A New Thought For Christmas

Melissa Etheridge

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 30, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Island
• ASIN: B001E2JN88
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,397 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description
What if someone made a Christmas album for everybody else? That's exactly what Melissa Etheridge has done. Working alongside her producer David Cole, Melissa's songs celebrate a spiritual time of year where people can rejoice in their traditional, or non-traditional ways, and celebrate a winter solstice filled with love and peace. This ten song album has newly composed songs such as "Ring The Bells," "Light A Light," and "It's Christmas Time" interspersed with traditional holiday standards such as "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" and "Blue Christmas." This album begs the question, "If we're all talking about peace on earth, what if we all concentrated on peace on earth and made it happen?"

Melissa Etheridge has been a core Island Records artist since the release of her critically-acclaimed eponymous debut, which led to an invitation to sing on the 1989 Grammy Awards broadcast. For several years, Melissa's popularity built around such memorable songs as "Bring Me Some Water" (from her debut), "No Souvenirs" (from 1989's Brave And Crazy) and "Ain't It Heavy" (from 1992's Never Enough), for which she won her first Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal.

Melissa hit her commercial and artistic stride with her fourth album, 1993's Yes I Am, featuring the massive hits "I'm the Only One" and "Come to My Window," a searing song of longing that brought her second Best Female Rock Grammy. The album went six times platinum and spent more than two and a half years on the album chart. In 1995, she issued her highest charting album, Your Little Secret (#6 on the Billboard Top 200), which included the hit single, "I Want to Come Over." Her astounding success led Melissa to receive the Songwriter of the Year honor at the ASCAP Pop Awards in 1996.

Melissa continued to write, record, and tour throughout the '90s and into the new millennium. In 2006, she was approached by Al Gore to write a song for his documentary film, An Inconvenient Truth. The result was "I Need To Wake Up" and in February 2007, she won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Melissa's Greatest Hits: The Road Less Traveled was repackaged to include the OSCAR® winning song. In April 2007, Melissa Etheridge received the distinguished ASCAP Founders Award honoring the anthemic power, compassion, and generosity of spirit of her music, and her enduring status as one of the greatest all-time female rock icons. In September 2007, she released The Awakening, which was selected by Rolling Stone Magazine as #20 on its Top 50 albums of 2007.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fa La La La La ... it's a Etheridge Timeless Album, October 7, 2008

By	DrippingInColorDotCom "DrippingInColorDotCom" (Arizoven) - See all my reviews

When you unwrap "A New Thought for Christmas" you will be sure to unwrap a gift of peace, unity and complete magic. Not only will this album bring you into full swing of the upcoming Winter Solstice and beyond, but it's also a shining example of the growth of one human spirit - one who has the right thoughts to teach us in a ripple like way that we are ALL ONE and to "CHOOSE ONLY LOVE."

BLUE CHRISTMAS - Janis was smiling on the tapestry of earth the night Melissa Etheridge shattered out with her grace and respect in honor of Janis Joplin's life in music. Well, Elvis is probably feeling just about the same, but with a different flavor. Not only is it an incredible cover of Blue Christmas with that Etheridge edge, but it also has and that soulful power of Philip Sayce and the amazing Lily Wilson and Bernie Barlow blending in the background. Great cover!

GLORIOUS - LOVE LOVE LOVE ... this song is absolutely amazing. "BELIEVE in HEAVENLY PEACE" - that is the first time I have ever heard it like that before and I can see that is a place where CHANGE comes in and, of course, Melissa will teach us that in a GLORIOUS fashion. Beautiful song.

CHRISTMAS (Baby Please Come Home) - WOW! The combination of AMAZING musicians that are ONE with Melissa - they all make it look simple to pick up a classic and carry it right into today. This rules.

HAVE YOURSELF A MERRY LITTLE CHRISTMAS - Another unbelievable classic. Growing up not really understanding what a "Yuletide Gay" was or even knowing how we were going to make it that way, I just sang along. With a better understanding today, this song (and the whole album) really is such a classic and Melissa of course sings it beautifully.

RING THE BELLS - An amazing grace, a UNITY of such significance. You can see how the universe sets people together to just karmatically communicate that we're all ONE. Through the music and the bells, the words of this song signify so much universal value, and instills in each of us on this earth that we can be all as ONE. We can all create a difference in change ... a new way to look at life. The richness of the lyrics and Melissa Etheridge and Salman Ahmad sound amazing together. The music is simply cleansing and powerful in an ageless beauty. Please click this link here [...]

"But I have seen us rise and fall - Stand on the moon - Tear down the wall - And I know we can do it all - And do it well - So Ring the Bells"

MERRY CHRISTMAS BABY - I LOVE this sassy sexy song. Melissa's insides shine, shine, shine in this song. You can hear her love in this song, and Philip Sayce can deck the halls with vibrations of light in his playing. Truly amazing and again, when you can hear a Melissa Etheridge SMILE when she's singing you know it's all good. For me it's more than a classic song - it's a blessing to see my faves being exactly were they need to be. Tammy Etheridge is an amazing being and this song reflects that tenfold ... just sayin'.

CHRISTMAS IN AMERICA - When Melissa wrote this song a time ago it reminded me of the soldiers serving for us in this great US of A. Them being away from their families. I knew that soon it would change, and I still believe. Bless you all and thank you. Oh and this song totally rules to sing along too!

LIGHT A LIGHT - I truly love this song - layers and Layers in of all that I believe and the simplicity of choosing love. The longer I listen to Melissa Etheridge I find more and more power within her music. Finding that not only is it the lyrics that are ageless, but lately in the patience she delivers them, and truly making the message as simple as it should be. A true gift and I listen to this song and feel just blessed to be a fan of Melissa Etheridge and having the ability to walk this earth and hear this music and share in the layers of reflections in and of the words "Choose Only Love," as for me it flickers all around with grace and truth. Amazing.

"Write down your excuses - And turn them into dust - Plant the seeds of change - Water it with trust"

IT'S CHRISTMAS TIME - For the love of Christmas Cookies. This song snaps me right into the spirit of Winter Solstice. Not sure the neighbor will dig the layers of veggie peanuts back there for my snow effect in Arizona, but hey, from the rap tap tap at the beginning of this tune to the layers of vocals, to the amazing Sayce, I love the message and this song rocks totally! It makes to sing, but most importantly it brings me into the spirit of the season. It's one of those that needs to be loud, and plus this song will make an excellent ringtone.

O' NIGHT DIVINE - Wow what a way to close such an amazing album. The talent of Philip Sayce is so special along with each musician involved in this album. It shows the timeless side of Melissa Etheridge in her incredible ability to make old songs new again, and to introduce her patience in lyrics, vocal, music and most of all ... her gift of teaching by just being human.

"A New Thought For Christmas" should definitely be a gift you grab yourself and whomever else you may be getting a gift for. You can get it at Amazon, Itunes and many other stores. Leave your review. I would love to see how it reflects you too. Visit [...] to keep up to date on the hip happenings of Melissa and her amazing band Mark Browne, Philip Sayce, Fritz Lewak, Paul Trudeau, Lily Wilson and Bernie Barlow, as well the amazing Salman Ahmad and Samir Chatterjee.

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Christmas Has Been Redefined..., September 30, 2008

By	L. Cox "LuckyLauren" (Arkansas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

...& who better to do it? I'm a huge, dedicated Melissa fan, but even if I wasn't I would love this album. It's the holidays from a whole new point of view, spiritual instead of religious. It's an amazing mix of sounds; rock, blues, jazz, & classic all find their nests in the 10 songs. Her band will blow you away, & they are the perfect backing to her powerful, moving, hopeful, & joyous lyrics. This album should be the new soundtrack to everyone's holiday, regardless of what they celebrate during the month of December. So, as Melissa says, it's time to give peace a chance & choose love...& this album is the perfect way to begin.

LuckyLauren

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Thought For Christmas = A New Hope for the Season, October 9, 2008

By	S_A (Connecticut, USA) - See all my reviews

Listed in order of my most favorite from the CD on down.

"Merry Christmas Baby"!!! OMG! What an awesome song!! You're going to love this song!!! Melissa's voice and Philip's guitar singing the blues....perfect!!!
I am totally in love with this song!

"O Night Divine" Philip Sayce fans get ready for this one!!!!!! I don't think any words I use can do justice to his solo. You just have to hear it. The song itself, the lyrics, like a personal message from Melissa to the world. My second favorite song on this CD.

"Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" I LOVE it! One of the best Christmas songs out there for her voice and the awesome abilities of the band. You can almost feel they had a lot of fun recording this one.

"Ring the Bells" Beautiful, uplifting, powerful message of peace on earth and the fact that we can achieve it if we try hard enough. I love it.

"It's Christmas Time" This song starts out sounding similar to a country rock song. That is until Philip's amazing guitar lick in the middle. The song gets a bit more rocky after that. I really like this song.

"Blue Christmas" How do you make a popular classic even better? Let Melissa sing it. Melissa has made this song her own!

"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" A true classic made better by Melissa's powerful voice.

"Christmas in America" I have loved this song since I first heard it. The message seems to have even more meaning considering the state this country is in right now. As scary as the times are, all the families should have their loved ones here on their own soil. Every one's arms should be filled with those that they love during this unsettled time. Hey Mister! Bring them home!

"Glorious" Definitely a Melissa song, written from her spiritual self. Certain parts of it make me want to reach out to feel the touch of God. Definitely a feel good song.

"Light a Light" Pretty song with a great message reminding the listener to look within and not just up.

This album is great for the fact that it is diverse in it's messages. Hope, change, spirituality, welcoming the winter solstice that brings change and light. She has used the magic of the season to remind us to reach out in friendship and caring rather than disdain. Even though this CD is geared more towards the celebration of the Winter Solstice, traditional Christmas can still be felt through it all. I love the magic of Christmas time, how people seem to come together in peace and joy for a short time. Christmas carols have always amplified that feeling for me. The touches of the traditional Christmas that she has sprinkled through out the CD are just the right amount to keep that feeling in me as I listen to the songs with my ears tuned to the "holiday setting". This CD is a definite holiday season "must have" and an excellent gift for any music lover looking for uplifting messages that are geared towards more than the tradition religious aspect of the season.