Generally speaking, Christmas discs fall into two broad categories. Yet another re-recording of the same old songs everyone always sings in the same expected style, or an eschewing of the perceived \u201cobligation\u201d to sing the same old songs everyone always sings that generally ends up with a stocking full of unrecognizable songs with the token standard done in a non-standard way. <\/p>\n
Neither of which is particularly satisfying. <\/p>\n
Leave it to Jars of Clay to strike the balance perfectly with their Christmas Songs. <\/i>This disc is the band\u2019s first for their new imprint, Gray Matters, and is as inventive as anything this growing, evolving band has ever recorded. This is their second Christmas project, following the Drummer Boy <\/i>EP from 1995, and it follows their masterpiece recording Good Monsters <\/i>from 2006. Like that disc, it was created in the studio in one-take recording sessions.<\/p>\n
What makes Christmas Songs <\/i>an essential holiday record is the band\u2019s strong original tunes as well as their imaginative takes on selected Christmas standards. Though they have been releasing albums since 1995, Jars is still interested in trailblazing — in not only delivering high quality music, but doing so in a way that\u2019s exciting, invigorating and engaging. <\/p>\n
On Christmas Songs<\/i>, Jars of Clay has achieved the seemingly impossible: Made a nice stocking stuffer out of Paul McCartney\u2019s anemic \u201cWonderful Christmastime.\u201d By slowing it down just a bit and filling in the sonic spaces left empty in McCartney\u2019s heavily synthed version, the guys in Jars have made the song a warm welcome on their disc: \u201cThe moon is right \/ The spirit\u2019s up \/ We\u2019re here tonight and that\u2019s enough \/ Simply having a wonderful Christmastime.\u201d It very much feels like a \u201cHey! C\u2019mon in. Have a cup of cider!\u201d moment.<\/p>\n
In Jars\u2019 version of \u201cO, Little Town of Bethlehem,\u201d be prepared for a totally new melody and an edgy feel that subtly reminds listeners that Jesus Christ\u2019s birth that night was about as subversive as one can imagine. The song, through the driving bass line, insinuates itself into your brain, nearly supplanting the more familiar version.<\/p>\n
Among the strong originals is \u201cHibernation Day,\u201d a lazy, almost Harry Connick-y song about choosing to stay inside and snuggle instead of braving the cold and snow. Out of the Grey\u2019s Christine Dente offers nice, sweet vocal counterpoints. Following right after that is the song \u201cWinter Skin,\u201d about putting on your \u201cwinter skin and watching the snow fall.\u201d Dan Haseltine\u2019s slightly tightened vocals, along with the sparse orchestration, sonically capture the feeling of walking into a cold winter wind.<\/p>\n
The band also perform a strong version of the old Peanuts Christmas special \u201cChristmas Time is Here,\u201d a new version of \u201cDrummer Boy\u201d and an almost exact copy of Sting\u2019s \u201cGabriel\u2019s Message\u201d \u2013 as well as other new and old treasures.<\/p>\n
Jars of Clay has created a classic Christmas disc, as well as a classic music release for any season. This one will be spinning for me throughout December — and even beyond.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":29053,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[6190],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-40570","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-jars-of-clay","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40570","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\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=40570"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/40570\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=40570"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=40570"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=40570"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}