Published on Dec 6, 1998
Make what snide comments you want about ‘producer’s projects’,
they always
sound good. And I admit to a weakness for them; being a Alan
Parsons Project junkie from way back, I always like it when a good
producer or writer strikes out on his own and puts something
together for -himself- instead of for whoever signed him to work
this month.
I also like good Christmas music. This is somewhat of an
oxymoron, since I’m pagan and celebrate Yule as my religious
holiday — but the works surrounding Christmas are some of the most
beautiful, soaring melodies ever written.
Imagine my delight when I found about Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s
1996
Christmas Eve And Other Stories. TSO is the brainchild of
New York City producer and songwriter Paul O’Neill, responsible for
Savatage’s
Streets and
Dead Winter Dead CDs. On it, he is joined by session
keyboardist Robert Kinkel, most of Savatage, and numerous other
performers from the New York City music scene; and in it, he
creates a powerful wall of sound celebrating the joy and spirit of
the Christmas season.
The album feels very much like a harder version of the
aforementioned Project; guest vocalists, layered sounds, and
orchestral work mingles with Al Pitrelli’s piercing guitar to
create an album with depth and, dare I say, glory. The album’s
loose theme follows one angel’s search for goodness on Christmas,
and the signposts on that journey are outstanding; “O Holy Night,”
“The Prince Of Peace,””The First Noel,” and the powerful climax to
the tale, “Old City Bar,” are all excellent.
The real lauds need to be saved for two tracks, though. “Mad
Russian’s Christmas” is a magnificent romp through Tchaikovsky’s
Nutcracker, alternately playful and triumphant, and
“Christmas Eve/Sarajevo 12/24” is emotionally overwhelming. This
tribute to the Cellist of Sarajevo (and if you don’t know who that
is, go to your favorite search engine. NOW. I don’t have time to
tell the story here, I couldn’t do it justice, but no human being
shouldn’t know about it) weaves “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” and
“Carol Of The Bells” into both indictment and pardon at once, a
mirror of light shining within the deepest shadows.
This isn’t just another Christmas CD. This is a CD
about the return of light, be it Christmas, Yule, Hanukkah,
Kwanzaa, or Solstice. This is a celebration of joy, of power, of
peace; in and of itself proof that we will always reach for fire in
the depths of winter.