ward stays in, and it piques the listener’s interest because the woman asserts her affection on the man, instead of the traditional way the dialogue is played out. In short, produced by M. Ward himself, this song represents the songwriter's trademark indie-folk style.

Blue Christmas 

Lastly, I found that “Blue Christmas” – traditionally, an incredibly melancholy song – was one of the best on the album. The tune reminds me of the Beach Boys’ version of the song from the 1964 record, The Beach Boys' Christmas Album. The song’s lyrics combined with Ward’s sensitive guitar playing and Deschanel’s soft voice make for a compelling arrangement and it completely captures the longing of a lover during Christmas time.

“I’ll have a blue Christmas without you, Ill be so blue thinking about you. Decorations of red on a green Christmas tree, won’t be the same dear if you’re not here with me.”

Will A Very She & Him Christmas Last? 

My last two Christmas album posts have pondered the idea that a good Christmas album will be passed down from generation to generation. And I really think that with the good arrangements found on the album, A Very She & Him Christmas could find itself on playlists decades down the road. Though She & Him is an indie band with a smaller following, the album’s depth and quality speaks for itself; it breaks through at the top of the Christmas records this year, even without all the fancy production bells and whistles found in my last two reviews. A Very She & Him Christmas is a simple, easy-to-listen-to album that I feel everyone should spin for Christmases to come.

Verdict: 5 out of 5

Posted by:  Andrew Jacobson
---
Affiliate Links:

Christmas Albums 2011: #2 - Under The Mistletoe

Under the Mistletoe by Justin Bieber (Island Records, 2001. 38 Minutes)

Born in 1994, Justin Bieber has received several awards including a Juno award for best pop album of the year for My World 2.0 in 2011. He was also nominated for Best New Artist and Best Pop Vocal Album at the 53rd Grammy Awards. A teen idol, his best known song is “Baby”, of which the music video is currently ranked as the most discussed Youtube video.

I’m not a Belieber 

First, let me say I don’t like Justin Bieber, and never have. I find his teen pop vocals disturbingly bad, and frankly now that he’s no longer a high voiced soprano, any novelty that was associated with him is now gone.

I wanted to absolutely hate this album; I hoped this review would be plagued with jokes about Bieber’s manhood, his terrible musicality, and anything else I could jadedly throw out at him. But, the sad truth is, there are one or two redeeming qualities to the album and in an effort to be honest, I’ll share them with you.

Mistletoe 

His title track, “Under the Mistletoe” actually fits his voice; it’s somewhat catchy, mellow, and not that bad to listen to. However, I did feel like he was trying to be Bruno Mars, and that attempt didn’t sit that well with me, because amateurs imitate and professionals should innovate. He sounds the most mature vocally on the title track, and I think it’s most likely because the Canadian group The Messengers, known for their intricate style, helped produce this track.

Fa La La 

Secondly, the tune, “Fa La La”, was actually a significant surprise for me, not because of Justin Bieber’s contribution, but because Boyz-II-Men made a guest appearance. Their vocal talent helped the song out tremendously and I daresay I even enjoyed the song to a certain extent. On the other hand, however, and perhaps condemningly, Boyz-II-Men’s performance greatly outshines Justin Bieber in comparison.

Christmas Desecrations 

Sadly, after “Mistletoe” and “Fa la la” which at least had some redeeming qualities, the album made a desecration of the entire Christmas tradition. I’ve always loved the song “Drummer Boy”, but Bieber made it a terrible song by rapping after every verse with Busta Rhymes after some terrible auto-tuned T-Pain-like vocals. This song is exactly what I feared I would hear on the album. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” also delivers the same sentiment along with Mariah Carey singing on the terrible semi-flirty rendition of “All I Want for Christmas is You.”

All in all, this album was the disappointment I expected it to be, but there were a couple gems I could muster through. Christmas albums that are good survive decades and are passed down to children and children’s children. This album assuredly won’t be passed down to another generation, or at least, for the love of God, I hope not.

Verdict: 1 out of 5

Posted by: Andrew Jacobson

Affiliate Links:

Christmas Albums 2011: #1 – Christmas

Christmas by Michael Bublé (Reprise Records, 2011. 52 minutes)

Michael Bublé is a Canadian singer and actor, who found wide acclaim interestingly through performances at business parties, and later a wedding. He has won three grammy awards for best traditional pop album, and multiple Juno awards as well. With his 2007 album, Call Me Irresponsible, he reached the top of the Billboard top 200 chart.

Christmas Time!

Christmas time is here, and with it, new Christmas albums. These albums range from good to bad, but a few have caught my attention. So be forewarned; I will be reviewing one album a week through Christmas with an effort to spread the word and good cheer. So, Merry Christmas!

Crooners 

Michael Bublé’s album, Christmas, is one that harkens back to Baby, It's Cold Outside, and many other old crooner Christmas classics. Michael Bublé, in his standard fashion, brings back the croon with a few new tunes as well. He starts the album with “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” in an homage to the Bing Crosby classic.

Variety 

Bublé also brings some not-so-classic Christmas tunes into play, including a poppy original tune, “Cold December Night” and Darlene Love’s arrangement of “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).” While I certainly prefer Bublé when he is singing Sinatra-esque songs, his pop tunes provide Christmas cheer just as well as the older classics.

In addition to these new songs, Bublé invites some well-known talent to join him. The Puppini Sisters sing “Jingle Bells” with him in a doo-wop style much like The Chordettes; Shania Twain joins Bublé in “White Christmas”; and Latin sensation Thalia joins him for “Feliz Navidad”.

Ending 

Michael Bublé ends the album, in my opinion, the best way he could by singing the classic “Ave Maria” with astounding technique, phrasing, and diction. He brings a remarkable voice to a long standing Christmas tradition, and makes this song hauntingly beautiful and a delightful way to end a record.

Christmas Special 

Christmas also acts as an excellent introduction to what will assuredly be an amazing Christmas special airing, tonight, December 6 on NBC at 8PM EST. I hope you get a chance to watch; I surely will.

Christmas contains both tunes that have become engrained in our memories from past Christmases and welcomed new additions. Much like how I keep going back to the crooner Christmas records of old, I foresee myself going back to this album every Christmas. I’m sure with its great variety, talent, and repertoire it will become a classic album for the ages to come. If you love classic Christmas tunes and the crooner style, I recommend Michael Bublé’s Christmas.

Verdict: 4 out of 5
---
Posted By:  Andrew Jacobson

Affiliate Links: