Customer Reviews

A Fresh Aire Christmas

5 star:		(69)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

While the first Mannheim Steamroller "Christmas" album revolutionized contemporary Christmas music, the follow-up, "Fresh Aire Christmas," is Chip Davis' masterpiece. Instead of contrasting sharply with his more traditional interpretations, here the electronic touches and percussion blend in to create a truly unique classical/modern sound. The song selection is also uniformly strong, featuring some of the most beautiful and beloved Christmas favorites.

Together, the first two Mannheim Steamroller Christmas albums may be the most musically important Christmas recordings ever released. Like it or not (and this reviewer does), Chip Davis has created some of the most distinctive and instantly recognizable interpretations of Christmas classics. And, for anyone who grew up in the 1980s, even his more questionable efforts will for ever more evoke powerful holiday nostalgia.

If you are one of the 17 people who've never heard this music, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy. It is, quite simply, essential Christmas music.

How do you even begin to describe one of the best Christmas albums you've ever heard? Well, there's just something different about it. If I were a music scholar (or even student), then I could tell you about all the technical stuff and how it all affects the ear and then affects the moods, etc. etc.

But, alas, all I am is just some guy who is deeply in love with this poetic, tranquil, and hauntingly beautiful music. I listen to it all year round. (I'm listening to the song "The Holly and the Ivy" right now.)

The best way I can describe this music is as a warm blanket on a cold night; or a hot cup of delicious coffee or hot chocolate in the coldest part of winter.

(I also recommend Mannheim Steamroller's "red" album.)

This contains some of my all time favorite Christams music. From The Holly and the Ivy to O Holy Night. It gives me chills and some tears. I have played it constantly since it arrived. If this album does not put you into the Spirit of the holiday... then you really are a Scrooge!

I've had this album for many years now, and I cannot emphasize enough just how good it is. There is not a single track on the entire CD that even slips to mediocrity... they're all excellent. Most people claim that the original Mannheim Steamroller Christmas was the best, and in all fairness, this one is highly derivative of that album. But Chip Davis has taken everything that worked on that earlier album and improved it here. I even think his rendition of "Cantique De Noel (O Holy Night)" is superior to what he did with "Silent Night" on the first album, and that's saying a lot. Chip perfectly blends acoustic and electronic sounds throughout the album, and hearing the Cambridge Singers sing "Veni Veni" and "Still Still Still" is quite beautiful. The two most prominent Christmas moods (joy and nostalgia) are each captured perfectly throughout the album. If you have any interest at all in Christmas music, you'd be shortchanging yourself by not buying this one.

Christmas with all it's magic wouldn't be Christmas for me without this CD. My A-B-S-O-L-U-T-E favorite of all of Meinheim Steamroller's Christmas music is "Veni, Veni" (O Come O Come Emanuelle). It gives me chills and a deep spirit of reverance. Beautiful! Thank you Chip Davis and gang!

Vibrant new interpretation of Christmas music with a bridge to the past.

I bought the album years ago and found Mannheim's interpretation of some of the great old songs incredibly refreshing.

On one song the passing horse and bells are so vivid that I find I am again a boy standing in deep snow in the midst of a cold Canadian winter, watching the sled pass by.

When veni, veni Immanuel arises I am suddenly in middle-ages Europe listening to the monks at their craft, and as the various instruments come in, I am gradually transported to the present, having glimpsed the celebration of nativity as it has been played out since the first Christmas.

I play this album yearly, and still it brings joy and tears of excitement.

Fresh Aire Christmas is every bit as good as "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas. It has that special touch only Chip Davis can give. Their treatment of O Come O Come Emanuel as a Gregorian Chant is inspiring. Other classic carols make it a great addition to our collection. Hark! The Herold Angels Sing is done with Trumpets and it is positively regal. Still Still Still is done with choir voices and is very peaceful. Greensleeves is in strings and has always been a favorite of mine. In Carol of the Bells, you can hear a wonderful range of bells clearly. Little Drummer Boy's treatment of many percussion instruments gives it the perfect touch. O Holy Night is a perfect finale.

Attending any concert by Mannheim Steamroller is a must. We just attended our first. We have been fans of theirs since Classical Gas.

As far as I could search through the seas of mediocre Christmas music, Mannheim Steamroller is definitely at the very crest of the Christmas genre. Mannheim knows how to blend the radical synthesized sounds of the new millennium with the traditional to create a truly unique category all its own.

One of four Mannheim Christmas albums, the name of this is A Fresh Aire Christmas. (Mannheim is always including the word "aire" in their album names. It must be something in the watre)

Track 1: (1:23) A slower beginning than the usual "grab your ear" track that begins a Mannheim album, yet this one is just a warm-up. It is a slow tune, yet majestic in its own way. But it merely lays down the pavement, then steamrolls over it to bring you....

Track 2: (3:27) The very kind of Mannheim you're looking for. Digital, synth, percussion, strings, bass, this tune is upbeat, fun, and enjoyable.

Track 3: (4:15) A haunting, gorgeous rendition of the traditional tune "O Come, O Come Emmanuel". It is sung in Latin, and it makes you feel as if you were hearing the song at its first playing, in a Gregorian monastery. This is precisely the Mannheim Maestro intended, and he carries it off absolutely beautifully.

Track 4: (2:58) Very simple at first, and easy listening. Primarily flute in the beginning, it reminds one of a simple holly bush silently bending in a snowy, winter wind. Very lovely track.

Track 5: (4:06) Primarily synthesized sounds for this classic drum song. It grows gradually much more majestic. Nice.

Track 6: (3:39) A very soothing, beautiful carol sung by a choir. It is almost lullaby in its tune, and an excellent track just to sit down and chill from Christmas bustle.

Track 7: (2:23) Very traditionally done, primarily by the classic orchestra sounds.

Track 8: (2:43) This carol originates from a legend of a German monk in 1365. The title is Latin, and the song is a rather Scottish, or Celtic flair to it. (By the way, it is also known as "Good Christian Men Rejoice")

Track 9: (3:24) A rather quiet tune. Mostly strings and flute, but this track too grows into a very lovely, meaningful tune.

Track 10: (3:48) This is a mega-cool version of the Carol of the Bells. Beginning slowly with hand bells, it quickly escalates into ultra-modern, spectacular Mannheim tune. Probably one of the best that they've made. There are bells galore, but the best part is when the grand horns sound in. Way cool.

Track 11: (3:42) This song is an original composed by Chip Davis. (Presumably for his wife, based on the comments in the insert) The song is one of THE sweetest, most beautiful songs I've ever heard in my life, and don't underestimate that claim. It brings to mind the warm, fuzzy memories of Christmas mornings as a kid. Family reunions, apple butter, pine trees all come rushing back in a lovely wave of nostalgia. We should all get on our knees and beg Chip Davis to compose another original.

Track 12: (5:19) Otherwise known as O Holy Night, it begins very quietly with piano keys playing a charming little melody, but is joined by a lovely violin to play the actual song. Even though this is one of my favorite Christmas songs, it is still beat out by Traditions of Christmas, but Cantique de Noel is still great.

Mannheim is simply a must-have for your Christmas season, whether you like to rock your roof off or stick it in your mini stereo. Do yourself a favor, and buy it.

This is my all-time favorite Christmas album! Because I teach so much Christmas music, I really enjoy a different take on the carols, and this is certainly right up my alley! A few people have told me they don't like the fact that some of the carols are so unusual, but I love this album! "The Little Drummer Boy" and "Carol of the Bells" are definitely upbeat and non-traditional (and GREAT!!!) arrangements, but "O Come O Come Emmanuel", "The Holly and the Ivy", "Greensleeves", and "O Holy Night" are achingly beautiful. "Traditions of Christmas" is a Chip Davis original, and is sweet and cozy. "Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming" and "In Dulci Jublio" would be at home on a classical album, while "Carol of the Bells" rocks. Each piece is given its own individual treatment, so the album plays almost like a compilation. Far superior to the more-recent "Christmas in the Aire", I give "A Fresh Aire Christmas" my highest recommendation!

This CD has a nice variety of carols as well as arrangements and instrumentations of those carols. The singing on Still, Still, Still is magnificent. Chip Davis' own Traditions of Christmas is sweetly sentimental without being sappy. The brass playing and Chip's drums on Hark! The Herald Angels Sing will blow you away!