Just in Time for Christmas

Pam Tillis | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 21, 2007)
• Original Release Date: 2007
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Stellar Cat Records
• ASIN: B000TJ6BM8
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #247,533 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Tillis grew up in Nashville surrounded by music. At age eight, she sang on the Grand Ole Opry. At sixteen, she injured her in a severe car sccident, which required many years of surgical reconstruction. Following surgery, Tillis enrolled at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, forming her first band. She would drop out of college to pursue her own musical career in the late 1970s.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars this ain't your father's christmas cd, March 16, 2008

By 

L. Hoh "toonmanity" - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Just in Time for Christmas (Audio CD)

this ain't a Christmas cookie cutter disc. nope, way etter then what main stream Nashville has let loose over the past number of years. Sure Ms. Tillis mixes a bit of jazz and blues and other music forms in this, but isn't that --- her ? Ms. Tillis' style comes thru strong, loud and beautiful. The way she blends her vocals with the musical stylings makes this a must have Christmas cd, which you will play every year and not stick in the drawer with the pop favorites of the day. If you are looking for a change in Christmas music, but no so much it turns you away, give this disc a chance. you won't be sorry, i'm not.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Pam wants you to play this as background music, September 7, 2009

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Peter Durward Harris "Pete the music fan" (Leicester England) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Just in Time for Christmas (Audio CD)

In her brief but useful liner notes, Pam opines that people don't usually just sit and listen to Christmas albums. (Of course, that may be why people generally prefer Christmas albums that contain plenty of familiar songs.) So Pam set out deliberately to record a Christmas album that would serve as background music for whatever else is happening, but she's hoping that listeners will at some point find themselves humming along as they do whatever other tasks occupy them. However, Pam's song selection (including three originals) makes this album a good listen for those do just want to sit and listen, content to give Pam's music their full attention.

The set opens with Have yourself a merry little Christmas, one of two songs that she says are inspired by Patsy Cline and Willie Nelson, the other being Pretty paper, which Willie wrote and recorded, but which Roy Orbison had an international pop hit with. I'm not sure where the Patsy Cline inspiration comes from specifically, since I don't think she ever recorded any Christmas music; however, Patsy has been a strong influence on other female country singers ever since her heyday, so maybe it's just the style or the mood that provided the inspiration.

The three original songs - Beautiful night, Light of the world, Seasons - are all worth a listen and Pam clearly loves them all, but she says that the one that made her decide that she must record a Christmas album is Beautiful night. Two oldies but goodies (Christmas waltz, What are you doing New Year's Eve) should be familiar, but they don't come around quite as often on Christmas albums as a lot of other songs that Pam either didn't include at all or linked in medleys. Pam included two medleys, one of rocking songs (Jingle bell rock, Rockin` around the Christmas tree) in which her father guests, and one of carols (I wonder as I wander, Away in a manger, Silent night). The album closes with the wistful, romantic ballad, I'll be home for Christmas.

This is an excellent Christmas album that may be too mellow for use as party music, but which you can play at any other time during the festive period.

4.0 out of 5 stars Intimate jazz and country holiday music, November 27, 2007

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hyperbolium (Earth, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Just in Time for Christmas (Audio CD)

Tillis set out to record the sort of Christmas record that she'd play at her own home, one that's put on "when you cook for company, while you trim the tree, while you're wrapping presents, while you look through old photo albums with old friends." And in that she's succeeded, nestling her mostly secular selections amidst a trio of acoustic bass, piano and drums. The album opens and closes with drowsy late-night arrangements of "Have Yourself a Merry Lil' Christmas" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas," the latter adding superb Manhattan Transfer styled background harmonies. The album's three new songs include the imagery rich "Beautiful Night" and the Spanish guitar of "Light of the World." The tempo's turned up to a western swing canter for a medley of "Jingle Bell Rock" and "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" that features Tillis and her father Mel singing in duet. Her second medley, combining "I Wonder as I Wander," "Away in a Manger," and "Silent Night" is sung spiritually and gives the album its deepest moment of Christian faith. The album's real treat is a cover of Willie Nelson's "Pretty Paper," a top-20 hit for Roy Orbison in 1963. Tillis has always shown herself to be a great singer, but with the crying steel of a vintage Nashville arrangement behind her, she turns into a heartbreakingly sentimental storyteller. The Nashville A-listers add warmth with live backing tracks that are easily imagined in an intimate club setting. It's comfort and familiarity which makes this a terrific disc to slip into your CD player while you enjoy holiday activities. [©2007 hyperbolium dot com]