Our Review
Reminiscent of Enya, Caroline Bowles' voice is the star of this show. Her haunting, almost child-like tones float with beauty and grace over the largely traditional holiday numbers in "Christmas Carols." Bowles loves Celtic-roots music, and that fascination is reflected here.
"Christmas Carols" has thirteen cuts, and the focus is on contemplative, religious numbers. The song selections are solid and include some personal favorites ("Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming," "Huron Carol"). The artist's voice is both expressive and innocent, gently demanding the listeners' attention as it weaves a spell over musical territory both familiar and unknown.
Highlights abound; I especially enjoyed the highland pipes, which eerily charge the atmosphere on "Away in a Manger" and "In the Bleak Midwinter." "Silent Night," the album's final cut, is an excellent showcase for Bowles' slightly breathy, but pure, vocal.
Caroline Bowles and her husband Randall Furlong started their recording label, Radio Angel Records, in July 2000 to promote Christian independent artists. The company name is quite appropriate, especially given the uniquely angelic quality of Bowles' voice.
"Christmas Carols" is a lovely holiday CD. If Enya or Loreena McKennitt has ever found a spot on your CD shelf, then you should definitely welcome Caroline Bowles into your home this Christmas.
--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2004)
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From the liner notes:
Musicians:
Lead Vocals: Caroline Bowles; Backing Vocals: Caroline Bowles; Piano, synthesizers: Paul English; Percussion: James Metcalfe; Cello: Max Dyer, Erika Johnson; Violin: Eden MacAdam-Somer, Batya MacAdam-Somer, Mikylah Myers; Guitars: Erich Avinger; Bass: Rankin Peters, Brennen Nase; Irish Flute: Turlach Boylan; Highland Pipes: E.J. Jones; Harp: Faith Porter.
From the web site:
About Caroline Bowles:
A self-described "ordinary girl" from Houston Texas, Caroline has been singing songs about life, love and God in coffee houses, churches, clubs and "pretty much any venue that would have me" since she got out of high school. And with a voice described by one critic as "a rare and entrancing combination of achingly pure tone and sensual warmth" (David Pearl, Lively Arts, London) Caroline had a lot of opportunities. Well-loved in her hometown of Houston, Texas, she started to venture out with the release of her debut album, "Wondrous Love", which received wide radio play on independent Christian radio stations around the USA and some attention abroad.
After spending the last two years recording and promoting "Wondrous Love" [her first album], Caroline managed to complete a 2nd album, "Christmas Carols," in the process, and teamed up with veteran producer Paul English, who showcased Caroline and brought her work to the next level, described by David Pearl of London's Lively Arts as a meeting of Enya and the Voix Bulgares .
About "Christmas Carols":
Christmas Carols, exquisitely performed with intensity and delicacy to stunning arrangements, is a selection of familiar and less common carols.
Caroline Bowles
Christmas Carols
Artist link
Label: Radio Angel
Length: 42 minutes
Genre: New Age
Release: 2000
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| O Come, O Come Emmanuel |
| Of the Father's Love Begotten |
| Creator of the Stars of Night |
| Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming |
| What Child Is This? |
| Huron Carol |
| A Stable Lamp is Lighted |
| Away in a Manger |
| When Jesus Left His Father's Throne |
| Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence |
| In the Bleak Midwinter |
| O Little Town of Bethlehem |
| Silent Night |