Search - Billy Gilman :: Classic Christmas

4.5 Stars for Billy; 2 For Recording Quality

Brach Jennings | Fulton/Peoria, IL USA | 01/19/2009

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I bought this item from Itunes (Plus) last week, and was disappointed at the quality of the recording. The instrumental parts are much too loud, and Billy's recorded sound is tinny over the top - I do not think that it's his voice, but rather the engineers were using too much "knob twisting" in the booth - mainstream music has a lot of compression in it in general. However, being that Billy Gilman possessed such a unique and powerful voice for his age, I wish it would have been prominent over the orchestrations.



This album features standard Christmas selections, minus "Warm and Fuzzy" and "New Kid in Town." Billy has remarkable technique and vocal control, something that I have admired in him since I first heard him, and sings every song with unwavering passion. I do not care for Charlotte Church - an "average" singer who wobbled her jaw to produce vibrato, and everyone claimed her to have the "voice of an angel"...yeah right. Billy sings with five times the technique of her, and easily is the star on their "Sleigh Ride" duet. Maybe that's the point; it's his album, so he should shine over another vocalist.



There is no doubt that Billy Gilman could (and can) sing - not to mention belt, when needed. However, despite a genuine love of music and his fans, I think he was over-marketed in his younger years. Some of that is evident here in the use of glitzy arrangements to appeal to the least musically intelligent of his fan base. I feel his producers were trying to milk the Billy Gilman bandwagon until there was nothing left - ninety concerts a year, recordings, videos, etc. That's not healthy for an eleven-to-thirteen year old, but I think he fell for it because of his love for singing. It's a shame people would take advantage of that.



Despite over-marketing, and a significant amount of audio compression, "Classic Christmas" makes a nice addition to any holiday record collection.

"

Christmas at its WARM and FUZZY BEST!

Jesse Carnes | Baton Rouge, LA USA | 05/04/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This is a FUN CD. Simple as that. Billy's voice is fantastic on this Recording. His range is almost as high as a Vienna Boys Choir soprano, which is quite a compliment. Youth voices are the best and Billy's is superb."