DecemberI am an avid Moody Blues fan and bought this album last Christmas. I have since bought another copy for my wife. Like many other fans, I wasn't sure just how they would handle Christmas songs but I needn't have worried. They give every song their own unique, professional treatment and have such restful voices. I love this album and particularly December Snow, which I would rate as good as any track they have ever done (yes, as good as that!) If you like the Mooody Blues, or even if you are just looking for a good Christmas album, buy this! I couldn't believe how cheaply it was purchased from Amazon and I rarely stop playing it during the season.
Hayward and Lodge hit rock bottomFor a band that made a string of wonderful, classic albums in the late sixties and early seventies, and some pretty good stuff subsequently, this release shows how far they have lost their way. While the sound quality is sparkling, of the few original songs, only Justin Hayward's December Snow is worthy of inclusion on a Moody Blues album. The other originals are poor outtakes from Strange Times. As for the rest, who needs it? Happy Christmas (War is Over) is a pale imitation of the original and White Christmas is a dire caberet remake of a great song. This album is truly awful - and I have every Moody Blues album and have seen them more than 30 times over four decades. As for Ballads, the compilation December was paired with in the UK - it is another thrown together compilation of the usual few songs found on Moodies best of's, missing out great songs like The Actor, Never Comes The Day etc. in favour of the obvious choices. It is badly mastered and not from recent digital remasters. If you are a true fan of the Moody Blues avoid this at all costs. What a terrible end to the career of what was once such an influential band.
Beautiful, melodic, soft... to light up any ChristmasI read a number of favourable reviews of this CD, and took the plunge... what with my being a passing Moodies fan over the years and a lover of Christmas to boot. And I was SO glad I did.
If you like melodic music with strong vocals, a lush sound and well produced, then this album is for you, standing up very highly to much of their previous work over the years. Any fans of artists like The Electric Light Orchestra, Alan Parsons, Paul McCartney, The Bee Gees and the like is sure to get alot from this collection.
The opener 'Don't Need a Reindeer' canters along joyfully, and for me is the standout track -- that is, I was humming it all season long. 'December Snow' goes into ballad mode, beautifully and heartfully sung by Justin Hayward, and if it doesn't grab you right off, it was a real grower on me.
'In the Quiet of Christmas Morning' weaves its spell around and through the melody of an old JS Bach classic (Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring), gently lulling us into the season of Christmas.
John Lodge's 'On This Christmas Day' is less standout, though pleasant enough. At the end of the track, an orchestra joins in, leaving you wishing it had been there from the beginning to make this song more of what it might have been.
But top form is soon restored with a fresh version of John Lennon's 'Happy Christmas War is Over', a very creditable cover with Hayward's vocals front and centre, and as good as ever. Wisely, the Moodies elect not to re-create the children's refrain and backing, as on the original (which might have been over the top and too syrupy), preferring instead to keep it simple.
'A Winter's Tale' is a cover of the old David Essex song from 1983. I always liked the song, but was never a fan of Essex's vocal style. So this was a bit of a gem for me, to get it sung by Hayward. Differences in vocal styles aside, this is otherwise quite faithful to the original (as far as I remember), which might be good or bad -- you decide.
'The Spirit of Christmas' and 'Yes, I Believe' continue the mid-paced ballads, which might not stand out on 1st listening, but are likely to grow on you on subsequent hearings, drawing you into the lyrics.
'When a Child is Born' updates the Johnny Mathis classic (?!), substituting sickly spoken parts for flowing guitars.
A real gem is the classic 'White Christmas' cover. Just when you think it's going to be perhaps uninspired and a little lacklustre, it gallops off... Vocals interchange with guitars to give us a version very different from those which have gone before. Another standout.
The carol, 'In the Bleak Midwinter' features a scaled back production, allowing piano and soft drums to come through, closing the album on a pensive note.
Impeccably produced, less synthesiser-driven than their music from the 1980s, and with quality vocals, this album boasts a good balance of new songs together with well chosen & well-covered standards.
Buy it and you'll treasure it through Christmas seasons to come.
A beautiful album
Having taken the plunge and bought this, I found that I had to keep playing it!
Just relax and listen to some new songs, some standards and to some you liked by somebody else but have never bought.
Moodies Christmas Presence
The Moody Blues with the release of December have put forth a Christmas album that stands up there with the best.The subject matter is not only of Christmas but of Winter and marks a return to the concept or theme,done so well by the Moodies in the past . My favourite tracks are ''December Snow'', ''In The Bleak Mid Winter'' and ''Winters Tale''. I noted that a previous reviewer had stated that December was not a ''Power to Believe'' by King Crimson, or a ''Magnification'' by Yes. It is'nt a ''Sonic Origami'' by Uriah Heap or a ''15 Minutes'' by Nik Kershaw either ( I have all of these )BUT December does not need to be.The important thing for me is that I can sit down and relax in front of a warm fire with a warming drink. Dim the lights, look at the Christmas Tree, put December on and be lost to somewhere that is the past, the present and the future. And if all this reads too sickly sweet to your eyes, have a MERRY CHRISTMAS ANYWAY !!!
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