How best to welcome November? With only a few weeks until Christmas day, nothing beats Christmas sounds. And there is something to be truly excited about Yuletide music this year.
No, Jose Mari Chan has no new Christmas album. Neither has Mariah Carey. But Dan+Shay has and it is such a joy to listen to.
Dan+Shay is this country music duo which leapt into the pop charts with a series of country, but also so pop love songs, a few years ago. Remember Speechless? That was Dan+Shay.
Tequila? That too was Dan+Shay.
They also did From the Ground Up, All To Myself, Keeping Score with Kelly Clarkson and that fantastic earworm of a song, 10,000 Hours with Justin Bieber.
Dan+Shay is made up of Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, singers and songwriters both. They were solo acts or with other groups when they met and just started singing and writing songs together. Unlike most country acts, the duo had a style that was softer and sweeter than the usual country ballads. This is why it proved easy for them to break into the pop charts.
Hence the hits and later global acceptance.
So now, after five hit albums, Dan+Shay decided it was time for them to come up with a holiday album. That is what the big stars do. Produce a sure seller that would delight the fans. And delight Dan+Shay’s Officially Christmas does. Take note, it is a double album. That means lots of songs. One album is all familiar titles, both pop and traditional. The other one is made up of pretty new tunes by Dan+Shay. Take Me Home for Christmas, The Cozy Song, Holiday Party, Pick Out a Christmas Tree, Blame It on Santa, Christmas isn’t Christmas, Save the Snowman, Happy New Year, Parson Brown, Break Up on Christmas and Officially Christmas.
Only time will tell if those songs will become Christmas classics. But the other album more than makes up for the wait.
The blended voices of Dan+Shay conjure up quiet Christmas evenings spent with loved ones. The arrangements are simple but effective. The singing, superb. The album sounds like I have always imagined Christmas music and the season should feel like.
Silent Night, It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree, The Christmas Song, Let It Snow, Jingle Bell Rock, Winter Wonderland, Christmas Baby Please Come Home and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.
While you are it, you might as well check out Christmas Once More by The Carpenters. Karen Carpenter sadly passed into the great beyond years ago. So, this is a compilation of old recordings. But then the brother and sister duo of Richard and Karen did make beautiful Christmas albums. So, old time fans can certainly use a replacement for their well-played copies while newbies will be amazed at the way Karen’s gorgeous alto can warm the December cold.
Among the cuts are Home for the Holidays, My Favorite Things, The Christmas Song, Ave Maria, White Christmas, Sleigh Ride, The Christmas Waltz, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear and that tune that the Carpenters made classic, Merry Christmas Darling. All of these were curated by Richard, are now backed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, and encased in a new Christmas packaging.
There is also When I Think of Christmas by Amy Grant and Vince Gill. I think it is because she did the original version of David Foster’s Grown-up Christmas List and it remains the best. So, from that time on, I have thought of Amy as part of Christmas and this collection has some of her best, including the lovely Breath of Heaven.
Amy is married to country music star Vince Gill and he joins her in this album. By Amy, When I Think of Christmas, Winter Wonderland, It’s the most Wonderful Time of the Year and Tennessee Christmas.
By Vince, The Christmas Song, I’ll Be Home for Christmas, Do You Hear What I Hear, O Come All Ye Faithful and O Holy Night.
For their duet, it is Till the Season Comes Around Again.