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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Her Best Christmas Album, December 4, 2003
This CD is a reissue of Amy Grant's classic 1992 second Christmas CD, "Home for Christmas." While I completely enjoy Amy Grant's other Christmas albums, this is the best of her career. Everything from the song selection to vocals and background music comes together for a Christmas treat.The album mixes traditional, lesser known, and original songs, and strikes the right balance of new and traditional to make it seem like Christmas but not like all the others you already have. Part of this is in the arrangements, which are pure magic. "It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year" and "The Night before Christmas" are songs that aren't recorded too often, but I love their joy of the season. Original song "Breath of Heaven" still amazes me with its look into the conflicting feelings Mary must have been dealing with as she awaited Jesus' birth. It's such a beautiful prayer. "Emmanuel, God with Us" ties the birth of Christ to our modern celebration in a humbling way. I fell in love with this song the first time I heard the bridge. Frankly, I can use a reminder about Emmanuel every day of the year. I now have several different version of "Grown-up Christmas List," including one that tries to Christianize it. But this version, the first I ever heard, is my favorite. "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree" and "Winter Wonderland" are fun arrangements of Christmas classics. "Have a Merry Little Christmas" is fast becoming a Christmas favorite, helped tremendously by Amy's version here. I have been known to enjoy this album all year long. It deserves to be included in the 20th Century Masters Collection and in any Christmas music fan's library. If you've missed this holiday gem, pick it up today.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The best of Amy Grant's three holiday CDs, November 24, 2003
1992 was indeed a great year for Amy Grant. After experiencing five top 20 singles on the pop chart over the previous two years (a genre she had been flirting with for at least six years), a visit back to the idea of a holiday album brought out some of her career's most mature and lasting recordings. Eleven years after its release, this collection still resonates as Amy Grant's most compelling holiday release. The arrangements are classy and sophisticated, yet they're also accessible to all listeners. The music has a timeless feel to it that extends beyond the tinny, synthesized arrangements of "A Christmas Album." Also, the overall CD flows more successfully as a complete album than 1999's "A Christmas To Remember." Grant's voice seamlessly transitions from the full orchestra to the solo guitars supporting her. The highlights include the plaintive tones of the opening track, "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," her subtle and honest version of "O Come All Ye Faithful," and one of her own songs, "Emmanuel, God With Us." Finally, I would challenge you to find someone to dispute the power of the upbeat arrangement of "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring." I am impressed with the reissue and do not find it distasteful in any way, simply because the track listing remains intact. Last year, after I bought my fifth copy of "Home For Christmas" at full price, I began to wonder if the price would ever fall. Now, as with most catalog CDs, Universal will be able to reach new listeners without gouging customers. Reintroducing the buying public to what I consider to be Amy Grant's finest work at a LOWER PRICE sounds like a good idea to me -- how could this be seen as a bad thing?
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Another fine holiday mix for Amy Grant's 2nd Christmas album, November 23, 2003
Amy Grant's first Christmas album was released in 1983, when she was one of the top Christian gospel singers in the country, contained four original songs on which she was one of the writers and a mixture of contemporary Christmas songs and religious hymns. For her second album in 1992, a year after she had three singles on the pop charts ("Baby Baby," "Every Heartbeat," and "That's What Love Is For"), Grant only had a hand in writing two songs for the collection, which clearly emphasized popular Christmas songs over the religious hymns. After all, why argue with success. "A Christmas Album" has been a perennial seller for twenty years and "Home for Christmas," which is re-released here as part of the 20th Century Masters Christmas Collection, is just a step below (the formula was more impressive the first time around and the choices were a more eclectic and more interesting).I usually think that Amy Grant is almost the ideal singer of Christmas songs, because she has a nice enough voice, but it is also a natural voice, and you can sing along without feeling like she is blowing you away. She sings slow songs like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" as well as the fast paced holiday rocker "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree." I really like the medley of "Joy to the World/For Unto Us a Child Is Born," and the beautiful "Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song)," one of the two songs co-written by Grant. Once again, Grant ends her album with a really old-fashioned hymn, this time Bach's "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring," as a final reminder of the true meaning of Christmas. Once again, Amy Grant supplies a solid mix of Christmas songs for our holiday listening enjoyment. "Home for Christmas" made it to #2 on the Billboard album chart in 1992 (and #1 on the Top Contemporary Christian chart, of course).
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by Amy Grant 
