Music Monday: Sandra McCracken

I really first listened to Sandra McCracken and her music when I got a sampler from artists on the Arts*Music*Justice tour last October. Based on the two songs on the sampler, I loved her music and her voice; this was only reinforced when I heard her live at the AMJ concert. I got her latest album, Red Balloon, for Christmas and love it. This is perhaps one of my favorite songs off the album - "The High Countries". Just beautiful.


This song actually appeared on the Caedmon's Call album Back Home, a few years ago. Here's what she has to say about this song:

This song is based on C.S. Lewis’ book "The Great Divorce." It borrows Lewis' spiritual analogies of the things that would keep someone from salvation. The term "high countries" represents heaven and a chance to be reconciled with God. The lyrics are pulled out of the book with detail and description, but even for those who are unfamiliar with the text, the song circles universal themes of brokenness, spiritual indecision and the human heart's natural resistance to salvation.

Just another song for your Monday enjoyment. Have you listened to Sandra McCracken's music? What's your opinion?

Tags: Sandra McCracken

Music Monday: Pierce Pettis

This is "Something for the Pain", from Pierce Pettis' recent album That Kind of Love. The lines below, from the second verse, I have had running through my head since I first hear it.

You can go to church on Sunday
You can put on your best clothes
But God always sees you naked
With all your sins exposed
Down here with the savages
In a world of freed Barabbuses
Where nuns carry guns
To protect themselves from rape
Let me give you something for the pain

Cutting. The whole song, in lyric and mood, is just so melancholy (the whole alum, really) and shines a harsh light on the reality of modern life.

At least, that's what I think.

What's your opinion of the song? Do you know much of Pierce's work? Personally, I am a pretty big fan - I think he's one of the best song writers out there these days. But that's me.

Tags: Pierce Pettis, Music Monday, That Kind of Love, Lyrics

Music and apropos thoughts

Ladies and gentlemen, Fernando Ortega. ("Sing to Jesus", from the albums Storm and The Shadow of Your Wings: Hymns and Sacred Songs). I become engrossed, oblivious to other things, when I listen to this song.


My views on modern worship music are generally well known - I'm not a big fan. Honestly, Fernando Ortega is one of the few who produces music in this genre that I really love. His lyrics are so perfectly matched with the music, so healing to listen to, so deep in reverence and awe of Jehovah, yet as light and gentle as a butterfly's wings. Absolutely beautiful.

I read a quote, from a recent interview with Ortega, that I've been pondering for the last several months.

Well, I think that most of today’s Christian music is based on a thin premise. When you take a pop song and weigh it down with the gospel it sort of cheapens both. The theology is too heavy for the song, and the song usually ends up being too light for the theology. Often I feel like you end up with some sort of fuzzy Christian propaganda that doesn’t do music or the gospel any justice. That’s why I like hymns so much. The early fathers wrote many of the texts to hymns that we sing today. I like that they attach us to our Christian history and remind us of what in our faith is worth preserving. Hymns were written by theologians, not pop stars, and that is why when they are sung, we so tangibly feel the weight of glory.

There was some interesting discussion on this in the Rabbit Room. This sounds like something I would say. In fact, when I read it to Mrs. E, she said exactly that. I'm not sure that I 100% agree, or even that Ortega was able to get his full thoughts out in the small conversation recorded there. But I often wonder at the trite approach to the writing of much of today's "Christian" music.

Take this, for example. This weekend at our church we had some guests in leading us in worship. They lead a couple of songs that I had never heard before. Let me emphasize, I had never heard them sung, nor as much as heard the titles of the songs before. Yet I was able after hearing only a few bars to pick out (predict, really) the melody and harmonies, know when to expect a bridge, and even do a decent job of guessing words. I'm no musical genius, though I've studied some music theory (20 years ago). To be able to predict the music so readily makes me wonder at the writing, itself - we who are to bring first fruits, to know God well enough to know the works He desires for us to accomplish, we should be able to do better.

Of course, only one in a thousand songs has ever been good enough to survive in peoples ears for more than a few years; much less those enduring for hundreds of years. Just look at the shear number of hymns written by Luther or Wesley, and how many are remembered and sung today, to see how the "great hymn-writers" fared. Perhaps my expectations are too high for imperfect beings.

But I can't help but wonder: do we need more worship music written and produced, or do we need more effort put into crafting a few songs? Fernando Ortega puts out that effort, and it shows.

Tags: Fernando Ortega, Worship Music, CCM

Music Monday: Now with 90% More Wednesday!

So I mostly had this done on Monday, but I've been busy. And sick. And apathetic about posting. But, in this new, improved Music Monday - with much more Wednesday than ever before! - I'm presenting Jason Gray.

I'm not sure if I've talked about Jason Gray too much around here. He's not that widely known, but among Christian artists he is one of the best writers out there. He is certainly one of the most self-demanding in his writing (he's told me and many others that his next album has been ridiculously slow in coming because of his own perfectionism in writing). And the results are some great music.

His last two albums - All The Lovely Losers and the live Acoustic Storytime - are great listens. The combination of music and story in the live album is wonderful. For example, you get to hear about his struggles with stuttering and with people who try to bring healing to his tongue. With salty hands. Eww.

Here is a YouTube clip of "I'm Not Going Down", one of my favorites off of All The Lovely Losers. None of the YouTube live clips of this song were that great, but this one includes a bit of his testimony and only cuts off the end of the song (sounds bad, but the song is great). You can see a differect version here

Have you heard Jason Gray's music before?


Tags: Jason Gray

Music Monday: Are you ready for some football?

In honor of the recent big sporting event, I thought I would pose the question:

What is your favorite football song? Or, if not a football song, any sport song?

So, here's my answer: "Just Like Jim Brown (She is History)" by Pierce Pettis. (Who's Jim Brown? Now you know.) Who, besides a man, could write a song using football as an analogy for divorce? Who, besides Pierce Pettis, could make it melancholy and heart-wrenchingly beautiful? Listen to the song and tell me that it isn't a great piece of art - I dare ya'!


You can watch a live performance of "Just Like Jim Brown" here.

So, any other favorites out there? I mean, besides something from Hank Williams, Jr.?

Tags: Music Monday, Pierce Pettis, Jim Brown, football

If I could . . .

So, here I was thinking the other day about how I have a hard time seeing some of my favorite artists in concert. The reason, I was guessing, is that many of these artists tend to perform in small, acoustic settings. And Houston just doesn't have anything set up for small venue acoustic concerts that includes Christian artists in the mix. (By "Christian artists" I mean artists who predominantly produce CCM style music. I know that there are plenty of artists that hit the small Houston venues who are Christians.)

So, as I said, I was thinking (a dangerous pastime, I know) that I would absolutely love to open something like a coffeehouse which would regularly feature live acoustic performances from some great Christian artists (and by "Christian artists" i mean - well, we've talked about that). I can name a laundry list of people who I would invite in to play. Jason Gray, Pierce Pettis, Andrew Peterson, Steven Delapoulos, JJ Heller, Cindy Morgan, Sara Groves, Shaun Groves (no relation), Derek Webb, Sandra McCracken, Charlie Peacock, Matt Brouwer (he's here in Houston, so that shouldn't be hard), Fiction Family (seriously, have you heard this collaboration between Jon Foreman of Switchfoot and Sean Watkins of Nickel Creek?), Andrew Osenga, Emily DeLoach - and that's just for starters.

I only forsee two problems with ever pursuing this dream:

1. I have no business acumen and less ability to promote events. Seriously, I'm lousy at selling anything or running a business.
2. I detest coffee. I mean, I even hate the smell of the stuff. I'd get nauseous being in a coffee house for too long. (Maybe I could go with more of a pub theme?)

So, other than those two setbacks, I could be well on my way to my dream.

What would your dream job be?

joy comes in the morning

I'm a pretty serious person, really. Mr. Euphrony will occasionally ask me if I'm unhappy, because I just don't seem to smile. It's not that I'm sad, just serious.

I guess that's who I am - an engineer who looks through eyes for the best, most efficient (perfect) way to do things; for what needs to be fixed and how; for cause and effect, a chain of events that leads to this moment and beyond. I can't shut it off, can't even imagine what life would be like if I did. This is to my detriment, at times. As you can imagine, it has caused a fair amount of friction in interpersonal relationships over the years. It causes problems with my relationship with God, too. I've talked about how my approach to God can be too analytical and I will forget that it should be a pursuit of the heart, as well.

That's why I need art.

There is an ongoing debate in modern Christian music about the necessity of artistry. Some of the most popular groups on the radio today are lauded because they "bring the word" and "sing the name of Jesus" in every phrase of every song; and they and their fans will argue that any lack of artistry should be excused or is irrelevant because they are singing about Jesus. I'll be the first to admit that I need that, at times. I'm rather pig-headed (yeas, Mrs. E, I admit to it freely) and sometimes I need that 2x4 up against my head to knock sense into me. I need the reminders, both of God's promise and faithfulness and of His call to live a life of righteousness.

But I still need art.

I need art because I need to pursue God with my heart, and art speaks to the heart much more than the mind. Here is a video of Rich Mullins' "The Color Green", from A Liturgy, a Legacy, & a Ragamuffin Band. How can anyone call a song about a color an amazing, powerful work that can draw you near to God? And yet, it does so magnificantly because of the artistry of the song.

The last two minutes of the song don't even have words, just a repeating melody that, were it ever to get on the radio, would be chopped off to make room for other songs in the playlist. But these two minutes leave my mind reeling as I visualize the idea of running free through green fields. And I experience joy.

I experience joy, because the artistry of the music, the beauty of the simple words, the heart of the artist in his work, they all bring me to a moment when I truly experience God in all His majesty. I find again that I love God, beyond the minutia of daily life and deep within my being. And that is a moment of true joy.

We read in Psalm 30:5 "weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." I think there is a good reason for saying joy comes in the morning. The hope of a new day; the beauty of God's pallet.

Part of Bloggable Music Network's Music Monday.

Tags: Rich Mullins, The Color Green, Art, Beauty, Music Monday

Music Monday: iTunes for Christmas!

Happy Music Moday New Year, everyone! I know all my readers (and after the holiday hiatus, I think that includes Mrs. E and myself) have been long awaiting more posts about music. Here it goes!

For Christmas, Mrs. E got me a $50 gift card for iTunes! Don't ya just love her? And, even though I found it two weeks before Christmas I refrained from pulling the trigger and buying until yesterday. Such decisions take time, you know? So here is the list of the official Euphrony Christmas Gift Music buyout.

1. First on the list was one I had been holding out for the last two months - Andrew Peterson's Ressurection Letters, Vol. II. As I knew it would be, it's worth the wait.
2. Next up, I had heard many good things about Jason Gray's live album, Acoustic Storytime (Live Songs and Stories). It's a blend of music from his latest album (All the Lovely Losers) and older music, with some stories in between. I love it.
3. Next up was one that I had just heard about, from Stephen's blog - Béla Fleck and the Flecktones Jingle All the Way. If you've never heard the Flecktones or Béla play then you're missing out. One of my new favorite Christmas albums - it even has me listening to holiday music after New Year's!
4. I'd never really listened to Sandra McCracken's music before the Arts*Music*Justice Tour, but I fell in love with her voice and style there. So I decided to get her latest album, Red Balloon.
5. A few years ago I borrowed a copy of Down the Old Plank Road, a collaborative work between The Chieftains and a bunch of others. I played it solid for a couple of days, until I felt like I had to give it back. Why it took me so long to add to my collection I'll never know.
6. Now we're into some bonus time. But this is a small one. Laura Story recently released a single, Emmanuel. It was worth adding onto the list.
7. Okay, now I'm just cheating. And this isn't through iTunes, either. I pre-ordered a copy of Pierce Pettis' upcoming album, That Kind of Love. I should get it in the mail soon!

Now, who out there can count the musical connections in the above selected artists? I've got just about all of them connected, in one way or another.

This is part of the Bloggable Music Network's Music Monday.

Tags: Andrew Peterson, Jason Gray, Bela Fleck, Flecktones, The Chieftains, Sandra McCracken, Laura Story, Pierce Pettis, Music Monday, iTunes

Music Monday: Mery Christmas!

Here are a couple of Christmas songs that I simply love. They stand in contrast to each other - in style, in mood, in message, and in the reactions they elicit. One is bright, joyous, and hopeful; the other is gritty, sad, and raw. But both are terrific and I wanted to share them on this Monday before Christmas.

The first is "Labor of Love" from Andrew Peterson's Behold the Lamb of God. Definitely not the Renaissance painting version, but beautiful for its honest picture.



The second is "In The First Light" from Glad's The A Cappella Project. A constant crescendo of hope and promise through the end.



So, what are your favorite Christmas tunes this year?

Tags: Andrew Peterson, Glad, Christmas Music

Music Monday: Discussion Questions

1. Would more people recognize and enjoy new musicians if radio stations would announce the names of the song and artist, like they used to many years ago?
2. If Rudolph is really the most famous reindeer of all, then why does the song assume we don't recall him?
3. The book can be found written either way, but does your family call Reindeer # "Donner" of "Donder"?

Discuss. (Partial credit will be given.)

(This is part of the Bloggable Music Network's Music Monday.)

A holiday treat and a CD winner

And the winner is:
First let me announce the winner of the Sara Groves O Holy Night CD. As chosen by completely random integer generation, matched to the order of commenting, and a little birdie told me it was Erin! Congratulations! Just drop me an e-mail to [my name] at sbcglobal dot net and we'll talk delivery. Enjoy!

And the holiday treat is:
Every year during the holiday season, Mrs. Euphrony's family has a tradition of making peanut butter balls - a conglomeration of peanut butter and sugar all wrapped up in chocolate. And here's how you make them.

Ingredients:
40-oz peanut butter
2-lb powdered sugar
1-1/3 cup butter
24-oz chocolate chips (I like dark chocolate, Mrs. E likes semi-sweets, her grandmother likes milk chocolate)
½ bar paraffin wax
(This makes ~150 peanut butter balls. Adjust the amounts to how many you want.)



Allow the butter to soften. Mix it together with the peanut butter and powdered sugar. Allow the dough to cool, then roll into balls ~1” in diameter. (I lay them out on a cookie sheet covered with wax paper.) Freeze the dough balls before dipping in chocolate. If they are too warm/soft, they will fall apart when they are dipped in chocolate.

To melt the chocolate chips, you will want to use a dutch oven. If you don't own a dutch oven (like me) you can fake it by melting the chocolate chips and wax in a metal mixing bowl set on top of a pot of water that is at boiling. The indirect heat allows the chocolate to melt more smoothly and not freeze up. Also, make sure that no water gets into the chocolate, as it will cause the chocolate to seize as well. Any way, melt the wax and chocolate together. The wax will give the final balls a nice shine. (What, you didn't know that you eat wax in chocolate all the time?)


Dip dough balls in chocolate and place onto a cookie sheet covered in wax paper. Only put a couple in the chocolate at a time (they like to stick together). I use a pair of small tongs to pick them out of the chocolate. Refrigerate to allow chocolate to set. Don't store the peanut butter balls in an air-tight container, or the chocolate will discolor (not at all appetizing). The extra melted chocolate once your finished with the balls is excellent for making small chocolate candies and lollipops (bonus!).

Now, Mrs. E strongly resists this idea, but I've always wanted to roll something like a chocolate chip or marshmallow in the center of the dough balls. Feel free to do what you want, and enjoy!

Tags: Free Music, Sara Groves, Giveaway, Holiday treats, Peanut butter balls

Music Monday: Free Sara Groves

This is kind of the Late Edition for my contribution to Music Monday - I've been rather busy today.

Who doesn't love free music? I know that I love getting free music, and hunt it down when I can. Well, this week I'm giving away a copy of Sara Groves' Christmas CD, O Holy Night. I reviewed the CD recently, which you can read here.

To have a chance at winning, just comment on this post and I'll randomly pick a winner.

Oh, by the way, I want to make this fun.
Now, I love Christmas music. I often find myself humming or singing a carol any time of the year. Therein lies a problem, though: what this means is that I can't get Christmas music out of my head. Every year, from Thanksgiving to New Years, the air waves are flooded with songs of nativity and Santa - and I begin to go insane (in a good way) with lyrics filling my head at all hours. So I have a coping mechanism - I change the lyrics.

A couple of examples:
"Walking in a winter wonderland" becomes "Walking in our winter underwear"
or
"Have yourself a merry little Christmas" becomes "Have yourself a Maury little Povich"

Now, I'm sure you're all calling for the men in white coats to come pick me up. Not without reason, either. But it helps me survive with a semblance of sanity through the year. And that brings me back to the making this contest fun - I know I'm not the only person who does this. When you comment, tell me what common song lyrics you intentionally change. It can be a Christmas song or any other song. Mrs. E changes the Third Day lyric "You are beautiful my sweet, sweet song" to "You are beautiful my sweet cell phone" (usually while holding up her phone and staring at it with reverence and amusement.

In Short
Tell me you want the CD (and why wouldn't you want this CD?). And tell me some funny lyric changes you make. And on Thursday I'll tell you who won.

Tags: Sara Groves, Free Music, Music Monday, Contest

Music Monday: Andrew Osenga "Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates"

Andrew Osenga is maybe not a widely know artist, but he is one of the best out there. Aside from spending a lot of time with some other Andy's and having a good sense of humor, he's a fine lyricist and compelling musician. Andy is probably best know for his work with Caedmon's Call and, before that, The Normals.

Here is my favorite song from Andy O - "Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates" from his EP Letters to the Editor, Vol. 1.

I love the passion in the sentiment of this song

Swing wide the glimmering gates
Leave your pride and pain
Swing wide the glimmering gates
And be innocent again

Oh, to be innocent again; that's a place where I live and breath, forgetting the past and looking towards what is ahead.

By the way, if you like Andy's music, and this song in particular, you can get it for free. Go to his Free Page and you can download Letters to the Editor, Vol. 1 and several other songs for free - more than worth your time. Also, he has a follow-up EP, Letters to the Editor, Vol. 2, that you can download for free here. Don't miss out on some good stuff from a quality artist - take it from me, and go get it from Andy.

Tags: Andy Osenga, Swing Wide the Glimmering Gates, Free Music, Innocence

Music Monday: Albertine

I know that Kat has talked extensively about Brooke Fraser. But I think it bears repeating. Here is the title song off her most recent album - "Albertine". She met Albertine when she visited Rwanda for the first time in 2005. Like you hear in Sara Groves' "I Saw What Saw", what Brooke saw changed her life.



Christianity Today just released their year end list of the best albums of 2008, with Albertine topping the list. And it is a well-deserved placement, as the whole album is great. It hit the street in New Zealand, her home, in 2006 and has been hugely popular there, as well. In fact, it won the highest selling music award in New Zealand in 2007 and was the airplay record of the year.

As a curiosity, why do you think it is that her music is mainstream in New Zealand, but a niche in the U.S.? Seriously, why do we put her, and so many others, in a cubbyhole here in the U.S.? You can't say that her music just doesn't sound that Christian so it can blend in better - not with lyrics like "faith without works is dead" and "When the sky rolls up and mountains fall on their knees / When time and space are through / I’ll be found in you" in two of her most popular songs. They just don't make sense outside a Christian worldview. So, why shuffle her off to the side here but not elsewhere? What do you think?

Worship and poetry

Here is the song "Make us One", sung by Cindy Morgan and co-written by her and Michael W. Smith. Beautiful on so many levels. The lyrics are pure poetry. The sound of Cindy singing this is amazing.

Children below, fresh from the foe,
Hands 'neath the moonlight, Lord please make us one.
We hear the tide roll through the night,
Come lead the weary, Lord pleas make us one.

Children rejoice, come to the voice,
Song of the angels healing the broken ones.
Seasons of rain, battles unwon
Lead to the fountain, wash and make us one.

All hearts rejoice with mighty voice,
Make us a rainbow, Lord please make us one.
Light in the sky, Breath of our life,
Unite the rainbow, Lord please make us one.

Make us a rainbow, Lord please make us one.

If you want a suggestion, check out her new album, Beautiful Bird. Also, she has a free download at the moment, a new song called "Innocent", which you can download by going here and registering for her site.

Tags: Cindy Morgan, Free Music, Beautiful Bird, Innocent, Beauty, Poetry, Worship

Music Monday: Heart-wrenching music

You may not realize it, but tomorrow, November 18^th, is the 30^th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre. In total, there were 909 people dead - more than a third of them children. Today, to most people, Jonestown and Jim Jones have been reduced to little more than an aphorism, a cliche warning us not to "drink the Kool-Aid".

I was only five when this terrible thing came to pass, but I remember how the news filled the airwaves and shocked everyone. The memory of this has always brought me sorrow. As with so many other events, this is ingrained on my memory and makes me consider my actions, my choices, and their consequences carefully.

So today, as I remember what happened three decades ago, I think of songs that rend my heart. As long as there is evil in the world, as long as there are men whose passion for themselves is greater than their love for God, we will sing songs of morning and sorrow. Here are two of my favorite songs, songs that tear me apart and fill me with sorrow (in a good way).

Shaun Groves' "Sad Song"


Nickel Creek's "The Lighthouse Tale"


What are some of your favorite sad songs?

Tags: Jonestown, Sad Songs, Remembrance

Music Monday: a-cappella goodness

Over the years I've seen a few of the productions of Spike Lee. Overall, I've not really liked them very much, with one notable exception. A few years back (okay, 18 years back), he put together a TV special - Do it a-cappella - the soundtrack of which I've played to death. Here are a couple of samples for you.

The first is from one of my favorite a-cappella groups - Take 6. They have a great blend of tight harmonies and a jazz sound that is just terrific. This video shows them singing two songs, "Get Away Jordan" and "Something Within Me". Listen for the high note at the end of "Get Away Jordan" - they take it a third higher in the concert than on the album version of the song.


The next highlight is from the group Rockapella. You might know them better as the group that sang the theme song for the PBS game show Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?. (Okay, a moment of honesty - who watched Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego?) Thankfully, they have since cut their hair from the mullets worn in this clip. They're singing "Zombie Jamboree", but it takes about two minutes into the video to get past Spike Lee and get to the music.

Sara Groves and Charlie Peacock on International Justice Mission

I have posted over on Inspired to Action the interview I did last week with Sara Groves and Charlie Peacock. Read it here.

Here's a little teaser, from Sara, on dealing with the hugeness of these problems:

. . . when she landed on the ground the very first thing she saw in South Africa was a little girl who had just been abused, had just been raped, and she was crying. Not because she had just been abused but because she’d been paid a dime by her abuser and some older boys had taken her dime. So this little girl, her perspective, her whole world – that she had been violated in that way – wasn’t even really . . . the point of her pain was that she had lost the dime. And I asked my aunt how do you not cry every single day?

Go read the interview and find out more about International Justice Mission. Once you do, tell me what you think about their work - what impacts you most, or what questions are you left with. I may be able to get some more answers from my contacts at IJM.

The little show that could

Sara Groves has posted on her site the total giving results and child sponsorships from the Arts*Music*Justice tour. The tour was only 19 shows - not really very many. All told, the results were:

	Total	Average per show
International Justice Mission donations	$49,701.41	$2,617.92
Food for the Hungry children sponsored	555	29

Not bad for a show featuring people who, with one exception, I never hear getting airtime on Christian radio stations. Great tour, guys, and I'm extremely glad that your goals - to see children fed and justice done - are going to be aided by efforts you have put forth.

Tags: Sara Groves, Arts Music Justice Tour, International Justice Mission, Food for the Hungry

Music Review: Sara Groves' O Holy Night

I've made not secret of the fact that I'm a huge fan of Sara Groves' music. Her artistry in combining words and music does more than tell a story, it draws you into the story. When I heard she would be coming out with a Christmas album I wondered how she would approach it. Would she do a traditional approach, with the holiday standards sung as we always do? Would it be full or original songs centered around the holiday theme? Or would there be the traditional songs with new arrangements? The answer, as you might expect, is a mix of these.

In general, there are two camps when it comes to Christmas music. The first group wants to hear the traditional songs sung as they have always been sung, thus invoking the memories of Christmas past and allowing for the sing-along. The second group may like the traditional arrangements, but also equally appreciates new versions of the old songs. Sara does both on this album, giving a new sound to well-loved carols and paying homage to others. I tend to fall into the second group, and found myself actually hearing the lyrics of these well-known carols for perhaps the first time in my life. That's a good thing, a reminder of the deep theology placed in these songs we sing halfheartedly and laugh as we fumble over words we don't really know.

As usual, listening to Sara sing these songs is like wrapping up in a warm, comfy blanket - something you can fall into and relax and really enjoy. Several of the original songs were penned with the help of Ben Shive and Andy Gullahorn - and excellent combination of tunesmiths, to be sure. With this combination you would expect a great album for the holidays - and the product lives up to expectations.

Read more . . .
For me, the highlight of the album is the "To Be With You". In the vein of many other holiday songs reminiscing of home, "To Be With You" dwells on the feelings of being with family and remembering traditions over the holidays. It's a song you can listen to and really feel in the mood for the season, ready to see family and enjoy the time together. Again, all delivered in Sara's smooth, lilting voice.

Clip of "To Be With You"

The title song is one of the traditional carols that Sara sings with her own arrangement. If you've heard some of the hymns that she has sung with modern arrangements then you know what to expect from this. With her arrangement, you hear the song you've known for so long in a way that is unique but brings to mind the original melody and harmony, but in a way that (as I mentioned above) highlights the words and allows us to hear their meaning anew. "O Holy Night" may not have the soaring melody and grandiosity of the original, but is down to earth - conversational, like most of Sara's music. The reminder that

"His law is love and His gospel is peace
Chains shall he break, for the slave is our brother
And in his name all oppression will cease"

is one that we may not expect from a Christmas song, but it is central to the reality of His coming to earth; and, it's a thing we need to recall.

Clip of "O Holy Night"

Sara also lets her humor show in the song "Toy Packaging". With a little bit of the sound you might expect from a Rankin-Bass holiday special, this song is not so much about shiny paper or pretty bows. No, this song is therapy. Because, really, who among us has not gone a little mad at the prospect of wrapping all the presents so they look just right under the tree?

Nothing makes me lose my cool like toy packaging
Ask the kids please leave the room, it's time for toy packaging
Every adhesive known to man
is holding down this Robot man
my self-esteem is in the can
toy packaging

Clip of "Toy Packaging"

All in all, this is an excellent addition to the collection of holiday music. Her traditional renditions of favorite carols are beautiful, her original arrangements are both appropriate for the tunes and enhance to old ears the words we too easily forget. Her offering of original songs are wonderful and will echo in you thoughts through the season. As usual, I'm not disappointed in she has chosen to offer us. The album, released through INO Records, hit stores this past Tuesday and is available iTunes. Enjoy! And, again, thanks to the kind people at INO for providing me with a copy to review.

Tags: Sara Groves, O Holy Night, Christmas Music, INO Records, iTunes