A Rarebird in a Pear Tree, Volumes 1 and 2

Rarebird Records is an independent Canadian record company that specializes in a variety of styles, "from Americana blue-grass to indie folk rock, and singer-songwriter pop to soul infused art-rock."  They have also released a pair of excellent little Christmas compilations called A Rarebird in a Pear Tree via Noisetrade;  Volume 1 was released last year and Volume 2 was released this year.

Though they are both short, there are a lot of highlights on each album.  I really like the two songs by Shelley Adams - she has a very beautiful voice that sounds like Sarah McLachlan at times.  "The Friendly Beasts" by  Jason Paul Johnston has some of the cutest backing vocals you will ever hear courtesy of  Jana Lynn & Luke Paul Johnston.  There's a nice mix of traditional and modern songs, and possibly a few originals as well (I find it's getting harder and harder to determine if a Christmas song is original or not).  Both volumes are well worth checking out if you're looking for something a little more laid back and mellow sounding.

Happy listening!

URLs:

http://www.rarebirdrecords.ca/

http://www.noisetrade.com/rarebirdrecords (Volume 1)

http://www.noisetrade.com/rarebirdchristmasvol2 (Volume 2)

Jason & Liana Stone - Oh Christmas!

Oh Christmas is a short but sweet release by Jason & Liana Stone.  A beautiful version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas", done with nothing but acoustic guitar and vocals, leads the EP off.  Up next is a great medley of "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen/We Three Kings".  This seems to be a copy of the medley done by Barenaked Ladies' (as a duet with Sarah McLachlan) on their Barenaked for the Holidays album - at least, I haven't heard these two songs done together like this anywhere else.  In any case, they do a phenomenal job of emulating that medley, right down to the stand up bass and harmonized vocals.  Closing the EP is a gorgeous new arrangement of "O Little Town of Bethlehem", which once again strips things down to nothing but acoustic guitar and vocals; this is perhaps the most unique version of this song that I've ever heard.

The entire EP clocks in at just over 13 minutes and is a great listen if you're looking for something on the mellow side of things.  Happy listening!

URL:

https://www.noisetrade.com/jasonandlianastone

Sleeping at Last - Christmas Collection 2010

Sleeping at Last has been releasing a free Christmas song every year for the last 8 years now, although I only found out about it this year; fortunately, they have been kind enough to package all of the songs together and release them on NoiseTrade.  I've been finding quite a bit of free Christmas music on NoiseTrade this year, and I've posted about a few of my favourite albums so far.  In case you've never used NoiseTrade before, though, the way it works is pretty simple: you provide your email address and postal code, and a link to download the music is sent to your email address.

Christmas Collection 2010 is a collection of Christmas songs done mostly in a very simple, beautiful, and relaxed style.  There's a great version of "Silver Bells", which is one of my all-time favourite Christmas songs.  "O Holy Night" features some great dynamics, with the music rising and falling several times throughout the song.  The entire album is a real joy to listen to, and Sleeping at Last will now be added to the list of artists whose Christmas releases I look forward to every year.  Happy listening!

URL:

https://www.noisetrade.com/sleepingatlast

Album Spotlight: The Violet Burning - Violet Christmas Volume 1

One of my favourite Christmas albums from last year was The Violet Burning's Divine.  This year, they have made another Christmas album available for free download.  From what I understand, Violet Christmas Volume 1 is a re-released version of an older album, but I hadn't heard it before, and it's very nice to have it available alongside Divine.

 

An original song called "Room in my Heart" both opens and closes the album; the closing version is (called the "full length" version) is greatly extended.  It's a very mellow and beautiful song; I really like the lyrics in the chorus:  "Baby Jesus, there isn't any room in the inn but there's room in my heart."  The remaining songs can also be found on Divine, but the versions on this album are either live ones or different arrangements (or both).  I find the sound on this album to be much mellower than the rock-based sound of Divine; the one (big) exception is "The Little Drummer Boy", which starts off rather quiet but explodes about halfway through, with the vocals being almost snarled by the end.

 

If you enjoyed Divine, Violet Christmas Volume 1 is an album that you must download; if you haven't heard it yet, this is a great opportunity to check both albums out.  Happy listening!

URL:

http://www.thevioletburning.com/www/audio/downloads/divine/divine2009.htm

Album Spotlight: Frozen Silence - Christmas Carols

Back in October, I was searching Jamendo for more albums by a band called Silence is Sexy, as I was planning to write a blog posr about them for Totally Free Music (I still haven't gotten around to that post, though - perhaps early next year, though).  On the first page of the search results was an album called Christmas Carols by Frozen Silence.  I can't resist Christmas music, so I downloaded the album and gave it a listen, even though it wasn't even Thanksgiving at the time (and by that I mean Canadian Thanksgiving, which occurs on the second Monday in October).  

 

Christmas Carols has 10 songs clocking in at only 15 and a half minutes, but what it lacks in length it makes up for in its beautiful presentation.  Some of the songs, like "First Noel" and "Silent Night", are very familiar; others, like "Vom Himmel hoch", are less so, but they all sound great.  There is also an original song called "Frozen Christmas" that is very beautiful and actually fits with these older songs very well.  All of the songs are instrumental, and most of them are done on piano, but three songs are also repeated on acoustic guitar at the end of the album.

 

I think Christmas Carols would make a great soundtrack for any relaxing moments you may be able to find at this time of year.  I've actually had it in my lullabye playlist for my 2 year old since I downloaded it.  However you choose to listen to it, I hope you enjoy it.  Happy listening!

 

URL:

http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/53382