Time For the Bells to Ring

Well its that time of year that I begin to pull out all my Christmas music . I have my favorites , a mixture of old and new .Standards  like Bing Crosby,Charlie Browns Christmas,Perry Como,Andy Williams are always enjoyed. Plus some of more recent ones from Steven Curtis Chapman,Third Day,Bebo Norman,Mercy Me, Downhere . All are excellent and highly recommended . If you want to get into the Christmas spirit , they should do the trick.

This year looks to be a bit of a lean year in terms of new material that would have me interested . I generally don't care much for the generic secular scream fest. But I have been pleasantly surprised by the release of Phil Wickham's Songs for Christmas.

His style is similar to Coldplay with a touch of British pop/rock. Even though this is a Christmas album with many standard carols , the sound is an excellent fit. Although it is stripped down a bit and not so polished . His arrangements are breezy and light , fitting his vocal style . Even though all the carols in the album have been done numerous times before , the way he arranged them adds new life and a fresh feel. The acoustic driven Silent Night , with some layered electric guitar and keyboards is a perfect example. All the songs have such a real fresh feel . From O Holy Night to O Come All Ye Faithful , they are pleasant surprises. He breaths new life into them.

There are two original tunes called Christmas Time  and Evermore. Both are solid songs  . The melody in Christmas Time is so infectious you will be singing along before you realize. The lyrics herald the wonderful news of Jesus coming leaving His throne . It is anthem and will be one of my favorites for years to come.

The album ends with O Come All Ye Faithful and it is just piano, guitar and what sounds like a flute. During the song there is a interlude with a portion of Luke chapter 2 read ( the portion also read during Linus speech in Charlie Browns Christmas). It is a fitting end to a wonderful collection.

It is only available on his website . You can download it  in numerous formats.

This wonderful album gets my 9 candy canes out 10 .