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Merry Little Christmas

Linda Ronstadt - Merry Little Christmas Audio CD

A fair review of the Linda Ronstadt "Merry Little Christmas" Audio CD. Please note that the below review is the views of the authors, and authors only. You can get a complete list of all Linda Ronstadt reviews here, or go back to the Linda Ronstadt tabs.

Band: Linda Ronstadt
Title: Merry Little Christmas
Rating:

Release Date: 2000-10-17
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Christmas Song 2: I'll Be Home for Christmas 3: White Christmas - Rosemary Clooney, Linda Ronstadt 4: Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 5: River 6: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel 7: Xicochi, Xicochi 8: I Wonder as I Wander 9: Away in a Manger 10: Lo! How a Rose E're Blooming 11: Welsh Carol 12: Past Three O'Cock 13: O Magnum Mysterium 14: Silent Night

Her Angelic Voice
I stumbled upon this CD in an out of state record store. . in the blazing heat of August! But, knowing Linda Ronstadt's body of work, I could not pass it up. Christmas music is something we bond with as we age - and the songs become a part of us. It is only right, then, that the most beautiful voice in music should have her own Christmas album. Linda has done country, rock 'n' roll, pop, reggae, opera and has an incredible collection of American standards. The latter was done with the late, legendary conductor, Nelson Riddle. When he came out of retirement to take on this project, he could have chosen ANY singer. . . and chose Linda. He recognized a rare quality in her voice. She's a "once-in-a-lifetime. "
This album starts out with four standard, secular Christmas "songs. " The late Rosemary Clooney joins her for "White Christmas. " Joni Mitchell's "River" never sounded better. Linda makes you feel that she truly has broken a good man's heart - and regrets it. This song begins my favorite part of the album. From this point-on, the songs become "carols. " Her performance on "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" is so hauntingly beautiful. . . you'll never want to hear another's version of it. These are the carols that remind us what the Holiday is really all about. When you hear her sing "Lo, How a Rose E're Blooming," you'll be certain that the spirits of all your departed loved ones are in your presence. The choir and the musicians that accompany her are first rate. There is not a weak point on this collection. I have since given this CD as a gift each Christmas since I found it. In a time when Christmas "songs" that pop up each year tend to de-traditionalize the solemn experience of this sacred holiday, Linda Ronstadt provides a wonderful experience. Enjoy! .

Some Of The Tracks You'll Love - Others, Well....,
The opening four tracks are, quite simply, some of the nicest renditions of those four classics you will find anywhere. I find my assessment of this CD ranges somewhere between the reviewer who gave it one star to the one who assigned four.

After that, well, as one reviewer accurately states, her marvelous voice becomes swallowed up in chorale arrangements. Also, I don't know about you but I never did particularly like Christmas compilations that offer up obscure selections [tracks 5, 7, 8, 10, 12, 13 in this instance].

In lieu of liner notes what you get are the lyrics to each selection, along with names of the composers and details of the backing artists/chorale groups.

For the most part we only haul these out once a year for about a month, and in doing so I think most of us like the familiar tunes done by our favourite artists. I was a bit disappointed. .

Nice album....but is Linda even singing on the second half?
Too bad she only appears on about half the tracks. It's always great to hear Linda, whether on Christmas songs, folk, pop or singing the phone book.

"Heavenly Hosts Sing Alleluia! . . . Christ The Savior Is Born"
" ~ Silent Night ~ Franz Xaver Gruber

Linda Ronstadt's "A Merry Little Christmas" is an absolutely beautiful collection of some of the best-loved Christmas songs of all-time. "Silent night, holy night
Son of God, love's pure light
Radiant beams from thy holy face
With the dawn of redeeming grace
Jesus, Lord at thy birth
Jesus, Lord at thy birth. How can you not include this with your collection of Christmas music? There are so many reasons why this CD should be in your Christmas collection.

Firstly, Linda Ronstadt's vocal artistry is impeccable.

Secondly, the choice of material is great - it's a combination of some of the most popular traditional Christmas carols and some of the least recorded songs yet remarkably meaningful.

Thirdly, Rosemary Clooney, a great singer herself graced this album on a duet with Linda Ronstadt as they sing Irving Berlin's "White Christmas. "

Another good reason to love this CD is Ms. Ronstadt's interpretations. She sings so effortlessly and with such gracefulness and dedication to each song.

One more justifiable reason is the musical arrangements - they're sublimely done. She's surrounded by a long list of talented musicians headed by Peter Matz and Jeffrey Haskell who have their respective line-up of musicians, and not to mention the backing of the Choirs from Tucson and Los Angeles.

In addition, some of my favorite Christmas carols are included here - "Silent Night," "The Christmas Song," "White Christmas," "I'll Be Home For Christmas" and "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas," not to mention the great versions of "River," a Joni Mitchell composition, and "I Wonder As I Wander" featuring The Choir from Los Angeles. I love the beautiful performances on traditional songs such as "Away In A Manger," "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" and "Lo, How A Rose E're Blooming. "

Lastly, this is one beautiful Christmas CD that I will strongly recommend for your Holiday's listening pleasure.
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From the Secular to the Sacred
Perhaps not too surprisingly, both albums contain versions of what have become holiday standards. I got this right around the same time as I purchased another 70's diva's Christmas record--namely, Donna Summer's CHRISTMAS SPIRIT. But did they have to be the same ONES? "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire); "White Christmas; "I'll Be Home For Christmas. " Where's the originality?

Well, actually, there is a fair amount of originality on both releases. Just maybe not with their selection of Christmas standards. But nearly every holiday album by popular artists is a mix of the secular and the sacred, and the trick is in the balancing. Interesting that in both Ronstadt and Summer's cases, they start off with the popular standards and then somewhat more gradually (Summer) or quite abruptly (Ronstadt) shift to the more religiously themed material.

In either case, the mood would be totally altered if the listener were to switch to random select. In Ronstadt's case, especially so. The first four tracks are the standards, and they are basically a holiday version of American Songbook recordings with Nelson Riddle. Some reviewers (see below) have found these tracks rather perfunctory, or worse. Fans of the Riddle period recordings though should welcome these takes.

Ronstadt's duet with Rosemary Clooney on "White Christmas" is an implicit tip of the hat to the greats of an earlier era. (Who better to do it with, after all?) As with many such duets, what makes the track interesting is the singers' different approaches. By this point in her career, Rosie was all about phrasing. Linda seems to be trying to smooth out any rough edges by singing extra pretty. Oddly enough, it works. Or maybe it's not so odd. Opposites attract, and opposite singing styles complement each other. At least, here they do.

One reviewer below perceptively noted that the inclusion of Joni Mitchell's "River," with its musical quote of "Jingle Bells" and the passing reference to Christmas time, adds a note of holiday melancholy to the proceedings. One might argue that that same emotion is evoked in the holiday standards included here as well. After all, "I'll Be Home For Christmas" was, as I understand it, a WWII song, with the emotional capper being the closing line ('. . . if only in my dreams"). And is there a better example of Christmas melancholy than "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" ("Someday soon we all will be together if the fates allow"). Even "White Christmas" is about yuletide nostalgia. By the time we get to Ronstadt's take on the Joni Mitchell classic, we should be pretty much overcome with the holiday blues.

So where to go from there? Back to the true meaning of the Christmas holiday, I guess. So bring on the choirs. Yes, much of the rest of the album consists of Linda singing (and blending in--with precious little soloing) with choirs from Tucson and Los Angeles. It's an abrupt change of pace, and it pretty much works. But fans will probably be nonplussed by the lack of soloing--or even momentary bits of Ronstadt coloration.

I love choral singing myself. And I won't argue with Ronstadt's (or her producer's) artistic decision here. I guess there could be truth to one commentator's contention that the album was a quickie done more for contractual reasons than artistic ones. On the other hand, sometimes even rush jobs can come together in unexpected ways and make a significant statement. Ronstadt's musical journey on this record from the secular to the sacred, from the personal to the communal, is a fascinating one. I won't say it's 100% successful. But like Summer's record (which gradually moved from holiday standards to a full gospel testimony), this is a record which actually brings the listener along for a very interesting--and perhaps inspiring--ride.

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You can see a complete list of all Linda Ronstadt discography, or go back to the Linda Ronstadt tabs. There is also a good guide on how to read guitar tabs here.