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Topping My Xmas Playlist

Topping My Xmas Playlist

I may be a day late and dollar short in recommending a holiday album for the Christmas season but here goes. Five-time Grammy Award winning folk/pop singer-songwriter Mary Chapin-Carpenter who for twenty years has been known for her thoughtful baby-boomer ballads and an occasional chart topping hit has released a collection of all original Christmas music,  “Come Darkness, Come Light: Twelve Songs of Christmas”. This mostly acoustic collection provides an all too rare opportunity to enjoy new music in place of the seasonal chestnuts that are heard a thousand times a day in department stores, elevators and car washes across this great land. Chapin-Carpenter  brings to bear tender melodies and lyrics that not only capture the flavor of the season but draw on her own spirituality without becoming preachy or self-serving. The intimacy and intelligence of her writing just naturally draws the listener in regardless of faith.  It is an album of recollection, of hope and reconciliation,  and it’s a prayer for peace on Earth–gifts that are perennially (and sadly) in short supply at the end of year.  Her longtime producer John Jennings has done a tasteful job on the crisp, clean arrangements and Chapin-Carpenters rich throaty vocals play will warm the house like a hot spiced cider. Distributed by Zoë/Rounder bonus tracks are also available on iTunes (“Have Yourself a  Merry  Little Christmas” and B&N (“Silent Night”).

Tags: TOPPING

Neil Gader

By Neil Gader

My love of music largely predates my enthusiasm for audio. I grew up Los Angeles in a house where music was constantly playing on the stereo (Altecs, if you’re interested). It ranged from my mom listening to hit Broadway musicals to my sister’s early Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, Beatles, and Stones LPs, and dad’s constant companions, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett. With the British Invasion, I immediately picked up a guitar and took piano lessons and have been playing ever since. Following graduation from UCLA I became a writing member of the Lehman Engel’s BMI Musical Theater Workshops in New York–working in advertising to pay the bills. I’ve co-written bunches of songs, some published, some recorded. In 1995 I co-produced an award-winning short fiction movie that did well on the international film-festival circuit. I was introduced to Harry Pearson in the early 70s by a mutual friend. At that time Harry was still working full-time for Long Island’s Newsday even as he was writing Issue 1 of TAS during his off hours. We struck up a decades-long friendship that ultimately turned into a writing gig that has proved both stimulating and rewarding. In terms of music reproduction, I find myself listening more than ever for the “little” things. Low-level resolving power, dynamic gradients, shadings, timbral color and contrasts. Listening to a lot of vocals and solo piano has always helped me recalibrate and nail down what I’m hearing. Tonal neutrality and presence are important to me but small deviations are not disqualifying. But I am quite sensitive to treble over-reach, and find dry, hyper-detailed systems intriguing but inauthentic compared with the concert-going experience. For me, true musicality conveys the cozy warmth of a room with a fireplace not the icy cold of an igloo. Currently I split my time between Santa Fe, New Mexico and Studio City, California with my wife Judi Dickerson, an acting, voice, and dialect coach, along with border collies Ivy and Alfie.

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