Reviewed by Brendan O'Regan

I've noticed in recent times some artists choosing to release "winter" albums rather than Christmas ones. Sometimes I suspect it might be to distance themselves from the Christian story and sometimes I figure it might just be a desire to broaden the appeal of an album to get it selling for more than one month in the year. The latter seems more likely for this 2009 release as there are plenty of traditional carols - "Silent Night", "O Holy Night", "The First Noel" and more. Fleming sings them beautifully, always with tasteful musical accompaniment. I like my Christmas albums to feature some lesser known material as well and I wasn't disappointed - there's the traditional "Wexford Carol" and Cormac McConnell's "Christmas 1915", a touching story of the famous truce on the Western Front, and I loved "Bells Are Ringing" from Mary Chapin Carpenter's fine Christmas album. The title track, a well-known Gordon Lightfoot song, is given a slow treatment here which didn't work for me, while "Walking In The Air" has become over-recorded, though The Snowman anthem is treated respectfully here. So, if you want a quality Christmas/winter album with a rich voice and classy arrangements, this is the one for you.

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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