Customer Reviews

He is Christmas

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

He Is Christmas! is the best album Take 6 have ever produced (which is saying something!), and it's a shame I can only ever play it for one month a year without getting funny looks - which I endure bravely when I put it on in the middle of April! You will not hear a version of Silent Night that even comes close to this one, and it is the delicate balance between the radically reworked (Away In A Manger, Little Drummer Boy, God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen) and the more straightforward renditions of anthems (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, O Come All Ye Faithful) that makes this the pivotal seasonal recording. The tongue-in-cheek Take 6-isms in the latter two (the half-bar C7/b9/#11 chord in Hark!, the key change in Come) never fail to make me smile and shake my head in disbelief. And just listen to what they do to the high school choir staple Amen! A capella music doesn't get any better than this.

I bought this CD several years ago and it remains fresh each time I hear it. Every year, it's like a brand new Christmas present. The song arrangements and the execution are authentic and unique. These guys are no two-bit operation; they really know what they're doing. They know what to keep of the familiar, and what to play with. Clearly, they love what they do and they believe the message they're trying to convey. It's a simple pleasure to listen to this CD, and a great way to add a festive feel to your Christmas reveling.

This album is divine. It has the ability to evoke a Christmas feeling that I had years before the album even came out! 'Hark the Heral Angels Sing,' my favourite track on the album, reminds me of growing up, surrounded by family on Christmas Day with a turkey and ham in the oven... thinking "thank God for the joy this day brings."

Vocally they are impeccably harmonized and the genre ranges from STUNNING classical interpretations such as 'Hark the Herald' to a dreamy, bluesy number like 'Sweet Little Jesus Boy'...to jazzy 'God Rest Ye Mary Gentlemen'. Like all good Santas, there's something for everyone and yet we can still enjoy all of it. Magical!

Bring the spirit of Christmas home...or back home. Get this CD and then turn the volume up. God bless!

Listening to this album this morning as I add to my wish list, the vast majority of comments here echo my own. This album is fresh every time I listen to it. It stands ups. Timeless. Even the cuts I didn't like the first time grown on you. If you like Take 6, or just very smooth vocal jazz harmony, this will put a star on your musical tree every year.

Despite an original release nearly 15 years ago, "He is Christmas" retains the sound and original harmonies for which Take 6 is best known and loved. The album sounds as fresh and original today as it did during my first listen.

Take 6 was criticized by many for "abandoning" their acapella roots and using instrumental accompaniment. Despite criticism, the album sound is full and offers a complexity not possible on acapella tracks. For that, I'm glad they changed.

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen is an especially good track. Complex harmonies, a smooth beat, and saxophone accompaniment make this an excellent track. Many others are the same. Listeners are treated to a strong album that redefines traditional Christmas tunes with a soulful twist.

These guys have the best voices that someone like me has ever 'heard'...and I mean 'heard'! Despite being technically and legally deaf, I still try to hear music on my own terms at Christmas time. That means there are certain sounds I just cannot hear anymore, most of them in the higher frequencies. I've always preferred male choirs to mixed choirs, especially for so many of the Christmas songs. Even when I've had to toss so many other Christmas CDs I can continue to enjoy Take 6, because they sing low, they sing well, they pronunciate their words, and often they sing without accompaniament of a bunch of noisy instruments. Just their pure sweet voices. Now mind you, I have to listen to them in the car, with the volume jacked up high enough to make everyone around me deaf. Doesn't bother me, if it's just me in the car. I know my kids enjoy their music also, at significantly lower volumes.

But don't take a deaf person's word for it! I realize it seems kind of silly for a deaf person to write a review on music. We enjoy it too, just differently. Lucky that readers can listen to samples of their music and guage for themselves. I just want Take 6 to know how much this deaf person appreciates their work!

Karen Sadler,
Science Education,
University of Pittsburgh

I haven't really had Christmas, until I've put on "He Is Christmas!" This album puts me into the true spirit of the season, unlike any other. The vocal arrangements are the best I've ever heard, and I have a wide and varied taste. You've never heard 'Silent Night' or 'The Little Drummer Boy' sung quite like this before; I promise you! If you have small children, let them hear "Uncle Vinnie"(Alvin Chea)tell his version of 'Twas Da Nite.' They will be tickled-pink by this musical gem. I love this CD so much, I play it all year long!

This Christmas CD is another one of Take 6's display of "FLAWLESS" Acapella, rich and unique sound, phenominal Contemporary Gospel/Jazz/R&B music in it's purest form.

I had this on cassette but felt very left out when cassette players went out of style. I bought purely because it is a great Christmas CD. My favs are....well all of them!

Perfect...just what I needed at the right price and right on time!
Thank you!