Last year, instead of the old traditional X-mas card I decided that, on the eve of the year 2000, I needed to do something special. So I gathered some of my songs together, recorded a brand new one with my wife and kids, and asked a friend to press up some CD-R’s, added a picture of the family to the jewel case and sent it off to the special people in my life. And I thought I was original! Then comes this special album by Spock’s Beard frontman Neal Morse in which he admits to have done this since 1984! Dedicated to his wife Cherie and helped out by his children Wil and Jayda, this album collects thirteen Morse X-mas classics written for the joy of friends and family and now available to whoever wants to delve a little deeper into the private life of Neal. Just like the Beatles flexi’s in the sixties, these recordings contain a fair bit of humour. So, when listening to this tongue-in-cheek album, don’t expect any of the Spock’s Beard magic, but rather a great alternative Christmas disc. So now you can finally chuck out that Bing Crosby album after all. So Neal got rid of his Spock’s and put on his Santa beard and got cracking. “Hallelujah, The King Is Born” is the kind of gospel Aretha Franklin or Patti Labelle could get their teeth into. Also it sports some great sounding organ, although I would have mixed it more upfront; but then again, all glory should go to the vocals here. “Christmas Keeps Calling Me Back” is this year’s newie, getting the closest to the Spock’s feel, what with Neal attacking drums, guitars and keyboards. Based on the acoustic guitar, “Love Lay In Bethlehem” gets close to the Beatles’ “Mother Nature’s Son.” Neal is joined here by the nice vocals of some-time assistant Colleen Harrison, so who knows, there might be a distant Beatles connection after all! There’s a right knees-up during “The Laughing Christmas Song,” where Neal’s kids join him, laughing their socks off (or should that read Christmas stockings?). Kind of Billy Crystal on crack here. Morse goes "ole blue eyes" with his “Sinatra Christmas” featuring a big band out of a software box. When Spock’s Beard packs it in, there’s always a job waiting on a cruiseship for Morse! The Billy Joel feel is to be found all over “’Tis The Season To Be Blue” with its battle between vocals and piano. In 1994 Morse really went nuts as he recorded various takes of a so called unearthed Elvis song resulting in mistletoe rockabilly. “A Special Kind Of Christmas” is a beautiful ballad which Morse refers to as being very corny. I can’t help thinking that I've heard the melody somewhere before though. “Swingin’ Holiday” holds the middle ground between Wallstreet Crash and Burt Bacharach and really swings. It’s great how Neal incorporates the voices of his kids in the jolly “Kids Love Santa.” Probably the most sentimental of them all has to be “Missing You At Christmas Time,” which was written way back in 1984 when Neal had to perform in freezing Alaska leaving his wife Cherie all by herself. The various voices Neal recorded on his portastudio come close to the Beach Boys combined with Flying Pickets. The album closes with “Holy Christmas” which is once again a gospel song featuring some nice orchestral arrangements. This album not only illustrates what a great versatile musician Neal Morse really is, but also what a great father and husband he has to be. Pity he can’t be home all of the time … especially during Christmas Time. Now get that turkey out of the oven. Reviewed by : John 'Bo Bo' Bollenberg |
