Chip Davis probably didn’t realize it in 1984, but he was about
\nto release an album which would become a holiday standard.<\/p>\n
\nChristmas<\/i>, the first seasonal release from Davis’s personal
\nproject Mannheim Steamroller, was unique in that it took New Age
\nmusic and combined it with both modern influences and old-world
\ncarols. Admittedly, the logic of the project doesn’t hit you on the
\nfirst listen, but this disc quickly grows on you.<\/p>\n
Most everyone has heard the synthesizer-laden version of “Deck
\nThe Halls” by now, with its poppy beat and layered instrumentation.
\nThis was a sign of things to come for Davis and crew: respecting
\nthe heart of the original while putting their own unique spin on
\nthings.<\/p>\n
Sometimes this works well, as on their renditions of “We Three
\nKings” and the group of four old carols known collectively as
\n“Christmas Sweet”. By keeping the style of these tracks in a
\nMedieval mindframe, they capture most likely what it would have
\nbeen like to hear these songs during an English Rennaissance
\nChristmas.<\/p>\n
Sometimes, though, it doesn’t quite work as well as it might
\nhave looked on paper. The full band version of “God Rest Ye Merry,
\nGentlemen” and their take on “Good King Wenceslas” are lacking a
\nbit, though they’re hardly fall-on-your-face failures. They just
\ndon’t seem to fit the frame of reference that Davis and crew were
\nmost likely aiming for.<\/p>\n
The song that seals things for me is their loving touch on
\n“Stille Nacht,” which is treated with the utmost of reverence. Best
\nknown to many as “Silent Night,” Mannheim Steamroller actually has
\na song here that tries to capture the true meaning of the holidays,
\nand even after all these years, this track brings tears to my
\neyes.<\/p>\n
So what has made
\nChristmas<\/i> become a standard? Possibly it’s because nobody
\nelse was doing this when Davis and crew first released this to the
\nmasses. Possibly it’s the way the band takes so many chances, both
\nby dipping into the past and utilizing the present technology (at
\nleast in 1984 standards). Maybe it’s because it allowed people to
\nhear the same old carols in a new light.<\/p>\n
All I know is that
\nChristmas<\/i>, despite one or two small slips, has remained a
\nholiday favorite for many people, and is waiting to be embraced by
\ngenerations to come. I’ve had my copy of this for 10 years now, and
\nit still gets its share of holiday play in my house.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":25720,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"tags":[],"artist":[6507],"rating":[5615],"class_list":["post-36926","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-mannheim-steamroller","rating-rating-b"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36926","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36926"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/36926\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/25720"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36926"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36926"},{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=36926"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=36926"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}