Search - Sloan Wainwright :: On a Night Before Christmas

Rocks Like A Party

Lee Armstrong | Winterville, NC United States | 10/20/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Sloan Wainwright is one of my favorite singers. Her latest studio CDs, "Life Grows Back" & "Cool Morning" show great growth in both songwriting and performance. This disc is her first holiday CD. It was recorded live December 18, 2004 @ the Northern Westchester Center for the Arts in Mt. Kisco, New York. The opener is the lovely "Illuminate" that appeared in studio version on her "Cool Morning" CD. While its subject matter is not that of a traditional Christmas carol, its lovely melody and uplifting message qualify it as a holiday pleaser, "There above us, a brilliant evening sky, let spirit fly with the constellations, Lift up our voices in prayerful harmony, join together in jubilation." The next track is a cover of Chrissie Hynde's (The Pretenders) song "2000 Miles," "The children say he'll be back at Christmastime." She covers the Joni Mitchell song "River" that is being recorded frequently on holiday CDs. Perhaps my favorite track is Sloan's blaster rendition of "Blue Christmas" with Stephen Murphy's electric guitar going shockwave like Jimi Hendrix inspired him. I've heard the tune a lot from Elvis on, and this is my FAVORITE rendition. The CD is billed as "Sloan Wainwright & Friends" on the cover. The Kennedys take over on "How Beautiful Are the Feet" from Handel's "Messiah." In her intro to "Thank God It's Christmas," she gives a tribute to Freddy Mercury although the track was penned by his Queen bandmates Roger Taylor & Brian May. Sloan has a way of totally embodying a lyric whether it's a song she wrote or one by another songwriter, and this track is beautiful & upbeat. Sloan's working companion of 15 years, Stephen Murphy, takes the vocals on a sweet version of the classic "Silver Bells" under the billing "Gandalf Murphy & the Slambovian Circus of Dreams." Sloan goes traditional on "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" that builds from a Gregorian flavored chant to a lovely choral arrangement. On "Search the Sky" Sloan pens and sings a lovely contemplative lyric, "And all that joy shall easily be restored, we've traveled such a long way, we had forgotten what for." Sloan covers Billy Squire on the rocking "Christmas Is the Time to Say I Love You." The set concludes with a 9 minute + version of "Silent Night." This CD can be a little hard to find. I was lucky to pick up a copy at Sloan's house concert in Chapel Hill last Saturday, and it will grace our family's holiday season this year. "On a Night Before Christmas" is an excellent holiday CD. It rocks like a party. It has some lovely spiritual sentiments. And it has Sloan's inimitable voice blowing us away. Happy holidays!"