| Guitar Chrismtas - Steve Wariner | |
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Reviewed by Matt Bjorke
Steve Wariner has released both Christmas and instrumental projects in the past. However, what he has never done until this year is release an all instrumental Christmas album. "Guitar Christmas" is an appealing collection of holiday standards played solely by Steve with a different guitar (and in one case a Dulcimer) per song.
"It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" opens up the album and sets the tone for what is a dynamic album. I find myself humming along to the tone of the songs with Steve's beautiful guitar playing. The song was played on the Laravee model OM 09 guitar using a stereo recording process which fleshes out the sound of the song.
From the opening tones, I was singing along to Steve's guitar strumming of "God Rest Ye Merry, Gentleman." Played on Kirk Sand Classical electric guitar, the song sounds fresh and new which is a great thing to hear with a timeless classic.
Playing "White Christmas" on a Gibson guitar named after Chet Atkins, Steve keeps the melody close to the original. Finger picking the song the way his mentor Chet did, Steve breathes new life into one of my holiday favorites.
"Silent Night" is one of those timeless songs that never grate on my nerves and to hear it on Steve’s Joe Glaser B-bender Telecaster guitar is a delight. The song sounds quite like a steel guitar would sound thus giving the song a unique sound.
"Deck The Halls" is recorded by Steve on a Takamine (SW341 sc) classical guitar named for him. The melody is instantly recognizable and Steve often sounds like more than one musician playing the song which isn't true since it's just him and his guitar.
"I Saw Three Ships" is a classical "old world" song from Ireland. It's a neat holiday song and is played by Steve on an Olympia Dulcimer that was loaned to Steve by Ron Kingery (Hometown News) for this project. The Dulcimer gives the song a pronounced Celtic sound that I learned to love when growing up with my Scottish step dad.
Steve Wariner made this album with the idea that it'd sound like he was playing for a small group of friends in a living room. He has succeeded on doing that while also showcasing a wonderful way around classic holiday songs that don't need a vocalist singing them. They've been around for so long that most of us know the words well enough to sing 'em yourself which makes the CD fun to listen to. The CD will also make great background music for those times we're cleaning up the house for the guests to come over or cooking that holiday dinner or even when opening gifts on the holiday itself. This CD has just become my favorite Christmas CD.
Song List:
Album cover used with permission of Steve Wariner's Official Website
Purchase this album from Steve Wariner's Official Website