Hark the Herald Angels Sing - While I don’t really care for the last track, this song would have to be it’s opposite. I love it! It’s moderately fast and is actually a Christian song. Great harmony, good heavier music makes for a 5 star song! Definitely in the top 3, if not the best song on the CD!
Hay Baby - I think this is song is kind of disrespectful. Something about “Hay Baby” rubs me the wrong way. When I first heard this track, I thought of Gold City’s “Look Who Just Checked In.” As for the music, it’s not very Christmas-y. Pretty country influenced, not rocky, but fast. 2.5 stars
Go Thee Down - Light ballad, actually one of the only slow songs on the CD. It’s not at all progressive but very traditional. There’s not a lot of orchestration, which is fine. I don’t want people to get the impression that I can’t stand light ballads. Not at all. While I prefer heavier orchestration, I do enjoy listening to some light songs as well. I imagine I would get tired of big ballads after a while, if that was all there was. 4 stars
Here Comes Santa Claus - Love the jazzy piano, love the backup singers, love the sleigh bells. It would have been nice if the whole group had sung instead of just the (bass?) singer. While this song is about old Saint Nick, it actually refers to Santa knowing that we’re God’s children. Go figure. 3.5 stars
Oh Come All Ye Faithful - More progressive sounding than traditional, “Oh Come All Ye Faithful” has a nice acoustic sound. That’s not to say that it’s rocky in the least, but it doesn’t sound like a traditional Southern Gospel song. It’s a nice track with good music. The whole group comes in for “encore” type repeat at the end. 4.5 stars
Who Do You Think - People are whispering, there’s a woman who’s gonna have a baby even though she’s not married. Her name is Mary, she’s a virgin from Nazareth, she’s gonna marry Joseph, but the baby’s father is the Holy Ghost.
The tune to “Who Do You Think” sounds so familiar, and maybe even some of the words! It’s possible that perhaps I heard this at a Kingdom Heirs concert when I went to Dollywood this summer. That would be kind of weird though, since this a Christmas-themed song, and as I said, I went to Dollywood in the summer. ;) The music is nice, light, and fast. It’s a good song, although perhaps a little bit long. It has a Country/Classic Southern Gospel sound. 5 stars
That Little Baby - This is one of the rockiest songs I have ever heard from the Kingdom Heirs. (One that might compete is “I’m A Brand New Man”) The recurring (bass guitar?) playing in the background, as well as electric guitars, piano, organ, and percussion give it a very rock-influenced feel. At first I didn’t think it was an amazing song, but after listening several times, I think it’s growing on me. 5 stars
Beautiful Star of Bethlehem - This song is largely acoustic sounding, but it doesn’t draw exclusively from that feeling like songs such as “That’s the Place I’m Longing To Go” (Collingsworth Family) do. 3.5 stars
Winter Wonderland - The Kingdom Heir’s version of the classic Christmas hit “Winter Wonderland” is very, very jazzy. In fact, it would probably find itself right at home on a secular jazz album. One thing I noticed about the lyrics is where the following was sung:
In the meadow we can build a snowman
and pretend that he’s a circus clown
We’ll have lots of fun with Mr. Snowman
Til all the other kiddies knock em’ down
I never noticed that part about the kiddies knocking the snowman down before. Was that part of the original song? Hmm… 4 stars
The Christmas Song - Well, for a minute I was kind of disappointed, thinking “The Christmas Song” was accapella. Thankfully, it just started out that way. The music started after a minute of singing minus the instrumentation. 3.5 stars
Comments:
It’s Christmas is a pretty good project, though not as good as some. It’s not packed full of solid hits IMO, although it does have a few 5-star tunes, as well as some more average-rated songs. Whether you should buy it or not all depends on your personal musical preferences.
CD Rating: 3.5 stars
Song Selection: 4.5 stars
Favorite Songs: “Hark the Herald Angels Sing,” “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” “Who Do You Think,” “That Little Baby”
Review copy provided by Crossroads Music
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