Christmas with David Foster

One thing I enjoy about the Holidays is finding new Christmas albums to listen to. Artists know that they will probably get only one chance to do a Christmas CD and they exert a lot of effort to make one that would be played over and over again for many years to come. I have also noticed over the years that there is usually one special album that ends up staying on the player more than the others.

Last year’s was Songs Of Joy And Peace by Yo Yo Ma and Friends. The year before that was Noel by Josh Groban. And there were also times that were defined by Ryan Cayabyab’s Pasko with the San Miguel Choir and Orchestra or The Christmas Album by The Company and of course, Jose Mari Chan’s Christmas In Our Hearts. And now, I have just realized that the Christmas CD by which I will remember 2009 is My Christmas by Andrea Bocelli.

With a voice like his, there is no question that Bocelli and Christmas songs make a powerful combination. It also sounds like he took great care to come up with a Christmas album that has something for everybody. How else will you explain Caro Gesu’ Bambino sharing the bill with Santa Claus Is Coming To Town or The Muppets joining Bocelli in Jingle Bells while there are the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in a showstopping The Lord’s Prayer.

As a result the album may be Bocelli’s Christmas but judging by what he put in it, his My Christmas may also be ours. Take a look at what else he has: Carols like Adeste Fidelis, O Tannenbaum, Silent Night, Cantique De Noel and Angels We Have Heard On High; the classical Tu Scendi Dalle Stelle; the standard White Christmas or Bianco Natale in Italian; fantastic duets The Christmas Song with Natalie Cole, What Child Is This with Mary J. Blige and Blue Christmas with Reba McEntire; and new songs God Bless Us Everyone and I Believe with the Welsh mezzo Katherine Jenkins.

Listen and you will also notice how his vocal placement changes with the song. Light and very pop for the contemporary pieces and his famous classical tenor when the song calls for it. I suppose that this must have been producer David Foster’s idea. It is a brilliant one as it made Bocelli’s album accessible to everybody. Like kids will surely recognize The Muppets while Mom and Dad will be thrilled to hear Natalie’s beautiful tones introducing Chestnuts roasting on an open fire…

Having Foster produce is also a big plus for My Christmas. Foster has a way with Christmas albums. They seem to sparkle more when he is at the helm. That is how I feel when listening to his Celine or Groban CDs or to his own David Foster Christmas Album and now also to Bocelli’s My Christmas. Thanks to his enviable flair with all types of music, he mixes the pop with the classical, the serious with the fun and they always come out right.

Foster must have loved doing My Christmas and I am sure that Bocelli felt likewise. This is evident in every cut. You can almost feel the fun they had creating joy that is now there for everybody to share.

Incidentally, soprano Jenkins has her own solo CD out in the stores right now. The title is Believe after her duet with Bocelli, which is one of the cuts in the album. I see Jenkins as a crossover oddity. You know how classical male crossover artists seem to be dropping out of the sky all the time. They range from Placido Domingo to Paul Potts and from Il Divo to The Priests. But no nuns, even no girls. There was Sarah Brightman some years ago and maybe Susan Boyle in the near future.

For now though, there is only Jenkins and she not only sounds great, she also looks great. Believe is a mix of pop and standards that goes from Bring Me To Life by Evanescence to Edith Piaf’s La Vie En Rose. In between are Till There Was You, Angel, Fear Of Falling, Love Theme From The Godfather, Ancora Non Sai with violinist Andre Rieu, No Woman No Cry with Cody Carey, La Califfa with sax whiz Chris Botti, Who Wants To Live Forever and Se Si Perde Un Amore.