Customer Reviews

Father Christmas

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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.

A gentle, understated holiday gem, just perfect for listening to while sitting quitely by the fire and looking at the lights on the Christmas tree.

Recorded with her father providing sole accompaniment on guitar, this album dodges the prefab, overproduced sound of many holiday releases and instead gives the listener an intimate and heartfelt vibe.

Deana's "Silent Night," for instance, will move even the most hardened atheist, and brings up memories of homespun church services. "Winter Wonderland," on the other hand, is quick-paced and playful; I can imagine Deana and her dad smiling and joking with one another while recording it. (At one point he slows the tempo to a stop, and she lets out a scolding "DAD!")

My favorite cut, "Merry Christmas Darling," has emotion that Karen Carpenter never quite got, a wistful, heartbroken yearning, giving the impression that her love's not only far away, but in someone else's arms as well.

I wish there were more one voice/one instrument CDs like this...but the lack makes me treasure Deana's album all the more.

Having conquered the country charts in 1996 with the Matraca Berg-penned "Strawberry Wine" and a debut album full of hit singles, Carter stumbled commercially with her sophomore release, "Everything's Gonna Be Alright." Where the first album followed an earthier Nashville path that had been trod by Mary-Chapin Carpenter, the second worked more of Carter's rock influences (including acts like ZZ Top and Lynyrd Skynyrd) into the mix. Despite several fine tracks (including the Matraca Berg penned "Dickson County"), the public didn't buy it, apparently prefering that Carter would just repeat her debut.

After being dropped by Capitol (and suffering through a divorce), Carter regrouped and recorded this even more unusually individualistic disc. Working with her father, Nashville studio guitarist Fred Carter Jr., Carter recorded ten Christmas tunes, with just voice and guitar. In such a stripped-down setting Carter's voice is revealed to have even more texture than was apparent on her Nashville-produced band efforts, and her father's jazzy acoustic picking (which has accompanied Waylon, Willie, and Merle, as well as Simon & Garfunkel), provides terrifically pleasant backing.

In addition to nine holiday chestnuts, Carter includes her father's fanciful dream of Louisiana snow, "Johnny's Snowman." The disc concludes with an unlisted bonus track of Carter interviewing her father for an elementary school project. The elder Carter shows off some impressive rock 'n' roll licks on "Jenny Jenny," before being cut off by his young daughter ("Mr. Carter, Mr. Carter, that's enough. Thank you. Thank you so much for your time.").

The homespun, fireside combination of voice and acoustic guitar gives these tried-and-true Christmas songs a renewed vitality, and will certainly have them standing out in your holiday CD rotisserie.

A remarkably understated acoustic Christmas album... Usually when Top 40 country stars do a holiday record, they tend to blast away at the songs -- I guess it's a chance for them to wail away on a different type of material? -- but Carter prefers to croon, and the results are low-key and kind of nice. Backing her up on acoustic guitar is her father, '50s session picker, Fred Carter... as an interesting family-oriented bonus, the disc also includes an interview she conducted (as a little kid) about his old days in Nashville. Worth checking out, if you're in a holiday mood.

Deana Carter's stripped down rendition of "Carol Of The Bells" was one of the '90s best holiday singles. On Father Christmas, Carter reaches new levels of sparsedom, with the album comprised solely of her warm, clear vocals and some supple guitar work courtesy of her father, esteemed session musician Fred Carter. For the song lineup, Carter selected Christmas staples by some of her musical heroes like Nat King Cole ("The Christmas Song") and Karen Carpenter ("Merry Christmas Darling"). What works once as a nice change of pace, however, becomes tedious by the tenth and final track, as all of these acoustic renditions start to sound the same. Folk fanatics and Carter devotees will probably enjoy this, but mainstream country listeners are apt to find it a tad boring.

Deana Carter's 2001 Christmas CD "Father Christmas" is a very satisfying set. The stark guitar and voice arrangement brings out both the lovely melodies, Carter's excellent vocals, and creates an intimate feeling of celebration. "I'll Be Home for Christmas" is filled with longing to be with family. Mel Torme's classic "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" is done with expressive vocals and lots of feeling. Richard Carpenter's "Merry Christmas Darling" is one of the more creative choices for the set, a lovely romantic holiday song. "Johnny's Snowman" was penned by Deanna's dad and is a track you won't find elsewhere (as far as I can tell). "Winter Wonderland" is great fun as Deana chases her dad's agile guitar. "White Christmas" & "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" conclude the set. The childhood Christmas interview is very sweet, but could have been kept in the home vaults. This is an excellent Christmas recording. Enjoy!

Deana could have been a major country star if she had been content to stick to a formula that worked. Having sold millions of copies of Did I shave my legs for this? following the success of Strawberry wine, she tried something different for her follow-up album. The public didn't buy it in large enough quantities and Deana disappeared - until the release of this album.

Without a record label at the time, Deana recorded this Christmas album with her father in his own studio. He played guitar while Deana sang. No outside musicians were called upon. The result is a lovely, acoustic album which shows off Deana's warm voice to best effect. Many of the songs are well-worn standards, but here they sound fresh and different, without all the musicians that you find on other Christmas albums.

I am sad that Deana is no longer wanted by the major labels, but this album is fascinating in it's own way. It will never sell in huge quantities, but it's simplicity is refreshing. Home-produced albums of true quality (such as this) are rare, but Deana is an exceptionally talented singer.

This album made my eyes water with memories of life, holidays, love and peace. Deana's more mature sound, heart and soul are woven throughout the lyrics. Tops to the collaboration with her Father. Worth the purchase and worth a listen.