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Earlier this evening, I wrote my review of Neal & Leandra's first holiday album, Listen to the Angels: A Christmas Collection (reviewed here). I pretty much described that first holiday release as heaven-on-earth for folk music aficionados, giving it my highest recommendation. Now here comes Neal & Leandra's follow-up: Angels and Fools: A Christmas Collection Volume 2. It is a worthy successor to the outstanding original.

Faithful to its predecessor, Angels and Fools has minimal instrumentation, focusing on the superb vocals and sparse acoustic support. The atmosphere is generally gentle with layers of well-structured harmonies and elegant, warmly rustic, solos. Gorgeous!

If forced to pick between the first and second releases, I suppose my preference is the 1999 offering. Although both reflect the same top-quality construction and execution, I slightly prefer the song selection on Listen to the Angels. Neal Hagberg's songwriting is universally smart and strong, but the newer originals are a bit edgier and do not capture my jaded old soul in quite the same way. Angels and Fools also includes Toyland, which is beautifully rendered by Leandra, but the number is just too maudlin for my taste.

I am nit-picking, of course. I adore Neal & Leandra; this folk duo generates incredible music, and Angels and Fools is undoubtedly one of the best holiday albums that I will hear all season. Neal & Leandra are honestly just that good (please see my other review). The opening In the Bleak Midwinter is a track of rare and fragile beauty. I particularly enjoyed the latter part of this album; the simple delivery of Silent Night is classic, Neal's original Joseph's Lullaby is emotional on several levels, and the slow-tempo Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas overflows with charm. The album finishes in fine fashion with a raucous "bonus track"; Neal's Cowboy Santa is a kicky close to a great holiday offering, complete with a "yodel-lay-di-o."

You folkies out there cannot go wrong with Neal & Leandra. Explore their entire music catalog, including their two amazing holiday releases. Excellent!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2009)

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From the liner notes:

In keeping with the theme of our first Christmas CD, Listen to the Angels, we have kept the instrumentation spare on Angels and Fools, choosing only one instrument (besides guitar) per song. There is a lot of noise during the holidays. We wanted to do our best not to contribute to it. ("Cowboy Santa" excluded. Nobody's perfect...).
Neal & Leandra

Produced by Neal Hagberg and Leandra Peak
Engineered, Mixed and Mastered by Rob Genadek, BrewHouse Studio, Minneapolis, MN
All songs arranged by Neal Hagberg and Leandra Peak

Vocals & Guitars: Neal Hagberg and Leandra Peak

Also appearing:
Dirk Freymuth: soprano twelve string guitar
Marc Anderson: percussion
Brian Barnes: guitar, mandolin
Gordon Johnson: bass
Michelle Kinney: cello
Dan Chouinard: piano, accordion
Jeff Victor: Hammond B3 organ, piano
Eric Mobring: fiddle


From the Website:

Neal & Leandra's new holiday release, Angels and Fools, is classic Neal & Leandra, with a quiet elegance that is as compelling as their first, critically acclaimed holiday CD, Listen to the Angels. In Angels and Fools, Neal & Leandra put fresh spins on familiar standards that invite listeners to turn to them again and again. Woven throughout the CD are holiday originals by Neal that are at times tender ("The Present"), wry ("Boswell's Lights"), and provocative ("Joseph's Lullaby" and "Fool"). Also included in the CD is a bonus track of audience favorite "Cowboy Santa". Their trademark harmonies, the lead vocals by Leandra Peak (who was named Female Vocalist of the Year by the City Pages), the classic feel of Neal Hagberg's writing, and the timeless interpretations of the songs, all work to make this a recording that will bring comfort and joy the entire holiday season.

Neal & Leandra

Angels and Fools: A Christmas Collection Volume 2

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Track List