It's Christmas may not get many to 'cry'
Posted November 28, 2008
By Nathan,
Quickly following on the heels of Mandisa’s first album was the Christmas Joy EP; A brief four track disc that was a nice fit for the holidays. Only a year after the EP, Mandisa is back with a full length Christmas album, It’s Christmas. Though it might be debatable that she should not have added another Christmas effort after only a short time and with only one CD under her belt, the results of the album speak for itself.
The opening song “What Christmas means to me” has an up-tempo beat to mix with some hip hop and a jazzy style of music; the result is a very disjointed tune that lacks coherence, which unfortunately, is the theme for the album. Mandisa transition from song to song on “Feliz Navidad (With Joy to the World)” is rough though her version of “joy to the world” is classical and well done. “Bell Medley (Silver Bells, Carol Of The Bells, Caroling, Caroling)” is by for the most disjointed song on the album as She tries to pack to much in one song even though the music changes are not subtle and the mood changes are also tough to stick with.
“Mary’s Little Boy Child” and “O holy Night” both are modified; one to become more upbeat and radio friendly while “O holy Night” has more of a jazz feel and a whole lot of Mandisa’s vocals. Its Christmas really comes alive on “silent night” because the soft traditional music is blended perfectly with her vocals and her duet with Mathew West on “Christmas Makes Me Cry” is very emotional. Michael W. Smith is the guy who is running the show on “Christmas day” a epic song which should become a holiday favorite.
It’s probable that Mandisa’s career would have been more successful if she had won American Idol, but she has really grown in popularity in her short time as a Christian artist. But going right after another full length Christmas album after she gave fans a brief taste might not have been the right call because several of the songs are incoherent and probably won’t please fans other than her style on It's Christmas.
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