Merry Little Christmas

Linda Ronstadt - Merry Little Christmas

Merry Little Christmas
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CD Details

Artist: Linda Ronstadt
Brand: RONSTADT,LINDA
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
CD Release Date: 2000-10-17
Music Label: Elektra / Wea
Soundtracks:
  1. The Christmas Song
  2. I'll Be Home For Christmas
  3. White Christmas
  4. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
  5. River
  6. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
  7. Xicochi, Xicochi
  8. I Wonder As I Wander
  9. Away In A Manger
  10. Lo, How A Rose E're Blooming
  11. Welsh Carol
  12. Past Three O'Clock
  13. O Magnum Mysterium
  14. Silent Night

Music reviews of Merry Little Christmas

Music Review: From the Secular to the Sacred
Rating: 4 Stars

I got this right around the same time as I purchased another 70's diva's Christmas record--namely, Donna Summer's CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. Perhaps not too surprisingly, both albums contain versions of what have become holiday standards. But did they have to be the same ONES? "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire); "White Christmas; "I'll Be Home For Christmas." Where's the originality?

Well, actually, there is a fair amount of originality on both releases. Just maybe not with their selection of Christmas standards. But nearly every holiday album by popular artists is a mix of the secular and the sacred, and the trick is in the balancing. Interesting that in both Ronstadt and Summer's cases, they start off with the popular standards and then somewhat more gradually (Summer) or quite abruptly (Ronstadt) shift to the more religiously themed material.

In either case, the mood would be totally altered if the listener were to switch to random select. In Ronstadt's case, especially so. The first four tracks are the standards, and they are basically a holiday version of American Songbook recordings with Nelson Riddle. Some reviewers (see below) have found these tracks rather perfunctory, or worse. Fans of the Riddle period recordings though should welcome these takes.

Ronstadt's duet with Rosemary Clooney on "White Christmas" is an implicit tip of the hat to the greats of an earlier era. (Who better to do it with, after all?) As with many such duets, what makes the track interesting is the singers' different approaches. By this point in her career, Rosie was all about phrasing. Linda seems to be trying to smooth out any rough edges by singing extra pretty. Oddly enough, it works. Or maybe it's not so odd. Opposites attract, and opposite singing styles complement each other. At least, here they do.

One reviewer below perceptively noted that the inclusion of Joni Mitchell's "River," with its musical quote of "Jingle Bells" and the passing reference to Christmas time, adds a note of holiday melancholy to the proceedings. One might argue that that same emotion is evoked in the holiday standards included here as well. After all, "I'll Be Home For Christmas" was, as I understand it, a WWII song, with the emotional capper being the closing line ('...if only in my dreams"). And is there a better example of Christmas melancholy than "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" ("Someday soon we all will be together if the fates allow"). Even "White Christmas" is about yuletide nostalgia. By the time we get to Ronstadt's take on the Joni Mitchell classic, we should be pretty much overcome with the holiday blues.

So where to go from there? Back to the true meaning of the Christmas holiday, I guess. So bring on the choirs. Yes, much of the rest of the album consists of Linda singing (and blending in--with precious little soloing) with choirs from Tucson and Los Angeles. It's an abrupt change of pace, and it pretty much works. But fans will probably be nonplussed by the lack of soloing--or even momentary bits of Ronstadt coloration.

I love choral singing myself. And I won't argue with Ronstadt's (or her producer's) artistic decision here. I guess there could be truth to one commentator's contention that the album was a quickie done more for contractual reasons than artistic ones. On the other hand, sometimes even rush jobs can come together in unexpected ways and make a significant statement. Ronstadt's musical journey on this record from the secular to the sacred, from the personal to the communal, is a fascinating one. I won't say it's 100% successful. But like Summer's record (which gradually moved from holiday standards to a full gospel testimony), this is a record which actually brings the listener along for a very interesting--and perhaps inspiring--ride.

More Merry Little Christmas free music reviews:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Description of Merry Little Christmas

No Description Available
No Track Information Available
Media Type: CD
Artist: RONSTADT,LINDA
Title: MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS
Street Release Date: 10/17/2000
Domestic
Genre: XMAS VOCAL
Linda Ronstadt's A Merry Little Christmas plays, in part, like an old Nat King Cole Christmas record, with orchestrated versions of classics and a knowing vocal command at work on every track. Where Ronstadt makes her departure is midway through the 14-song set, when the CD suddenly becomes an album of sacred music, complete with "The Welsh Carol," "Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming," the lesser-known "O Magnum Mysterium," and "Past Three O'Clock." Ronstadt's record also features two producers and two respectable choirs, one from Tucson, Arizona, and the other from Los Angeles, and she works well with them and as a soloist, including her take on what may be this year's most covered song, Joni Mitchell's bittersweet lament, "River." --Martin Keller

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