Customer Reviews

Mandolin Music for Christmas

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is my all time favorite. I truly love it, It makes me sad that Christmas is over and I've put it away untill next Christmas.

Playing Time - 41:14 -- Evergreen, an album produced by Nashville mandolinist Butch Baldassari, is subtitled "Mandolin Music for Christmas." Butch's mandolin (or one of its cousins: bouzouki or mandola) is dominantly featured in every one of these carols, and he ably proves that this stringed instrument family is ideal for creating a pleasant holiday sound. This album trumps many others by bringing in some excellent accompanists to play guitar, bass, fiddle, dobro, flute, viola, cello, triangle, and even bells on various pieces. These guest artists include Sam Bacco, Mike Bub, Shawn Camp, John Catchings, Mark Horwitz, Randy Howard, Mark Schatz, Tim Stafford, Gene Wooten and Andrea Zonn.

None of the tracks are over-arranged, and three (Joy to the World, The First Noel, and Deck the Halls) only feature Baldassari. Some cuts might even have been further enhanced with instrumental harmony, such as was done with fiddle on "Angels We Have Heard On High" and fiddle and mandolins on "Beautiful Star of Bethlehem." Of special note are those carols that also feature lead work by Baldassari's guests - Randy Howard's fiddle on "Do You Hear What I Hear," Howard's guitar on "Angels We Have Heard On High," Mark Horwitz's flute on "What Child Is This," and Gene Wooten's dobro on "The Little Drummer Boy," "Silent Night" and "Away in a Manger." These familiar tunes are given a full ensemble sound with a palate of aural holiday pleasantry. Originally released in 1990, Evergreen was reissued in 2002 with a slightly different order of the tunes. It's a very appealing set of Christmas music that will make a nice addition to your library so that the mandolin is adequately represented among your holiday collection. (Joe Ross, staff writer, Bluegrass Now)

I really enjoy this CD -- I got it last year as I am adding to my Christmas Music collection and it is definitely one of my favorites. Very pleasant -- perfect for a relaxed afternoon with the family or background music for a holiday gathering. I highly recommend it -- it'll put you in the holiday spirit!

Although I was a little uneasy because the mandolin is a limited instrument, there are some absolutely beautiful cuts on this album - and mandolin is just the beginning. The Silent Night with Guitars, Dobros, etc. is now my favorite version of this song. As a hobby guitar player, I love hearing new uses of the instruments.

I received this CD at Christmas last year, liked it so much and found it so popular with others that I ordered three to give as gifts this year myself. I recommend it highly as a gentle, pleasing presentation of familiar Christmas melodies, or as soothing instrumental music at any time of the year.

This is the Christmas music heard on The Weather Channel. It is PERFECT background music. The bend of violin, mandolin and guitar is great, with a few solo instrument arrangements. They chose our FAVORITE carols. Perfect for decorating the tree, or waiting for Santa.

First of all, I think the late Butch Baldassari had one of the best mandolin tones anywhere. He was a true master, and no matter what he played (Beatles, classical, jazz, etc.) he made it sound great. On this CD he takes some Christmas standards and uses the mandolin and other obscure instruments like the mandola and octave mandolin, giving the songs a different and fresh sound. The deep drone of the octave makes anything it's played on sound ancient, like you're stepping back a few hundred years. But there are also flutes, cello, viola, and fiddles thrown in the mix. If you want some different music for your Christmas listening, give this one a try. I recommend it.

After seeing the movie Return To Oz I became fascinated with the mandolin after one of the characters played it in the movie, it has such a unique old world classical sound to it and the mandolin can also be played in the mountain music style. I was so glad to find this cassette tape in a store a few years ago afer trying for a long time to find a tape of mandolin music and I really like the tape which is probably one of the most unusual Christmas albums I own!

This is my all time favorite. I truly love it, It makes me sad that Christmas is over and I've put it away untill next Christmas.

A truly wonderful collection of instrumental holiday music with the sounds of traditional mountain instruments, especially the mandolin.