Matt Lynn Digital is taking this opportunity of the year end to look back at the last year in book reviews, movie reviews, music reviews and television reviews. We will look at these individual categories, one per day through Friday. We begin today by looking into the television reviews offered by Matt Lynn Digital in 2021.
(The series Manifest experienced a third season in 2021. The series starring Melissa Roxburgh and Josh Dallas tells the story of an airliner that suddenly reappears after five years missing).
Manifest (2018- ) starred Josh Dallas and Melissa Roxburgh as a brother and sister among many onboard an airliner that disappeared for five years, reappearing after those five years with the passengers and crew having aged not at all during their time away. Matt Lynn Digitalreviewed the third season for the show in June, offering the experience 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five. While the show was cancelled by NBC after three seasons, the series will continue on Netflix for an anticipated fourth season.
(The Christmas Album by David Foster and friends was released as an album and television special in 1993).
Matt Lynn Digital appreciates your continued interest in the content we offer. Should you have programs that you’d like us to review, or similar work to that mentioned above, please be sure to let us know.
A pair of radio stations where I live have been playing Christmas music through the month of December. The station that tends to play more contemporary music has included music from The Christmas Album (1993) by David Foster among its more commonly featured songs. As it is the season for such songs, let us look more closely into the dozen songs that comprise this album.
(The Christmas Album by David Foster with friends was released in 1993).
Carol of the Bells opens the 12-songs of The Christmas Album with an uplifting and melodious rendition of this traditional song. Mixing horns, piano and an orchestral mix meaningful to many, the joy that comes in less than three-minutes of playing time is beloved by many. This song, incidentally, receives the heaviest play of any song from this album with my local station.
(The Christmas Album featuring David Foster and friends was released in 1993).
Blue Christmas features Wynonna Judd singing to the instrumentation offered by David Foster. A rendition of this song also accompanied David Foster’s Christmas Album television special, which accounts for the following image. The rendition of the song selected here comes from the album rather than the television special.
(Wynonna Judd accompanies David Foster by singing Blue Christmas from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).
Bebe Winans and Cece Winans are featured accompanying David Foster with The First Noel. The contemporary sound with support from a chorus and a broad accompaniment of other musicians offer a warm, welcoming and full sound commensurate with the underlying lyrics and music offered. The song offered is from the album, whereas the image is from the television special.
(From left, David Foster, Bebe Winans and Cece Winans performing The First Noel).
Johnny Mathis joins David Foster in performing It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year. The enthusiastic time offers an uplifting spirit to a traditional composition known to many through more commonly played alternative renditions of this song.
(Johnny Mathis accompanies David Foster by singing The Most Wonderful Time of the Year. This image is from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special while the rendition linked above is from The Christmas Album).
Natalie Cole joins David Foster in offering Grown-Up Christmas List. Compositional credit for the song belongs with David Foster and Linda Thompson-Jenner. The fresh perspective in offering a new sentiment for the holidays with quality musicianship is heartwarming with a sense of calm.
(Natalie Cole accompanies David Foster by singing Grown-Up Christmas List from The Christmas Album. This image is from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).
(Vanessa Williams accompanies David Foster by singing Go Tell It on the Mountain / Mary Had a Baby. The version linked below is taken from an album published by Williams).
Vanessa Williams sings a powerful medley of Go Tell It on the Mountain / Mary Had a Baby with a choir and David Foster, as featured on The Christmas Album, in David Foster’s Christmas Album television special, and in albums published separately by Williams. In staking out something truly their own in a musical arrangement offering many things, call me intrigued and moved.
(From left, Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack performing I’ll Be Home for Christmas. The image shown is from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).
I’ll Be Home for Christmas features Peabo Bryson and Roberta Flack with musical assistance from David Foster. The mellow feeling of the presentation, taken from The Christmas Album as linked above, offers compositional direction changes at various points in the presentation that offer interesting and warm feelings to my hearing.
(Tom Jones performing Mary’s Boy Child from David Foster’s Christmas Album television special).
Tom Jones sang to Mary’s Boy Child. The linked soundtrack to a ballad with choir harmonies bordering on the up-tempo style of many of the standards of Tom Jones, with a distinct timing difference to the song that comes next on The Christmas Album.
(From left, Céline Dion and David Foster perform The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)).
Céline Dion sings The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) to David Foster‘s piano, set in a distinctly higher key to much of the catalogue offered by The Christmas Album before this song. The juxtaposition of the Peebo Bryson and Roberta Flack duet followed in sequence by Tom Jones and Céline Dion also feels wisely selected to me.
Tammy Wynette sings and speaks Away in a Manger. The orchestration and production value of the song strikes me as more endearing.
The song White Christmas as captured on the album is credited in performance to David Foster, Natalie Cole, Michael Crawford, Wynonna Judd, Johnny Mathis, Bebe Wians and Cece Wians. I distinctly heard Vanessa Williams, Peebo Bryson, Roberta Flack, Tom Jones, Céline Dion and David Foster singing as well.
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