Our Review
Ken Elkinson's Generations of Yuletide is an expansive, contemplative tribute to the season. Comprising sixteen mostly traditional melodies and spanning a solid hour, in an era of long, intricate playlists, Generations of Yuletide is a nifty instrumental playlist all by itself.
I liked the beautiful Gabriel's Message, a song I don't often hear. Elkinson's arrangement of In The Bleak Midwinter was unusually pleasant; I don't usually enjoy this song all that much, but his rendition made me reconsider it, somewhat. Liberally embellishing the theme with his own style, I felt as if I were being treated to an entirely new song.
Overall, Elkinson's pensive stylings took the edge off the set, which works fine for me as I listen to it months in advance of the holiday extravaganza. At the same time, it did not feel overly "new agey" or contrived. What I heard was a musical and sincere tribute to Christmas.
--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2008)
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From the liner notes:
On the first day of Christmas, Ken Elkinson gave to me producer credit.
On the second day of Christmas, Sarah Cole gave to me a picture of myself for under the CD tray.
On the third day of Christmas, Peter Fox gave to me the recording and engineering.
On the fourth day of Christmas, Rick Wakeman, Denise Bastanza, Tim Smith and Allison Zopel gave to me help in picking the songs.
On the fifth day of Christmas, Karen Nangle gave to me the CD front cover artwork.
On the sixth day of Christmas, David Veckerelli gave to me the CD back cover photograph.
On the seventh day of Christmas, Neil K. Sonnek gave to me the interview questions for the CD booklet.
On the eighth day of Christmas, Edie Elkinson gave to me the CD cover calligraphy.
On the ninth day of Christmas, Yamaha gave to Peter Fox who in turn gave to me a C3 piano to record on.
On the tenth day of Christmas, designhappy gave to me the graphic design.
On the eleventh day of Christmas, Atlanta Manufacturing Group gave to me the CD manufacturing.
On the twelfth day of Christmas, Trevor Sadler gave to me the CD mastering.
Ken Elkinson
Generations of Yuletide
Artist link
Label: August Son Productions
Length: 66 minutes
Genre: Piano
Release: 2008
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| The Star Of Christmas Morning |
| O Come, O Come Emmanuel |
| Greensleeves |
| Lo, How A Rose E'er Blooming |
| The Huron Carol |
| Prepare The Way, O Zion |
| Silent Night |
| Still, Still, Still |
| We Three Kings Of Orient Are |
| Gabriel's Message |
| In The Bleak Midwinter |
| Carol Of The Bells |
| The Little Drummer Boy |
| I'll Be Home For Christmas |
| Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas |
| Christmas Time Is Here |