David Foster and the album ‘The Christmas Album’

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).

O Holy Night features Michael Crawford singing alongside David Foster‘s piano and other accompanying instrumentation. Crawford is “[m]ost popular to theater audiences from his title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber‘s version of The Phantom of the Opera,” as mentioned by All Music, the American online music database).

(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.

Matt – Wednesday, December 14, 2021

Van Halen and the self-titled album ‘Van Halen’

It is with sorrow that we commemorate yesterday’s passing of guitarist Eddie Van Halen. The band that partially bears his name came to prominence for many with the songs from 1978’s album Van Halen by the rock band named Van Halen, incidentally, for what started as the quattro of Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth and Michael Anthony.

(The album cover for Van Halen‘s debut, self-titled album Van Halen is shown here).

The opening track from the debut album Van Halen by Van Halen is the song Runnin’ with the Devil. The song captures all of the better elements of the sound that Van Halen offers with their debut album as far as harmony, drums, guitar and bass, plus the unique sound of car horns battery powered through a box and foot pedal. As a means of offering a unique new impression for a band, this song provided that.

Eruption, which stands on its own as a song and the introduction of Eddie Van Halen as a guitar legend, segues into what officially the third song on Van Halen’s debut album. This song popularized the notion of tapping, which when simplified a bunch gets into how the hands of the guitarist are used to get the strings of the guitar vibrating.

You Really Got Me, a remake of a song with the same name by The Kinks, brings a bit of a stronger rock sound. When released as the band’s first single, this song gave the band a nice kick as far as popular and name recognition. In thematically introducing the Van Halen notion of love, at least as it would be portrayed through the David Lee Roth years, this song was a decent choice.

(From left, David Lee Roth, Alex Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen and Michael Anthony of Van Halen).

Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love is the fourth track on the Van Halen album. Eddie Van Halen was supposedly embarrassed by the first pass of the song, which delayed his sharing the song with his bandmates. The song’s theme is clearly about casual sex, which became something the Roth encouraged as the band toured.

I’m the One is the fifth and final track from the opening side of Van Halen‘s debut album. The song perhaps most closely reflects a punk rock sound on the debut effort for the band.

Jamie’s Cryin takes the notion of Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love and reverses it into the perspective of a lady, Jamie, who regrets a one night stand. The song reflects a notion of having been written before cell phones. The longing for something more meaningful becomes an obviously nonstarter for Jamie and Roth.

(From left, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen of Van Halen).

Atomic Punk battles with I’m the one, the final song from side one of the album, as a definition of the more alienated side of punk rock songs that were parts of the band’s initial concept.

Feel Your Love Tonight accentuates the harmonizing among the band’s singers as well as the singlemindedness of the one night stand that is flush among the songs on the Van Halen debut album.

As the ninth song on Van Halen, Little Dreamer gets into the singing and harmony perhaps quicker than any other song on this album. The sound that becomes clear for early Van Halen can be heard hear.

(Eddie Van Halen of the band Van Halen).

Ice Cream Man is the final album in experiencing a degree of success for Van Halen from their debut album. The song departs from much of the remainder of the album until the rhythm upticks about 70-seconds into the album. The guitar solo for Eddie Van Halen that comes in at roughly the 1:45 mark is really appreciated.

On Fire is the eleventh and final song of the Van Halen album. The song brings an aggressive energy musically fitting as a close to the band’s opening effort. Click any of the links above to hear the songs included in this look at the debut album of Van Halen. I really appreciate the interesting riffs and sound that Eddie Van Halen brought the world.

Matt – Wednesday, October 7, 2020