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The Best of Stevie Wonder - The Christmas Collection: 20th Century Masters

Stevie Wonder - The Best of Stevie Wonder - The Christmas Collection: 20th Century Masters Audio CD

A fair review of the Stevie Wonder "The Best of Stevie Wonder - The Christmas Collection: 20th Century Masters" 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 Stevie Wonder reviews here, or go back to the Stevie Wonder tabs.

Band: Stevie Wonder
Title: The Best of Stevie Wonder - The Christmas Collection: 20th Century Masters
Rating:

Release Date: 2004-09-21
Media: Audio CD

Tracks: 1: Someday At Christmas 2: Silver Bells 3: Ave Maria 4: The Little Drummer Boy 5: One Little Christmas Tree 6: The Day That Love Began 7: The Christmas Song 8: Bedtime For Toys 9: Christmastime 10: Twinkle Twinkle Little Me 11: A Warm Little Home On A Hill 12: What Christmas Means To Me 13: The Miracles Of Christmas 14: Everyone's A Kid At Christmas

terrific Christmastime songs--BRAVO, STEVIE WONDER !!!
Christmastime songs are rather catchy; and sometimes they have a melancholy ache that we all can identify with. It's no secret that Stevie Wonder has genius; and it's also no secret that Christmastime music is some of the best music ever written. They can be playful, too; and of course that appeals not just to kids but to the child within ourselves as well. The quality of the sound on this CD is excellent and I love that artwork.

"Someday at Christmas" is a real charmer; this masterpiece gets the royal treatment from Stevie Wonder who sings this without a superfluous note! "Someday at Christmas" has a lush musical arrangement to accompany Stevie as he sings the lyrics; and it all holds its own very well. Impressive! "Silver Bells" is very easy on the ear; and that background choir enhances the natural beauty of this ballad. "Silver Bells" does let Stevie Wonder stay squarely front and center, though--which is right where he belongs! I love it.

"Ave Maria" is absolutely wonderful; Stevie does this faultlessly and that's grand. I also like "The Little Drummer Boy. " "The Little Drummer Boy" features Stevie singing this with panache; he handles this well and the percussion couldn't have been done any better! "One Little Christmas Tree" is poignant, to say the least; and there's yet another gem in Stevie Wonder's rendition of "The Christmas Song. " "The Christmas Song" has always been one of my very favorite holiday tunes and just one listen will tell you why! Stevie handles the tempo and key changes like the pro he always was and still remains; he ensures that "The Christmas Song" remains a very special number.

"Christmastime" uses the strings to great advantage as Stevie delivers this to perfection--and beyond! The background vocalists harmonize wonderfully, too--not that Stevie really needed it; but they do sound very good. "Christmastime" is easily a major highlight of this album, too. "Twinkle Twinkle Little Me" is very sweet; and "What Christmas Means to Me" shows a rather spirited side of Stevie we usually see on his Motown albums. Stevie sings this beautifully with lots of energy and it's all very upbeat--and it's catchy, too. "What Christmas Means to Me" is one terrific song and this is also another major highlight of the album. The percussion and that brass work so well in the musical arrangement and this is a very strong number that you won't forget anytime soon.

"The Miracles of Christmas" is very beautiful; Stevie does this with all his heart and soul. The album ends quite nicely with Stevie Wonder performing "Everyone's A Kid at Christmas. " "Everyone's A Kid at Christmas" has a wonderful flavor to it and it leaves me wanting more!

Stevie Wonder will always be one of the very best singer-songwriters we have ever had; and this is a grand CD for his fans especially at Christmastime. Don't be surprised if you find yourself playing it during the year, however--this music is wonderful! This is high quality control music for anyone who wants a CD of Christmastime music.
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christmas faves
Stevies's clear,soulful voice on the "Ave Maria" is one of the best renditions of many I've heard. this christmas cd became my favorite this year. This cd is a christmas delight. .

Everyone needs Stevie!
It's a great collection that will never go out of style. You can't have Christmas without Stevie.

Great Christmas Album...
Faith took a lot of OLD classics that most R&B artists won't touch and I think that is great. I love this album. Her version of 'This Christmas' was done very well, but my favorite is 'The Day That Love Began'. I think it's such a pretty song and it's worth buying the album.

Christmas with little Stevie
The latter being true, there was almost no way I was going to be dissappointed with this, especially after hearing a track on the radio this past Christmas and really digging it. First off, I'm not one to buy Christmas albums -- in fact, this is the first I've ever purchased -- but I am a big Stevie Wonder fan and have most of his post-1970 albums, even the not so essential ones from the 80's.

This relatively new compilation (2004) includes 14 remastered tracks, originally recorded by Stevie back when he was "Little Stevie Wonder" and sung mostly non-originals under the direction of Motown executives. Tracks 1-12 were in fact originally issued as 'Someday at Christmas' in 1967 -- this new collection therefore trumps that album (which still shows up in the used bins) by adding two additional tracks. Still, the total playing time remains brief at 42 minutes.

The music itself is a bit dated of course -- Stevie croons in an adolescent voice, is backed by an un-funky orchestra with lush string arrangements and vocal choruses, and most of the tunes, if they ever were popular, are now obscurities. There are a some classic carols -- "Silver Bells," "The Little Drummer Boy," the classical piece "Ave Maria" (which Stevie braves in latin), and a Stevie favorite, Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song" ("Chestnuts roasting on a open fire. . . "). Most of the tunes are slow ballads, until the end when the tempo picks up with "What Christmas Means to Me," a number more in the trademark Motown tradition with sleighbells serving as the rhthym section, and the two concluding add-on tracks. Some of the songs border on smarmy ("Bedtime for Toys" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Me" with their spoken interludes), but the opening track "Someday at Christmas," "The Day That Love Began," "The Christmas Song" and "Christmastime" are standouts with Stevie really shining -- the latter two feature a bit of Stevie on harmonica.

I saw Stevie sing a free Christmas concert in Times Square back in the 90's, making me want to hear a modern Christmas album by grown-up Stevie and all his now trademark piano and vocal pyrotechnics, but this album works for me too. . . as something to put in around Christmastime to break the monotony of well-tread carols on the radio, a conversation piece (peace?), and a good addition to a relatively complete Stevie collection.

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