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

Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary Clooney and Vera Ellen in ‘White Christmas’

Irving Berlin‘s White Christmas (1954) is the romantic movie for Christmas that quite honestly inspired the genre of romantic Christmas movies. With crooner Bing Crosby sing his classic song White Christmas at the opening, the movie starts with an early flourish.

(Left to Right – Danny Kaye as Phil Davis, Dean Jagger as Major General Thomas F. Waverly and Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace in White Christmas).

The story of White Christmas begins with a clearly defined relationship among Major General Thomas F. Waverly, played by Dean Jagger, Bob Wallace, played by Bing Crosby, and Phil Davis as played by Danny Kaye. Waverly is set to retire to a Vermont inn that he acquired, which he tries to run like an army general. The larger story of the movie, in part, rests with helping the major general as a sign of affection from the military men he served as a leader.

(Left to Right – Bing Crosby as Bob Wallace, Vera Ellen as Judy Haynes, Danny Kaye as Phil Davis and Rosemary Clooney as Betty Haynes in White Christmas).

The romantic angle, which leads to a comedic angle through the movie, involves Davis trying to entice Wallace into an amorous relationship with a lady. That defines becomes Judy Haynes, sister to Betty Haynes, who happens to have a contract with her sister Betty at the very lodge run by the major general. Rosemary Clooney plays Betty Haynes while Vera Ellen plays her sister, Judy.

(Rosemary Clooney as Betty Haynes, left, and Mary Wickes as Emma Allen in White Christmas).

Mary Wickes plays Emma Allen, an employee of the Vermont inn and busy body. Emma plants some gossip and listens in to phone calls of people at the lodge, including information causes mischief by misunderstanding the context of what she hears.

(John Brascia as John, left, and Vera Ellen as Judy Haynes in White Christmas).

Meanwhile, the plans that Bob Wallace and Phil Davis have for helping their dear Major General includes staging shows at the inn where they happened upon the general and the singing and dancing sisters. Part of that includes Judy dancing with John, as played by John Brascia.

(Anne Whitfield as Susan Waverly in White Christmas).

Resolution comes to Vermont with Major General Thomas F. Waverly and his daughter Susan, played by Anne Whitfield, seeing the surprise prepared for the general, the inn, and the object of the romance properly laid by Phil Davis and Betty Haynes. The romantic comedy set against the backdrops of World War Two, Vermont, and Christmas comes to its resolution. The dancing and singing are appropriate to movie making of the era, maintaining a degree of charm that makes for a warm effect. I rate White Christmas at 3.75-stars on a scale of one-to-five.

Matt – Wednesday, December 25, 2019