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Moments ago, I completed my review of An Accidental Christmas: A Cappella Holiday Classics, the award-winning original holiday release by The Accidentals. The 2007 follow-up is I'm Not Going Home for Christmas; this worthy successor provides creative treatments of additional favorites and includes a large dollop of the group's trademark humor. For more information about The Accidentals, check out the other review (here).

Led by Margaret Dorn, this intensely talented crew sings and arranges up a storm, transforming familiar fare into uncommonly fine results, including sly, unexpected twists. The Accidentals skewer "The Twelve Days of Christmas," delivering a hysterical doo-wop version in The Last 12 Days of the World. Trust me, you don't want to cross this girl. In Christine Lavin's Winter in Manhattan, the group presents a fun holiday greeting that will be best appreciated by long-suffering Manhattanites. This Gift is an ode to inartful gift-givers the world over. Overall, the 2007 release incorporates more jaded humor than the original holiday offering, but includes some very impressive "straight stuff" as well.

In the wee hours of a frosty October morning, my tastes tend more towards the classic than the cute, and I am loving the exquisitely rendered Hodie Christus and Ubi Caritas. Breath-takingly beautiful! The boogie-licious Frosty the Snowman and the multi-layered What Child Is This are other standouts.

Great a cappella music is always a pleasure, and I have been privileged to enjoy a double-dose of The Accidentals this morning. As between the two releases, I slightly prefer the original, which covers the bulk of the traditional holiday field and includes the incredible Rudiana. Impossible to duplicate that, although I'm Not Going Home for Christmas is its own separate success story.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2009)

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From the liner notes:

The Accidentals:
Emily Bindiger
Dennis Deal
Margaret Dorn
Stewart Gregory
Bill Mitchell
Marcia Pelletiere
Matthew Perri
Jim Vincent
Rosie Vallese

Alumni Accidentals:
Kevin DiSimone (tracks 7,8)
Todd Johnson (tracks 1,7)

Our roots are showing on this CD!

Marcia, Jim, Bill and I met as singers in a chamber choir. We decided to combine our love of classical music with our own original songs and arrangements, and so THE ACCIDENTALS were born. Over the years, Dennis, Emily, Rosie and Matt have joined us on an amazing journey that has yielded a richly diverse repertoire, five CDs, numerous awards and an international following. Our alumni are a cherished part of our family, and you'll hear Kevin, Todd and Stewart on this CD. As we've grown artistically our friendship has deepened. And when we say we're "not going home for Christmas," it's because when we're singing together, we're already home.
--Margaret Dorn

From the Website:

A unique mixed voice octet, The Accidentals are known for their sophisticated harmonies, off-beat sense of humor, and eclectic repertoire. With their original songs and distinctive arrangements, they have won many awards, including MAC Awards and Back Stage Bistro Awards, all awards for Best Vocal Group, and were the 1995 National Champions of the Harmony Sweepstakes. Their CD's have won several Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards, and songs from their CDs have been included in feature films and on television.

The Accidentals

I'm Not Going Home for Christmas

Artist link

Track List