Father Christmas

Deana Carter | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 20, 2001)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Rounder / Umgd
• ASIN: B00005R5V0
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #41,380 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Along with hit singles and Fan Fair appearances, Christmas albums are one of the requirements for a successful career in major-label country music. Even artists with only one CD behind them are often compelled to make the second a collection of holiday favorites. Deana Carter's the exception that proves the rule. On the punningly titled Father Christmas (dad Fred, a veteran Nashville session man whose resumé includes Bridge over Troubled Water and work with Dylan and Waylon Jennings, is her sole accompanist here), the one-time multimillion seller for Capitol uses the form to reintroduce herself on an indie.

Carter's voice, both smoky and innocent-sounding, impossible to listen to without feeling the need to have your back scratched right now, brings these mostly familiar songs a dimension of personality that's often lost on more cookie-cutter releases. The space given her father's wide-ranging talents reflects a sense of true collaboration. His pithy, Willie-style solo on "Merry Christmas Darling" is a small gem, and his bluesy intro to "Silent Night" takes the melody into a distinctly new realm. Father Christmas isn't as filling as a set of new Carter songs would've been, but it's a good sign of her continuing vitality as a performing force. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Beautiful Christmas Album By One Of Country's Finest, November 27, 2001

By 

Justin M. Green (Coolville, OH USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Father Christmas (Audio CD)

I have been waiting for about three years for Deana to come out with a new album, and this is worth the wait. "Father Christmas" is a beatiful collection of Christmas tunes that Deana and her father recorded together. Along with being a wonderful Christmas album, it is also a lovely tribute to a very influential person in her life... her father. Tunes on this CD include classics such as "I'll Be Home For Christmas" "Silent Night" and "Winter Wonderland." Unlike most albums in today's society, "Father Christmas" is simple... only Deana singing and her dad playing guitar. And yet it sounds excellent! If you are a Deana fan (like me) or you just like good Christmas music, you should definitely purchase this album. Before I take my leave, let me just say how happy I am that Deana is on a new record label and is finally puttting out new music. I await the day her new album comes out... but until then, "Father Christmas" will keep me hanging on.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Breathtaking!, November 22, 2001

By 

Kori Frazier (Kent, OH United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Father Christmas (Audio CD)

There are two albums that I pull out to play during the holiday season. The first is Billboard's Top 10 Christmas Hits, the second is Johnny Mathis's MERRY CHRISTMAS. For the first time since I started playing Christmas music, that number will increase to three. There is no doubt that FATHER CHRISTMAS will be a favorite of mine for years to come.

Deana Carter's first album on her newly formed independent label, recorded with father Fred Carter as her only accompanist, is an acoustical gem that brings home the true meaning of the holidays. Comprised of eight Christmas standards and two more recently written songs, I can't think of a track on this album that is worth skipping. This seems to be more of a folk album than anything else--the modern country style seen on Deana's past two releases is virtually absent from the low-key environment on this record. But this doesn't take away from the music at all; indeed, it seems to make Deana sound better than ever. I especially like her upbeat, somewhat Latin styled take on "Winter Wonderland!" Although as the Amazon reviewer put it, this album isn't as exciting as a collection of new Deana songs would have been, it is still terrific and is what I believe to be a great mark of a bright future for one of country's greatest voices.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Like sitting in their family room with them on Christmas Eve -- delightful!, March 8, 2006

By 

Willa Shaffer "cannot live without music" (Reston, VA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Father Christmas (Audio CD)

I've been a devotee of Deana Carter's voice and music since the first time I was swept away with her "Strawberry Wine" and any music fan of any genre ought to own that album. I'm sure that Deana's Christmas album may not appeal to everyone, but for me, it is pure magic, and became an immediate favorite for the holidays and even beyond. This incredible work has Deana teamed up with her father, Nashville studio guitarist Fred Carter Jr., to record their unique and starkly beautiful rendition of these ten Christmas songs. With just Deana's pure, textured vocals and her Dad's outstanding acoustic guitar, this CD delivers heartfelt lyrics and music for songs we love rendered in an old-fashioned way. I was captivated from the first note, and felt like a spellbound guest in their home, listening to loving family innocence and music-making first-hand. Their mutual warmth and enjoyment at recording together transcended the limitations of listening to a cold CD. This album is a distinctively noncommercial and delightful take on covers of traditional Christmas melodies, and one a true lover of music and family cannot miss.

I was immensely touched and pleased to find, at the end of this CD, an unlisted bonus track of Deana Carter as a little girl, interviewing her father for an elementary school project. The interaction between them is a joy to behold as Mr. Carter goes along with his little girl's demonstration of a "journalist's" interview with charmingly playful humor, followed by a heartbreaking ballad her father recorded long ago that happened to be on the same tape. I, personally, am thankful to Deana for including these tracks...it feels like discovering the most precious reward just for listening.

Other reviewers have said it best, so I will conclude simply with my recommendation: Get this CD. You will love the intimacy and the freshness of these Christmas songs, and you'll want to introduce every holiday guest to the spirit and charm of Deana and her talented Dad.