Customer Reviews

A Very She & Him Christmas

5 star:		(62)
4 star:		(34)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

Zooey Deschanel is quite the charmer. Her acting is adorable and her voice is silk. So how does this new Christmas album from She & Him rate in the endless potpourri of holiday staples? Well, overall, I'd have to say that some of these renditions may very well knock those 1950's classics off their throne. Not every song is classic, but those that are REALLY are. Here's my rundown:

THE UNDENIABLY BRILLIANT:
- The Christmas Waltz. I've never been a huge fan of this song, but She & Him nailed it absolutely perfectly. Zooey's voice has never sounded better, the production is subtle but enhancing. I love love love this song. Will be playing it all Christmas '11 and probably forever after that.

- Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas. I love how they made this classic even slower and more romantic. It's an amazing mixture beautiful, relaxing, and extremely sexy.

- Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree. A simple kick-snare beat and lush guitar mixes flawlessly with Zooey's voice to provide a live-like effect. It sounds like she's performing right in your living room!

- The Christmas Song. There's a lot of tough competition out there with this song, but She & Him's version is up there with the best.

THE LOVELY:
- I'll Be Home for Christmas. Like "Have Yourself..." the tempo is slowed down a bit for this one too. It doesn't translate quite as well, but still a stunning rendition.

- Christmas Wish. We get to hear more of "Him" on this track, and though he's no Zooey, it provides gorgeous contrast to the rest of the album and is a lovely merry relaxer.

- Sleigh Ride. Unexpectedly mellow for this usually upbeat number, but still works well.

- Christmas Day

- Blue Christmas

THE EH:

- Baby It's Cold Outside. The Christmas song Zooey is probably most famous for (from the movie Elf) is actually the worst track on the album IMO. For some reason the tempo is too fast and there is absolutely no chemistry between the singers. It sounds like they're so worried about singing on cue that they completely left out the story behind the song. Many performers have that problem with this song, but I was really disappointed to hear it on this album.

- Silver Bells. Not unlistenable by any means, but compared to pretty much every other version I've heard of this song, it isn't very good.

- Little Saint Nick. Just not a good match for Zooey's voice, IMO.

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Overall, with only 3 so-so songs and about 9 really good if not great numbers, this is 2011's Christmas album to get. The voice and productions are unique, offering great mellowed-out versions of your holiday favorites in a way that hasn't been done before. I can easily recommend the whole album, but if you just feel like buying a single mp3 or two, obviously The Christmas Waltz is the best track on here. Absolutely timeless. Transformed an okay song into a masterpiece.

I have collected Christmas music for years and once upon a time played it throughout the year. But I grew tired of all the predictable commercial releases. There was so little new under the sun that I stopped buying Christmas music. Then I heard the samples for this Amazon special today. I didn't know the group (sorry - love Zooey Deschanel in the movies - had no idea she sang) but loved the samples and thought it might be another $5.00 investment for a couple of decent songs. Wrong! Great album (can we still say album?) - great music. Try it and try not to smile. Beautiful, simple, fun and joyous. Thanks She & Him.

I love almost all Christmas music, but this CD is even better than most! I love the nostalgic homey feel that the songs have. It doesn't have all the Christmas songs I would like, but I am just happy She & Him put out a Christmas CD! Merry Christmas!

The retro-style artwork and the fluffy lightness of She & Him would seem to be perfect for an album of Xmas tunes. Unfortunately, the results are hugely disappointing.

The first couple of songs sound pretty good, but things go downhill as the album progresses. "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" should have a bit of swing, for example--but She & Him's version has none. Everything is tidy and as on the beat as it is possible to get short of employing an army of sequencers. "Baby, It's Cold Outside" is rushed, and there's not even a hint of chemistry between the two--which is particularly bad, given that Zooey is an actress. And the 1950s/1960s-style reverb gets very tiring after a while.

This is one of those Xmas albums that will make for *excellent* Xmas party background music, and that's about all.

I have to start off by saying that I love the scene in Elf where Zooey is singing Baby It's Cold Outside. If you were expecting that standard of voice and emotion, you will be disappointed, like I was. There are about three songs on the CD that didn't drive me nuts, but by the third chance, even they, started to annoy. The problem is it seems that they did it all in one take and no one listened to it before they shipped it out. In most of the songs she is singing either too slow or too fast (Baby It's Cold Outside), and in many songs she is just painfully out of tune. I don't know what happened to her voice. You can tell there is talent there, but it rarely shows on this CD. A huge problem is that it is devoid of any emotion; she doesn't seem to connect to any of the songs she's singing. I love Christmas music, but I'm sending this one back out the door.

The best thing I could recommend is that you listen to the samples on here a few times before purchasing (it got worse the more I listened). If you have only time for one, try Christmas Day. It's quite a torture.

Good luck and Merry Christmas.

I love this Christmas CD. Zoey has a tremendous and clear voice. It really puts you in the cheerful mood and puts that smile on your face.

A nice album, but the pressing of the vinyl has issues. I have the same problem that others have had, terrible noise like static coming from the album. It is very evident on the first track and presents itself in many places through the album. Part way through the second side it was so bad I had to shut it off. I tried cleaning it, checked my cartrige and the tracking weight, but it made no difference.

Get the CD instead.

I was not a huge fan of She & Him's first album, but my college-age daughter insisted I take her to their concert last spring and I became a convert. The interplay between the understated guitar playing of M. Ward and Zooey Deschanel's whispery vocals are a throwback to another era. And it's those very qualities that make this a very enjoyable--allbeit short--holiday album.

Highlights include "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "Sleigh Ride" where M. Ward gets to show off his guitar chops, as well as a wonderful vocal duet on "Baby, It's Cold Outside" (which Zooey first performed on the ELF soundtrack). Also, as an amateur ukulele player myself, I thoroughly enjoyed Zooey's accompanying herself on the solo performance of "Sleigh Bells."

There's not a weak track on the album. If I have any complaint, it's the short running time and lack of a digital version of the CD booklet. But the music will make a wonderful addition to anyone's Christmas playlist. So pour yourself a glass of egg nog, throw another log on the fire, and enjoy. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED [Running Time - 32:08]

I really did want to love this album. Some of my friends like it, and it sounded like a cute project with great classic songs. Unfortunately, my response upon finally hearing the album was not joy but horror. What kind of a sicko greedy executive allowed Zooey Deschanel to release this album in the hope of making a few bucks off her fame? I felt secondary embarrassment for them, this album is so terrible.

Zooey Deschanel's vocal range is minimal and varies from 'spoken-word-passed-off-as-singing' to 'out-of-tune-beagle-in-heat'. The auto-tuned parts are unashamedly passed off as quirky-indy variations on the original melody/sound, and the non-auto-tuned parts made me wish they HAD been auto-tuned. In short, Zooey Deschanel, as wonderful as she normally is, has absolutely no feel for phrasing, can't sing in tune, and has no range. Please stop trying to pass off bad singing as 'indy'.

The whole album was so painful and embarrassing to listen to that I had no choice but to turn it off after making myself listen to four or five songs. It just gets worse and worse the longer you listen to it... stick to what you're best at Zooey, acting!

It's not easy to make a good Christmas album. If it isn't brilliant, it's miserable. This album is certainly not brilliant. Nothing grabs me about these songs. They aren't particularly heartfelt or reinvented. Listening to them every day at work has made work (I work at a nice clothing store, it's moderately enjoyable) almost impossible to bear.