| A Joyful Noise - Jo Dee Messina | |
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Each year I like to add new Christmas albums to my collection. This year I decided I'd like to review Jo Dee's Christmas offering, and I'm sure glad I did. This is not what you'd call a country album. No fiddles and steel guitars, or country sounding arrangements. It's very traditional sounding, and Jo Dee's voice has a great expressiveness on each and every song.
Jo Dee starts the album with the popular "Winter Wonderland," which she has a great time with. "I'll Be Home For Christmas" has a wistful feeling to it, while "Let It Snow," is playful, all the way.
Helping Jo Dee on background vocals are Vince Gill, who adds his delightful tenor to "Silver Bells." (An interesting note: On Patty Loveless' Bluegrass & White Show album, also new this year, Vince lends his voice to the same song, along with wife, Amy Grant.) This song has always been one of my favorites, and Jo Dee and Vince do a fantastic job on it.
Kenny Rogers sings with Jo Dee on "What Child Is This," which sounds wonderful.
"O Holy Night" is included on the album as well, and while the song can be one that some people tend to over-sing, Jo Dee does a perfect job, inflecting the magical qualities of the story, without going over the top on the soaring high notes.
The album ends with two original songs with full-blown choirs in the background. While the songs prior are not overly produced, they pull out the punches on these, and it's almost like they were tacked on from another album. The sound is not unenjoyable, just more robust, in contrast to the rest of the album. The final song, the Bonus Track, was co-written by Jo Dee, and tells us all to "Keep the Faith."
If you're looking for an album that is steeped in tradition, sung with lots of feeling, you will be most happy with purchasing Jo Dee's album. It's definitely one I'll be listening to for the years to come.
Song List:
- Winter Wonderland
- I'll Be Home For Christmas
- Let It Snow
- The Christmas Song
- Silver Bells
- Sleigh Ride
- Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
- What Child Is This
- O Holy Night
- Silent Night
- A Joyful Noise
- Keep The Faith (Bonus Track)
Sound clips courtesy of Jo Dee Messina's Official Website.
Album cover, used with permission of Curb.
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