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Our Review

Harvey Reid and Joyce Andersen are the yin & yang of Christmas Morning, and it is a magnificent partnership. Reid is a guitarist extraordinaire, having won the National Fingerpicking contest and the international autoharp contest, and Andersen is a fiddler of renown. Both know how to sing, and they are a perfectly matched set on this outstanding holiday release.

How many ways do I love this album? Let me count! First, I am a sucker for lovely harmonies, and male/female duets are especially complementary and cool when the chemistry is right. About 10 bars into I Saw Three Ships, the first track, I knew that I had something special on my hands. Reid and Andersen, partners in music and life, sing together like two old souls, effortlessly well-paired and wonderful together. Their textured voices fit like puzzle pieces into one grand picture. Second, I have always favored simple, beautifully-executed, acoustic string offerings when Christmas rolls around, and Christmas Morning is chock-full of those, too. Between Andersen's fine fiddling and Reid's masterful guitars/mandolin/autoharp/mandocello/lap steel, the two create an acoustic strings Nirvana, and I don't mean Kurt Cobain. Third, for me, folksy folk music just seems naturally right this time of year--all about the basics and warmly suited to the season.

Anything else? Yes. This release goes for a full hour, covering 18 terrific tracks. Many old favorites are here, and some new favorites appear as well, all with an understandable emphasis on the folk tradition. The balance between vocals and instrumentals really clicks. And the recording quality is top-notch, putting these accomplished musicians right in your living room.

Not all of the vocals are duets. For example, on Song of the Magi Andersen delivers a powerful solo about modern Bethlehem. I had not previously heard this impressive number, and I hung on every word. Reid's solo acoustic guitar and vocal on Jean Ritchie's fine Winter Grace is another marvelous milestone.

Christmas Morning is a superb holiday release, through and through. For the most part, the tone is warmly reverential, although the sizzling Merry Christmas Baby is a fun and bluesy exception. Just wonderful! What else works? Everything, but I particularly recommend First Christmas Away from Home, a wrenching tale about the darker side of the holiday--and another fresh discovery for me. That first Christmas away from home is sometimes just not the way it is supposed to be. Reid's Not Grieve the Dying Light, a prayer for the return of daylight, is also a gem; Reid and Andersen open with marvelous a cappella verses before breaking out the autoharp and fiddle. Finally, the two do a memorable version of Willie Nelson's iconic Pretty Paper; the two trade off the melody and harmony lines to good effect.

If you enjoy folk music, acoustic music, and/or great duets, you should have Christmas Morning in your holiday music collection. In fact, if you have a pulse, this offering is for you. Enough said.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2009)

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From the liner notes:

Harvey Reid: Vocals, Guitars, Mandolin, Autoharp, Mandocello, Lap Steel
Joyce Andersen: Vocals, Fiddle

Arrangements: Harvey Reid & Joyce Andersen

When we met in December of 1990 we played Christmas music together for hours, since it was pretty much the only music we both knew. We played some of these songs on stage that week, and six years later when we next performed together, it was also at Christmas time. In 2004, as musical and life partners, after a busy season of Holiday concerts, we found the strength to get up on Christmas morning and start recording this album. So here we are again, just the two of us, playing these tunes and singing these songs that have been such a common thread in our lives.

From the artist's Website:

Songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Harvey Reid has honed his craft over the last 33 years in countless clubs, festivals, streetcorners, cafes, schools and concert halls across the nation. He has been called a "giant of the steel strings" and "one of the true treaures of American acoustic music." He has absorbed a vast repertoire of American contemporary and roots music and woven it into his own colorful, personal and distinctive style. His 20 recordings on Woodpecker Records showcase his mastery of many instruments and styles of acoustic music, from hip folk to slashing slide guitar blues to bluegrass, old-time, Celtic, ragtime, and even classical.

About the album:

Acoustic string wizard Harvey Reid's classic Christmas recording "The Heart of the Minstrel on Christmas Day" has been an enduringly popular acoustic Holiday recording since it first appeared in 1984. Harvey's solo guitar and autoharp arrangements have won him fans worldwide, and the long wait for the sequel is finally over.
Harvey began performing and recording with fiddler/singer/songwriter Joyce Andersen in 2000, and in addition to pursuing their solo careers they have done a great deal of touring and released two highly-acclaimed collaboration CD's.

After a busy season of Christmas concerts in 2004, they got up on Christmas morning and spent all day and much of the Holidays recording this lovely CD while the snows whirled around their old Victorian house in Maine.The result is one of the finest folk music Christmas recordings. It is energetic and uplifting without being campy or pushy, serious without being somber, and lovely without being too sugary. The thoughtful songs, impeccable instrumental playing, and the underlying poignancy weld this body of songs and instrumentals together into a cohesive and enduring statement.

The 10 songs and 8 instrumentals are mostly Christmas classics, but they have dug up some unknown gems and written a few of their own, and their razor-sharp harmonies and brilliant instrumental work shine throughout. Andersen's fiddle weaves around Reid's masterful fingerstyle and flatpicked guitar work, and his amazing autoharp playing is well represented also. Reid also provides some brilliant cameos on mandocello, mandolin, and even lap steel.
Reid & Andersen deliver songs with the power of good folk singers, yet they play their instruments with the skill level of the best pickers, and like a plate of multi-colored Christmas cookies, "Christmas Morning" has something for everyone. Fans of folk, country, bluegrass, and even blues & classical music will find something to like.

On Willie Nelson's "Pretty Paper" and a rousing version of "I Saw Three Ships" Reid & Andersen intertwine flawlessly with the tightness and tension of an Appalachian brother duet. Andersen's amazing voice is front & center on the playful bluesy "Merry Christmas Baby" and the haunting "Song of the Magi", and Reid's solo guitar arrangement of "The First Noël" is spectacular. Reid's thoughtful renderings of Stan Rogers "First Christmas Away From Home" and Jean Ritchie's "Winter Grace" balance nicely with the more spirited numbers like "Joy to the World" and "We Three Kings." The instrumental tracks are an exquisite blend of the plucked and the bowed strings, and have a fullness and a completeness that seems larger than just two people.
It's hard to imagine a better way to capture the spark of this music "in the Holiday spirit" than to actually record on Christmas day, and Reid & Andersen perfectly combine the joy and the more reflective side of the Holidays. As always, the music is a purists' dream- played live in the studio, with no studio production or commercialism to taint this exquisite and pristine music.

Harvey Reid and Joyce Andersen

Christmas Morning

Artist link

Track List