1. I'll Go
2. Children Go Where I Send Thee
3. Give Love on Christmas Day
4. Be There for Christmas
5. This Christmas (Could be the One)
6. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
7. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
8. It's Christmas
9. What a Wonderful World
10. Please Come Home for Christmas
11. Silent Night
12. Thank You
ARTIST SITE
PURCHASE THROUGH AMAZON
I bought this CD on the strength of the cover art. I had no previous exposure to Ledisi. And, quite frankly, an awful lot of recent R&B Christmas CDs have been so completely without soul, that I’ve down rated the entire genre when prioritizing my holiday purchases.
But Ledisi’s got soul. She’s got soul to spare. A little Ella Fitzgerald, a little Aretha, Ledisi’s got it.
“It’s Christmas” was, for me, an incredibly satisfying aural delight and I’d recommend you don’t miss it. While many artists will bounce from genre to genre to demonstrate the diversity of their chops, Ledisi is here able to bring all those genres together on every track—each song rich with the influences of gospel, jazz, hip-hop, blues…this is a consummate performance.
I could nit-pick and offer my opinion that the second half of the album seemed stronger than the first half , but the resulting sensation is that of a ski run that grows in excitement the longer it continues. Or I could say that “I’ll Go” takes a bit too long to get to the point, but the payoff in the soaring arrangement of the gospel standard“Children Go Where I Send Thee” is well worth it. And I really didn’t need another version of the non-Christmas “What A Wonderful World,” but Ledisi’s vocals and the trumpet playing of Christian Scott make even that selection seem inspired.
Ledisi makes every song earn its keep. Well worn standards such as “Please Come Home For Christmas” (with a guest appearance from Keb Mo) and “Silent Night” sound entirely new and fresh, as though this was the first time they’d ever been recorded.
The album closes with a Ledisi penned original, the exuberant “Thank You,” which reminded me, more than anything, of mid to late 70s Stevie Wonder. A wonderful end to a wonderful journey.
Ledisi brings everything to the table for this Christmas album and leaves nothing behind. It’s overflowing with passion, reverence, nostalgia, originality, joy, humor, and, most of all, soul. This woman’s got pipes. She sings her ass off. And she sounds better with each passing note.
When all is said and done, “It’s Christmas” is entirely worthy of the Verve label it carries. From me, that’s high praise. And well earned.
2. Children Go Where I Send Thee
3. Give Love on Christmas Day
4. Be There for Christmas
5. This Christmas (Could be the One)
6. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas
7. What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?
8. It's Christmas
9. What a Wonderful World
10. Please Come Home for Christmas
11. Silent Night
12. Thank You
ARTIST SITE
PURCHASE THROUGH AMAZON
I bought this CD on the strength of the cover art. I had no previous exposure to Ledisi. And, quite frankly, an awful lot of recent R&B Christmas CDs have been so completely without soul, that I’ve down rated the entire genre when prioritizing my holiday purchases.
But Ledisi’s got soul. She’s got soul to spare. A little Ella Fitzgerald, a little Aretha, Ledisi’s got it.
“It’s Christmas” was, for me, an incredibly satisfying aural delight and I’d recommend you don’t miss it. While many artists will bounce from genre to genre to demonstrate the diversity of their chops, Ledisi is here able to bring all those genres together on every track—each song rich with the influences of gospel, jazz, hip-hop, blues…this is a consummate performance.
I could nit-pick and offer my opinion that the second half of the album seemed stronger than the first half , but the resulting sensation is that of a ski run that grows in excitement the longer it continues. Or I could say that “I’ll Go” takes a bit too long to get to the point, but the payoff in the soaring arrangement of the gospel standard“Children Go Where I Send Thee” is well worth it. And I really didn’t need another version of the non-Christmas “What A Wonderful World,” but Ledisi’s vocals and the trumpet playing of Christian Scott make even that selection seem inspired.
Ledisi makes every song earn its keep. Well worn standards such as “Please Come Home For Christmas” (with a guest appearance from Keb Mo) and “Silent Night” sound entirely new and fresh, as though this was the first time they’d ever been recorded.
The album closes with a Ledisi penned original, the exuberant “Thank You,” which reminded me, more than anything, of mid to late 70s Stevie Wonder. A wonderful end to a wonderful journey.
Ledisi brings everything to the table for this Christmas album and leaves nothing behind. It’s overflowing with passion, reverence, nostalgia, originality, joy, humor, and, most of all, soul. This woman’s got pipes. She sings her ass off. And she sounds better with each passing note.
When all is said and done, “It’s Christmas” is entirely worthy of the Verve label it carries. From me, that’s high praise. And well earned.