Our Review
I can't begin to describe all of the fun surprises I found on Lana Puckett and Kim Person's With Christmas, The Heart Goes Home. This ample set (12 songs, 47 minutes), does not skimp on sacred selections (Mary Did You Know, The Cherry Tree Carol) or rare tracks (Vaughn Horton's An Old Christmas Card, and a pair of tracks written by Mary Ann Kennedy, Pam Rose, and Pat Bunch: The Same Star and At Christmas, The Heart Goes Home, the title track). But this CD becomes uniquely compelling by virtue of its underlying themes of romance and nostalgia, which run throughout the CD and are bolstered by the selections, the arrangements, and the performance.
The opening selection, Puckett and Person's own Christmas Love, is a high-minded, country-tinged anthem Anne Murray might have sung. Then, there is the oddly juxtaposing On The Road To Bethlehem, Joni Bishop's strange, anachronistic ode to Joseph, Mary, and the baby Jesus.
These singers' sultry vocals lend many of these songs a romantic patina. (Lana Puckett sings lead on Christmas Love and then alternates lead vocals with Kim Person throughout the disc .) The vocals are a highlight on a CD full of highlights. I also like the smoky, cabaret arrangements, the saxophone and piano-infused rendition of Irving Berlin's White Christmas notable among these. Nice voices, with stylized, thoughtful arrangements.
There are so many artistic touches that make this a unique and important holiday offering, it is easy to recommend Lana Puckett and Kim Person's At Christmas, The Heart Goes Home for all listeners.
--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2006)
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From the liner notes:
Kim Person: acoustic guitars & vocals
Lana Puckett: pedal steel & vocals
Pam Rose: harmony vocals
Jill Colucci: harmony vocals
Catherine Styron: acoustic piano
Alison Prestwood: electric & fretless bass
John Gardner: drums & percussion
Andrea Zonn: violin & viola
Brian Wood: acoustic guitars
Jim Hoke: tenor sax, autoharp, recorder
Mary Ann Kennedy: percussion & mandolin
Stephen Bennett: acoustic guitar
Lana Puckett and Kim Person
At Christmas The Heart Goes Home
Artist link
Label: Cimirron/Rainbird Records
Length: 47 minutes
Genre: Acoustic
Release: 2001
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| Christmas Love |
| The Blessing Of His Birth |
| White Christmas |
| Mary Did You Know? |
| Send Yourself Home For Christmas |
| On The Road To Bethlehem |
| An Old Christmas Card |
| One Little Baby Boy |
| The Same Star |
| In The Bleak Midwinter |
| At Christmas The Heart Goes Home |
| The Cherry Tree Carol |