Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas
"Merry Christmas" is widely regarded as a favourite Christmas
Album for many people looking for an easy listening, holiday album
to throw on during the festive period. Mariah Carey allows
her fabulous voice to grab your emotions right from the start, and
pull even the toughest Scrooge into feeling festive. A 90's
icon, she has sold over 200 million albums, singles, and videos
worldwide and her unique voice boasts a five-octave vocal range
that actually lends itself well to Christmas tunes and traditional
carols.
This Christmas album was a slight diversion from her usual work,
and at the time many wondered if it would succeed. But Mariah
pushed on and believed in her product, and the result was well
worth the effort as both Christian radio and R&B networks
lapped it up. "Merry Christmas" has become one of the most
successful Christmas collections of all time.
"Merry Christmas" starts with 'Silent Night' as if it's there to
ease you in. Starting with such a gentle, slow song seemed an
odd choice at first for Mariah Carey's collection of holiday tunes.
However, upon reflection 'Silent Night' starts the album
quite pleasantly and genuinely gets you in to that Christmas
feeling. After the quiet start, we then get thrown happily
into the second track, 'All I want For Christmas Is You'.
This song was an overwhelming success for Mariah when she
originally released it in 1994 and feels chirpy, playful and
loving. This album really tries to cover the complete range of
Christmas classics, combining belting tunes such as 'Santa Claus Is
Coming To Town' and 'All I want for Christmas is You', alongside
mellow, sitting around the fire with your family toasting
marshmallow's in the evening type songs such as 'Jesus Born on This
Day'.
Mariah Carey, best known for her warbling voice, soft tones
mixed with crushing high notes, delivers what anyone would want
from an easy-listening Christmas album. Carey, who usually co
writes a lot of her music, has filled this album with covers, other
than her own 'All I Want For Christmas Is You'. But she does
like to play a little twist on the tracks, to put her own unique
stamp on some Christmas classics. She can be "whispery and
thin" in places, then belt out well rounded, full notes at a range
of pitches in other spots.
Mariah has had a well documented, eventful private life, and it
appears that she is able to bring all her own emotional experiences
into her music and produce evocative music which reaches into the
soul of the listener.Mariah has taken a recognised song and moved
it to a higher level for 'Joy To The World' recording a faster beat
behind the old classic. This song seems to lend itself upon
Mariah's self confessed spiritual and religious beliefs, and you
certainly feel her launching a vast breadth of emotion in this
track.
Later in the collection we get an enthusiastic and very fun
version of 'Santa Claus Is Coming To Town' alongside a controlled,
tuneful version of traditional carols such as 'Hark the Herald
Angels Sing'.
This album sets out to offer classic holidays tunes and carols
in a modern way, and for any diehard fans, it will surely delight.
Even the unconverted might feel a little differently after
hearing this album, how can you not warm to it when Mariah Carey's
stunning range of vocals rise and fall, flutter and explode all the
way through.
It is a compact album, but these delightful 38 minutes of
Christmas music are certain to get you in the festive mood, and
well and truly feeling the Christmas spirit.
Mariah Carey - Merry Christmas Christmas Videos
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