Brian Houston - Joy To The World

Published Wednesday 15th December 2010
Brian Houston - Joy To The World
Brian Houston - Joy To The World

STYLE: Roots/Acoustic
RATING 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
OUR PRODUCT CODE: 104217-17527
LABEL: Brian Houston
FORMAT: CD Album
ITEMS: 1

Reviewed by Tony Cummings

One of the ways you can assess whether a musician/band are at the top of their musical game is give them a batch of old carols and see what they can come up with in a limited amount of studio time. The fact that the Irish troubadour and his hand-picked bandmates are able to offer such exhilarating renditions of over-recorded seasonal favourites is a tribute to their expertise. Songs like "Silent Night", "Away In A Manger", "We Three Kings" and "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" have seldom appeared in such a refreshing form with the Houston aggregation missing up the arrangements to take in Celtic roots one moment and Elvis Presley retro the next. In this era of conveyor-belt Christmas muzak it's a delight to hear the ageless truths of the incarnation sung with such passion and gusto. Brian's fans (BBC Radio 2's Bob Harris included) won't be disappointed.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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Reader Comments

Posted by Pete in Belfast @ 15:30 on Dec 15 2010

Brian NEVER fails to come up with the goods! He has an uncanny knack/God given talent to take a song, make it his own and inspire you to connect with the spirit of the song all at once. If you 've only heard recorded versions of Brian's songs then you've misssed what he's about. He did his version of The First Noel on Sunday which was going along nicely until he took it to a whole other level with an addedd verse and pre chorus. The guys amazin, along with a band who can acutually keep up with him!!
If you get chance to talk to him ask him about the half moon pub in Putney and what happened. Kina shows his heart



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