Review and More

Our Review

Some of the best Christmas music comes from Canada. Seriously. Carolyn Arends is another fabulous gem from our northern neighbor. Her Christmas: An Irrational Season is much more than just a holiday release with a cool title. It's a smokin' set of largely original Christmas pieces, sprinkled with a few traditional favorites. The resulting folk-pop melange satisfies the ear and gladdens the heart.

I love music like this. Arends is spiritual and crazy-creative; this is well-written and professionally-executed acoustic music. The mood is warm and intimate, but bursting with the joy of the season. A broad audience will find much to like here.

Holiday albums sporting numerous original pieces can be a disappointment; after all, we nostalgically long for the well-worn classics from Christmases long ago. Arends never disappoints; she manages an excellent mix of the new with the familiar, and her songwriting is terrific. I particularly enjoyed the rhythmic Come and See with its rollicking island feel, deep harmony vocals, and unstoppable spirit (the chorus refrain "It's the great love of God in the cry of a babe" stayed with me for days after the CD ended). The more contemplative, but equally lovely, Do Not Be Afraid speaks of Mary, "[h]alf a woman, half a child." The smartly written My First Christmas delivers the fundamental Christmas message on multiple levels. As for the holiday classics, Arends delivers here, too, including a gorgeous a cappella intro and fine harmonies on Angels We Have Heard on High. Arends' clean, welcoming voice makes each piece totally accessible and heartfelt; she has quite a gift!

Christmas: An Irrational Season is an excellent holiday offering. So do yourself a major favor and "Go Canadian" with Carolyn Arends this Christmas!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2007)

More

From the liner notes:

The Band:
Randall Stoll: Drums and Percussion
Rene Worst: Electric, Acoustic, Arco and Fretless Bass
Roy Salmond: Things with Keys, Electric Guitar, Percussion and Backing Vocals
Spencer Capier: Things with Strings and Backing Vocals
Carolyn Arends: Vocals, Acoustic Guitars

Many of the arrangements on this album began with live versions by the Carolyn Arends Trio (Carolyn Arends, Spencer Capier and Spencer Welch)

Produced by Carolyn Arends
Associate Producer: Roy Salmond
Recorded and Mixed at Whitewater Studio, Surrey, British Columbia

Carolyn Arends

Christmas: An Irrational Season

Order from Amazon

Track List