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Our Review

Pianist Doug Astrop has put together a nice calling card with his Holiday Sounds, a six-pack of songs, taking advantage of several well-known classics to set the mood for his two nice originals, Angelic, and Welcome Home. Astrop's style is light, understated, and pensive. His arrangements are warm and well-articulated, without crossing the line into over-the-top new age finger thrumming.

The background vocals on Angelic lend the song an almost Gothic quality I found appealing. Welcome Home had a simple, traditional vibe that, for some reason, put me in mind of the pilot episode of that old '70s television show, The Waltons. I don't remember the exact plot: somehow there's this blizzard, and they think John Boy is lost in the snow, and there's a lot of suspense about that but then he shows up and they all have Christmas dinner. At least that's how I remember it.

Anyway, as I said, a perfect calling card for Astrop, and a must-have for new age aficionados.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2008)

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From the liner notes:

Produced, arranged and performed by Doug Astrop
Mixed by Jeff Frickman at Sonic Groove Studios, Nashville, TN
Cover designed by Ian Farlow

Doug Astrop

Holiday Sounds

Artist link

Track List