|
The McGarrigle Christmas Hour | 
| Artist: Kate And Anna Mcgarrigle
Label: Nonesuch
Category: Music
List Price: £15.99
Buy New: £9.98
You Save: £6.01 (38%)
New (34) Used (3) from £7.80
Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 3994
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
MPN: 79925
UPC: 075597992526
EAN: 0075597992526
ASIN: B000B9EYD4
Release Date: November 14, 2005
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
|
| Tracks:
| • | Seven Joys Of Mary | | • | Old Waits Carol | | • | O Little Town Of Bethlehem - McGarrigle, Kate & Anna/Emmylou Harris | | • | Il Est Ne/Ca Bergers | | • | What Are You Doing New Year's Eve - McGarrigle, Kate & Anna/Rufus Wainwright | | • | Rebel Jesus - McGarrigle, Kate & Anna/Lily Lanken/Martha Wainwright | | • | Some Children See Him - McGarrigle, Kate & Anna/Rufus Wainwright/Martha Wainwright | | • | Merry Christmas And Happy New Year - McGarrigle, Kate & Anna/Martha Wainwright | | • | Counting Stars | | • | Spotlight On Christmas - McGarrigle, Kate & Anna/Rufus Wainwright | | • | Wise Men | | • | Port Starboard Sox | | • | God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen | | • | Blue Christmas - McGarrigle, Kate & Anna/Chaim Tannenbaum |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Kate and Anna McGarrgile have a storied recording career that spans a slate of five-star albums that includes original music and songs from the French Canadian world, American ragtime and other "old world" genres. They would appear to be quaint to most ears if they weren't so damn good at blending the past and their modern sensibilities in memorable verse and song. Enter their Christmas record into that same framework, as the sisters and a few friends (Emmylou Harris) and family members (Rufus and Martha Wainwright are the children of Kate)mix up the old and new. The French song "Il Est Ne" is rounded out with a shimmering round of vocal backing harmonies while Rufus' "Spotlight on Christmas" (penned a couple years ago) and his wonderfully fey reading of "What Are Your Doing Christmas Eve?" prove to be just three highlights of another five-star effort. Although it will be an acquired taste to some, the McGarrigle Christmas Hour is like spending quality time in Kate and Anna's parlor. There the piano, fiddles, other instruments and friendly voices are ready to satisfy with old world charm that could never be mistaken for old school insignificance. --Martin Keller
|
| Customer Reviews:
 A Wonderful Gift from the Wainwrights et al. December 30, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a beautiful, evocative Christmas album, from the nostalgic cover photos to the last note on the CD. I'm a big fan of Rufus and Martha, but Kate and Anna make a great contribution to this too. It is perhaps a little too eclectic, stylistically, hence the loss of one star, but stick it on on the first of December and Christmas is here. Personal favourites are Port Starboard Sox, Rebel Jesus, the beautiful Counting Stars (a Tom Waits-style spoken account of a loser who never makes it home for Christmas - absolutely heartbreaking) and especially Rufus' Spotlight On Christmas - one of his finest songs, and a great vocal performance.
A real surprise February 9, 2007
3 out of 4 found this review helpful
Normally I would file Christmas albums in the bin but found this for almost nothing ([...]) in a sale and couldn't resist. I love the McGarrigles's music - though you'd hardly know Kate and Anna were on this. Very restrained, downbeat and verging on the amateurish at times (try the solo singing on track 1), it's quite wonderful. And it avoids the mawkish in its folk-rooted style. Excellent choice of songs (the Jackson Browne cover is particularly well-done) and arrangements. Not enough French though - maybe the kids can't do it.
Can't give it five stars because of the word 'Christmas'! The family photos included are pretty bad too. But I guess that's part of the deal: nothing is pretended or overdone.
 A family Christmas album in every sense of the word December 2, 2005
39 out of 47 found this review helpful
Kate and Anna McGarrigle never became major stars but I get the impression that they never really wanted to. They record music for fun and if they can make money out of it - well - that's a bonus. At least, that's how it seems to me. They were born in the 1940's in the Montreal area of Canada, so they were raised on a mixture of musical styles including French and English traditional folk music. Another sister, Jane, sang with them for a while when they were starting out. Kate and Anna first came to public attention as songwriters in the early seventies after Linda Ronstadt (Heart like a wheel) and Maria Muldaur (The work song) each recorded one of their songs. Although Kate and Anna recorded their first album in the mid-seventies, this is (I think) only their eighth album to date. So Kate and Anna are not exactly prolific, but they enjoy what they do and never compromise on quality or style. This album finds the duo singing Christmas songs with family and friends. Kate was married for a while to Loudon Wainwright III (the folk singer and satirist whose album, Social Studies, I reviewed a long time ago) and their marriage produced Rufus and Martha Wainwright. Lily and Dane Lanken, Emmylou Harris and Chaim Tannenbaum are among the other guests who have long-standing connections to Kate and Anna, either as relations or simply as friends. Now I can't help thinking that they missed a trick with this album - surely the majority of the singers (without Chaim) should have recorded O Tannenbaum and dedicated it to Chaim? Never mind, the music here is brilliant anyway. Kate and Anna are happy to play comparatively minor roles for much of the album. You have to wait until track 11 (Wise men) to hear Kate sing lead vocal for the only time with Anna's only lead vocal coming on track 12 (Port starboard sox) although both join in the singing on most of the other tracks. The album mostly avoids the well-known chestnuts. Emmylou sings lead on O little town of Bethlehem (a song that she originally recorded for her own Christmas album, Light of the stable) and proves that she is still in great voice, although the intervening years have changed her voice slightly. What are you doing New Year's eve (sung by Rufus), God rest ye merry gentlemen (sung as a choir without a credited lead singer) and Blue Christmas (sung by Chaim) are the only other famous songs here. Some children see him (sung by Rufus and Martha) and Rebel Jesus (a Jackson Browne track sung by Lily and Martha) will also be familiar to some people. The remaining songs are either traditional songs that I've not heard before or they are originals written by one or more of the singers participating on the album. While this album is rooted in folk music, its appeal goes far beyond folk music. Indeed, I found this album on display in the window of a record store that I don't normally bother browsing in because other stores have (supposedly) more to offer somebody with my musical tastes. Yes, the variety of voices provided by Kate and Anna, their family and friends ensure that this is an album with something for everybody, which will work well as background music but which sounds even better if you give it dedicated attention.
|
|
|
|
| |
