Published on Dec 24, 1998
Being Christmas Eve and all, you would think that I’m fully in
the Christmas spirit, feeling all happy and fuzzy warm all
over.
Think again, sucker. For some reason, I have not gotten into the
spirit of the holidays this year. I can’t explain why this is so,
but this is the first Christmas in years that I’ve not been
overtaken by holiday joy.
Even the latest holiday release from Donny Osmond,
Christmas At Home, didn’t help. I won’t go so far as to say
that it made my mood worse at times, but while some of these songs
capture the mood very well, others fit about as well as snow in
Hawaii.
It would be easy to say that the difficulties with this album
were split along the lines of traditional carols and newer songs.
However, there is both good and bad in each of these camps. Osmond
knows how to exploit the good in a positive way, but when these
songs are off the mark, look out.
In the traditional vein, Osmond shines on the richly
orchestrated efforts like “O Holy Night/Divine”. However, when he
tries to put a more modern spin on things, the results are painful.
I’m sorry, but a reggae-flavored version of “Deck The Halls/Hark,
The Herald Angels Sing” just doesn’t work. And although he somewhat
stays close to the mark on “It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The
Year,” there is something about this rendition that doesn’t seem
right. (Could be that I’m so used to Andy Williams’s version that
everything else pales in comparison; I’m not above admitting this
as a possibility.)
As for the more modern numbers (none of which appear to have
been written by Osmond), things start off weakly, but end up to be
some of the strongest performances on
Christmas At Home. Tracks like “After December Slips Away”
and “I’ve Been Looking For Christmas” just come off as being too
cornball, and they don’t adequately capture the mood; if anything,
I’d argue that they were written for various Christmas parades.
Another song, “Who Took The Merry Out Of Christmas?”, showed a lot
of promise in the title, but putting a rock vein into this one
completely killed it for me.
However, Osmond proves his worth in the last five songs of the
album. Soft, subtle ballads like “Mary, Did You Know?” and “Come To
The Manger” finally hammer home the meaning of the season, while
others like “The Kid In Me” and “My Grown-Up Christmas List” are
pleasing on all levels.
Admittedly, you have to go into
Christmas At Home putting aside any feelings you may have
about Osmond and his past life as a teen idol. Cripes, I was only
about six years old when Donny & Marie was on, I don’t remember
a fribbin’ thing about the show, and even I had to go into this
with an open mind. It’s not easy, but by the end of the album,
Osmond should win you over on some level.
Christmas At Home is not a great holiday effort, but the
songs that are on target are very much worth your time.