The clocks have gone back, the days are shortening, so it must be time to settle down and look towards the festive season. And what better to line up on the CD player than Scottish singer/songwriter Emily Smith’s unambiguously titled Songs For Christmas album? It’s a smart, quietly eclectic mix of songs with all-round appeal that should ensure it becomes a solid seasonal favourite for years to come. Whether it’s traditional Celtic airs, well-known hymns and songs, old spirituals or the kitsch of a pop song, there’s something here to suit nearly every taste.
Carol service favourites ‘Silent Night’ and ‘God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen’ are here stripped back with subtle arrangements. The latter in particular, is kept very intimate, intriguingly punctuated by a softly distant martial percussion. ‘Silent Night’ is softened out until it’s almost a waltzing, slightly jazz-tinged lullaby. In contrast, Michael Head’s carol ‘Little Road To Bethlehem’ rocks out in lively fashion, with a skittering fiddle accompaniment.
North American influences, traditional and modern, feature strongly on the album. ‘Heard From Heaven Today’ gives a pared-back Appalachian feel to this spiritual, and ‘The Blessings Of Mary’ is swept along by sinuous fiddle and snappy guitar. Coming more up to date are Mindy Smith’s maddeningly catchy and charming ‘Santa Will Find You’, and the album closer, ‘A Life That’s Good’ (from the Nashville TV series) is a fittingly count-your-blessings wrap-up.
Naturally, the album wouldn’t be complete without a couple of traditional Scottish songs. ‘Christ Has My Hairt, Ay’ is bright and clean whilst broadside ‘The Parting Glass’ (a favourite show closer of Smith’s) is kept poignant and bittersweet, not maudlin. There’s another fine Celtic touch with the inclusion of John Doyle’s ‘Merry Christmas To All And Goodnight’.
The two songs on the album written by Smith herself are absolute (Christmas) crackers. ‘Find Hope’ sets the album off on the right foot. All the essentials of a Christmas song are here, typical seasonal landmarks picked out against the real message of hope and joy, all reflected in wistful fiddle/viola cadences. Her other song on this album, ‘Winter Song’, is similarly well-crafted, lyrically and musically. Here are all the signs of winter drawing in, the sense of the natural world shutting down and waiting for those little signs that herald the coming of spring. We hunker down with mixed feelings, we “endure” the winter and wait for it to pass..
Each song is beautifully played and sung. Jamie McClennan (fiddle, guitar, vocals), Matheu Watson (guitars, vioa) and Ross Hamilton (bass, drums, vocals) provide tight, yet relaxed accompaniments that are sympathetic and harmonious. Smith’s gloriously smooth and clear vocals effortlessly crest the band’s delicate arrangements.
This is no big whoop-it-up party album, this is the one to put on in the quiet downtimes, those reflective moments spent thinking about family, friends and those who are absent. One for the end of the night, when you say goodbyes once more. Yes, it’s sentimental – but then this is the perfect time for a bit of sentiment. It’s also soothing and calming, full of gentle hope and optimism. And we could all do with some of that.
Su O’Brien
Artist’s website: http://www.emilysmith.org/
‘Heard From Heaven Today’:
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