Bruce Cockburn - Christmas

Monday 1st March 2004
Bruce Cockburn - Christmas
Bruce Cockburn - Christmas

STYLE: Orchestral
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 9207-8925
LABEL: True North TNMD0083
FORMAT: CD Album
RRP: £15.99

Reviewed by Tony Cummings

Another Christmas gem we can’t let pass without a review. I don’t often feel inclined to quote publicity sheets but this one from Revolver Records is almost a concise review of their reissue of this 1993 gem. “Taking his love of spiritually inspired Christmas music and giving it a rootsy and uplifting treatment, Cockburn has made the very antithesis of the cloying, tacky and sentimental Christmas albums churned out yearly by lesser artists.” Whether he’s doing a wheezing, Dylanesque version of “O Little Town Of Bethlehem” or the quite lovely “Jesus Ahatonnia” (otherwise known as “The Huron Carol” written by Jesuit martyr Father Jean de Brebeuf) Cockburn shows himself to be an intuitive interpreter of songs. My favourite is a rollicking version of an old blues gospel gem I once had on a vinyl album. “Early On One Christmas Morn” was originally recorded by The Cottontop Mountain Sanctified Singers featuring the lead vocals of Frankie ‘Half-Pint’ Jaxon, a transvestite dwarf. Now you couldn’t make up a history like that.

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Sample Track Listing:
1. Adeste Fidelis [Listen]
2. Early On One Christmas Morn [Listen]
3. O Little Town Of Bethlehem [Listen]
4. Riu Riu Chiu [Listen]
5. I Saw Three Ships [Listen]
6. Down In Yon Forest [Listen]
7. Les Anges Dans Nos Campagnes [Listen]
8. Go Tell It On The Mountain [Listen]
9. Shepherds [Listen]
10. Silent Night [Listen]
11. Iesus Ahotonnia (The Huron Carol) [Listen]
12. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen [Listen]
13. It Come Upon The Midnight Clear [Listen]
14. Mary Had A Baby [Listen]
15. Joy To The World [Listen]

This track data is supplied by the Cross Rhythms CD/DVD review library. Please note that CD tracks may vary according to release region or product version.

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