Published on Dec 21, 2000
It has actually gotten to the point where I look forward to the
Christmas season. Not for the presents, not for the parties – and
surely not for the snow. (I write this after Chicago has had two
significant snowfalls in three days – bring me the head of Perry
“Let It Snow!” Como.)
No, I love this time of year because it means the release of the
latest Christmas CD from Delaware-based Yes Virginia, a band whose
praises I’ve been singing for over a year now. Paul Janocha and
crew have built up a significant following since starting this side
project in 1997, taking the carols we all know and love and giving
them a slightly harder edge.
O Holy Night, their latest release, demonstrates that the
band has proven themselves to be more willing to take chances with
the source music, and though this formula bites them once or twice,
the group has scored another hit.
Mario Padovani has settled in nicely since being added to the
band in 1999 as their keyboardist; listen to him whipping out a
Kansas-like riff on “Coventry Carol” and try to deny that this is a
well-executed version. You can’t. Padovani’s influence on this and
songs like “The Holly And The Ivy” seems to push his bandmates to
new levels.
I commented to Janocha in a private phone conversation last year
that I happened to like hearing lead guitarist Joe Merkel get a
chance to whip off a solo. I’m not taking credit for it, but Merkel
actually seems freer with the guitar riffs this time around,
turning in some tasty work at the end of “We Three Kings” and
“Christmas Suite”.
There was one song I was a bit apprehensive about on
O Holy Night – namely, the title track. The manner in which
Yes Virginia approached this song was in question; if they turned
this into a pure rock show, the song would not succeed.
Fortunately, my fears were unfounded; this version opens with a
gentle guitar pattern that slowly builds into a respectful, though
rock-oriented, body. Granted, I would have liked to have heard what
Janocha and crew could have done with this in either an acoustic or
an all-guitar element, but I did like the way that the song closes,
returning to a gentle guitar line. Well done!
For fear that it might look like all I ever do is sit and drool
about this band, I do have one or two points of contention this
time around. First, drummer Mac Hines has to start putting some
feeling into his performances; more often than not, the drumming
sounds a bit robotic, cold and emotionless. Take what he did on
“Little Drummer Boy” and put that kind of rhythm on some of these
songs, and things improve tenfold.
The only other beef I have? The grind-to-a-halt stops on a few
of these tracks, like “Coventry Carol” and “We Wish You A Merry
Christmas”. Not every track needs to fade out, I know, but it would
have been better to have brought, say, “Coventry Carol” to a more
natural stop than just musically slamming on the brakes.
Still,
O Holy Night is a disc which shows that Yes Virginia is a
band who deserve a slice of the holiday music pie. I know there are
record company-type people who read these reviews… and if you
want to give me a nice Christmas gift this year, please give these
guys a chance and consider signing them to your label.