lambchops's Full Review: Christmas Eve and Other Stories by Trans-Siberian ...
On the first day of Christmas my true love sent…errr…bought for me…
Throughout my childhood I could always plan on a certain set of Christmas music. My mother had an extensive collection of pretty traditional holiday 8 tracks that she played all day long for the month of December on repeat. It got to the point that I knew every song on every tape right down to the exact moment at which it would click and repeat. After eighteen years of life, this annual ritual really did get old.
So when it came to me selecting my own holiday music, I wanted to get something less traditional keeping in line with my distinctively rock and roll leanings. There are very, very few options out there for rock fans…but while listening to my favorite radio station I happened upon something very interesting—Trans-Siberian Orchesetra.
Based in New York City and formed in 1995, TSO is in fact a real rock and roll orchestra consisting of some sixty pieces. Organizing this endeavor is rock producer Paul O’Neill (Aerosmith, Savatage) and Savatage cohort Jon Oliva who recruited fellow musicians Al Pitrelli (Asia, Savatage), Robert Kinkel, John Middleton (Savatage), and Jeff Plate (Savatage) to provide the rock elements to seamlessly compliment the aforementioned orchestra.
The first TSO album was released in October 1996. Christmas Eve and Other Stories is a collection of both reinterpreted traditional holiday songs and new songs written by O’Neill and company. Adding to the overall ambiance of this release is the fact that it is a concept album that tells the story of an angel sent to Earth to find and bring back to his master “the one thing that best represents everything good that has been done in the name of this day.” Throughout the sweeping seventeen tracks, this angel makes his journey around the world, through Sarajevo (as evidenced by the modern classic Christmas Eve) and Russia among other places.
All grand concepts aside, Christmas Eve and Other Stories is a wonderful holiday album. With songs ranging from The First Noel, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, and O Holy Night to O Come All Ye Faithful and a whole slew of TSO originals this is a rocker’s delight. While the arrangements are magnificent and traditional, the addition of a complete rock band adds panache to this album that proves appealing to many unconventional listeners. To fans of traditional Christmas tunes, this album will be strange and difficult. Keep in mind that TSO is rock and roll. There are electric guitars, drums, and the like just as prominently displayed as the cello and French horn.
Christmas Eve and Other Stories kicks off with the original An Angel Came Down. Despite the fact that the song introduces audiences to the concept of the album, it’s a disappointing track. It already seems dated these brief six years later. But just as that song bores, O Come All Ye Faitful/O Holy Night thrills. A delicate piano melody is interrupted and wonderfully complimented by the orchestra and electric guitar. This is as complete a vision as TSO has ever organized. It is sheer brilliance.
As a whole, the re-interpreted classics are the most luminous. But on songs like A Star to Follow (combining God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen and the original composition in a round) TSO manages to shine. Equally impressive are the upbeat rock chords of First Snow. But it is on Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24) that the band/orchestra shines the brightest. Already a classic, the track is once again loosely based on God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Gorgeously arranged, produced, and performed the song is without question the standout of this debut TSO release. Emotional, energetic, memorable, and elegant it is impossible to not find solace and joy with Christmas Eve. It is a must-listen, although you’ve likely already heard it.
Good King Joy is also an essentially original song although it too is loosely based on a few classics including Joy to the World and Good King Wenseslas. The brilliance of the song is less in the originals works than it is in the creative and ambitious nature of the re-arrangement. The conceptual angel’s story again picks up with Ornament but again all attention should be on the song that follows…The First Noel. Radiant, delicate, and thoughtful the newly arranged classic is as gorgeous as any previous interpretation.
Again returning to the theme of the album, Old City Bar presents the further development of our protagonist “the angel.” The album continues with more original pieces but again I’m drawn to those most familiar (even as well made as the new ones are). O Holy Night is artistically similar to The First Noel. Equally as lush and thoughtful, tamed and triumphant this version should appeal to traditionalists and progressives alike.
TSO wraps up their creative first effort with an actual interpretation of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen. Even with the use of electric guitars the song is tidy and unquestionably appealing to a wide variety of audiences.
As far as holiday music goes, Christmas Eve and Other Stories is one of the most engaging albums I’ve heard to date. Without sounding like a parody or a bad cover band, TSO has been able to take the old and combine it with the new in a package that can only be described as inspired (even if it’s not perfect). For fans of rock looking for something else to pop into their stereo around the holidays, it’s highly recommended to check out either Christmas Eve and Other Stories or 1998’s The Christmas Attic.
Rating: 4/5 stars
Track Listing:
01. An Angel Came Down
02. O Come All Ye Faithful/O Holy Night
03. A Star to Follow
04. First Snow
05. The Silent Nutcracker
06. A Mad Russian’s Christmas
07. The Prince of Peace
08. Christmas Eve (Sarajevo 12/24)
09. Good King Joy
10. Ornament
11. The First Noel
12. Old City Bar
13. Promises to Keep
14. This Christmas Day
15. An Angel Returned
16. O Holy Night
17. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen
Next up…the second day of Christmas with Granniemose!
Day 1: Lambchops
Day 2: Granniemose
Day 3: Lorace
Day 4: jankp
Day 5: chriswillyv
Day 6: cletta1201
Day 7: artbyjude
Day 8: dedemw
Day 9: prfstars
Day 10: jackai (the host!)
Day 11: Lynus
Day 12: katybrighteyes
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