A Christmas album from the Lilith Fair founder might not be exactly what her legion of fans wished for right now. But this lovingly created collection of seasonal songs is no mere stop-gap exercise for the multi-million selling Canadian, who hasn’t released an album of original material since 2003’s Afterglow. Striking a near perfect balance between time-worn classics and more contemporary fare, McLachlan’s ethereal, angelic almost hymn-like vocals are made for this kind of material.
She plays it safe for the most part, sticking to the familiar arrangements; ‘Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’ is as faithful to John Lennon’s original as it could possibly be, right down to the childrens’ choir. But McLachlan’s softer vocals contrast nicely with Lennon’s harsher tones, while the current worldwide political situation lends it a relevance that it might not have had even a few years ago. ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ was arguably performed better by Chrissie Hynde, but it fits nicely with the prevailing mood here, as does a suitably hushed ‘Silent Night’ and a torch-song approach on ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’. A more experimental take on another chestnut, ‘The First Noelle’ (coupled with ‘Mary Mary’) is backed by surging strings, tribal drumming and middle-Eastern textures with McLachlan’s heavily reverbed vocals soaring into the heavens.
She pays tribute to two of her compatriots; ‘Song For A Winter’s Night’ was recorded by Gordon Lightfoot almost forty years ago while her gorgeous version of Joni Mitchell’s ‘River’ (as featured on Blue) not known as Christmas song per se makes perfect sense. Yet another Canadian, Diana Krall, adds her distinctive jazz piano chops to ‘Christmas Time Is Here’ closing a sumptuous album and the perfect compliment to those dark winter nights in by the fire.
SEVEN/TEN
COLM O’HARE