Our Review
Care to drift in space with the stars? Hush--and feel the magic of Seay's A Winter Blessing: Songs for the Season. This unabashedly new age album creates a lush ethereal landscape for the holidays. The offering features Seay's lovely vocals framed by considerable electronica, all emphasizing contemplative moods and pastel palettes. You will feel yourself drifting away into the starry void after the first few notes.
From the whispered "Peace on earth" in the opening bars to the far-off voices calling "Merry Christmas" in diverse languages in the last cut's final moments, the relatively short (32 minutes) album is indeed a cosmic cruise. The release is bookended front and back by Seay's own All Around the World, and this creates a satisfying symmetry. The dream-like musicality lifts up the listeners to an undisclosed location. In truth, it matters little where you are heading; this music is all about the ride. A Winter Blessing provides the ultimate chill-out music.
My favorite tracks are Carol of the Bells and In the Bleak Midwinter. The former presents a haunting, pulsing wash of sound, and the latter is a tender rendition with minimal accompaniment (this treatment truly showcases the very best of Seay's considerable vocal abilities).
If you favor new age music that is intensely ethereal, then Seay's new holiday release may be considered A Winter Blessing. Travel safely!
--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2007)
More
From the liner notes:
Produced by Seay
Recorded at Tuscan Sun Studios, Franklin, TN
Engineered by: Jules Delgado & Seay
All vocals & vocal soundscapes: Seay
Pianos, programming, sound design, instrumentation: Seay
Guitars: Pat Thomi & Jules Delgado
Basses: Jerry Watts Jr. & John Billings
Arrangement on "A Christmas Heart": Geoff Stradling
Arrangement on "Carol of the Bells": The Collective
String arrangements on "Snowfall" & Carol of the Bells": Scott Hallgren
Additional percussion & sound design: Jeff Silverman
Seay
A Winter Blessing: Songs for the Season
Order from Amazon
Order from CD Baby
Artist site
Label: Tuscan Sun
Length: 32 minutes
Genre: New Age
Release: 2007
Track List
| Song Title |
|---|
| All Around the World |
| Snowfall |
| Carol of the Bells |
| A Christmas Heart |
| Winterlight |
| In the Bleak Midwinter |
| Whispering Pines |
| All Around the Worlds (a Seasonal Greeting) |