reframmellator's Full Review: An Evening in December: Christmas a Cappella by Fi...
Probably the easiest way to describe First Call is as a Contemporary Christian version of Manhattan Transfer, maybe with a small dose of the Anita Kerr Singers thrown in for good measure. And if THAT doesn't help, Manhattan Transfer was a pop/jazz vocal group that specialized in smooth, jazzy renditions of familiar tunes, sometimes a capella (unaccompanied), but always with rich, exact harmonies and impeccable technique. The Anita Kerr Singers go way back, and I always characterized them as having an immediately recognizable style from the blending of some very pure voices: a very open sound, if you will. (If you're not old enough to recognize either of these groups, a) I'm slightly envious and b) Google them!)
First Call embodied both of those characteristics. This group enjoyed a fair level of success in the '90s, and this CD from 1991 has been in my Christmas power rotation ever since. Why?
Two words: musicianship and arrangements.
Please understand that I'm an instrumentalist by experience. I love orchestras, instrumental groups, accompanied vocal groups. . . . And yet, I find really good a capella vocals to be utterly mesmerizing. Some of the fascination stems from the fact that I know enough about music to appreciate what is required to blend multiple voices - and to know that I don't have anywhere near that kind of vocal talent.
There are the kinds of classical massed vocals that one associates with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or the Robert Shaw Chorale, that feature tens of voices singing a given part. It creates a distinctive, beautiful effect.
Then there are groups like First Call and others I mentioned above. These smaller groups may have one person on a part, and the harmonization becomes a large part of the attraction. A four of five person group may be singing a ninth or thirteenth chord - but no one will be singing, say, the fundamental or the fifth. That sound is equally distinctive and at least as beautiful, plus, it takes a tremendous amount of talent and musicianship to pull off the harmonies, and to pull them off in sync.
Add to that some incredibly pure voices, male and female, as well as arrangements that effortlessly display the skills and talent of the singers, and you have an effort like Evening in December. It's loud, it's soft, it's up tempo, it's mellow, it's sacred, it's secular, and it's the kind of sound that would go perfectly in the background at your neighborhood Christmas open house. Lest I give the impression that these tracks are synonymous with elevator music, I want to stress that this is music that can satisfy at any level of listening. If you want pleasant background music, this album can do that. If you want to have a nice album to listen to in your mix of Christmas music, this CD will do that. But if you really want to listen and get into a lot of nuances and subtleties, those things are there in quantity.
Let me give you an example. My favorite track on this album may be "Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming." This carol dates from the 1500s and stands nicely on its own. It has also been a basis for many innovative and unique arrangements, but I've never heard any like First Call's version. It starts out very simply and traditionally, with the bright, pure voices making for a very pleasant sound. Then abruptly in the middle of the first verse, the first of several tempo changes occurs, yet the harmony remains traditional. The second and final verse begins with a solo vocal, with more singers joining in on subsequent phrases in increasingly complex harmony until they all end up holding on a single syllable and completing a progression of seven increasingly stunning chords on the hold! They then go into the final line of the carol, taking it down from the climax to a smooth, mellow ending. To me, it's a perfect audio representation of a rose bursting forth into full flower. That's just indicative of the kinds of treats that lurk in every track on this album.
Even the worst track on the album is sort of amusing. It's become kind of fashionable for performers to come up with their own versions of The Twelve Days of Christmas, and First Call did too. These often range from trendy to lame, but none will ever likely replace all those birds in the original. First Call did, however, create a somewhat amusing commentary on the whole Christmas experience in modern America: "nine cash disbursals. . . five shopping malls. . . and a child born to set the world free."
In sum, this is a really intriguing blending of the traditional with smooth jazz in a Christmas album that will reward most listeners. If Evening in December were egg nog, it would all be rich, a few parts would be straight, and the rest would be a combination of sightly spicy and slightly spiked. And if you don't like egg nog, don't let the analogy get in the way my point about the likability and versatility of this CD.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.