How fast can you wear out a CD?
We recently pulled out the Christmas CDs in our house, and it gave me the chance for a first real listen to The Real Group’s “The World For Christmas.” It was released in 2012, but I finally was able to buy it at their concert this summer in Riga, Latvia during the World Choir Games.
This is my third TRG Christmas CD – “Julen är här” and “En Riktig Jul” are both staples of my family’s Christmas rotation. And it lives up to the high standards with creative writing, musical performances, and the right mix of heart and wit.
I don’t want to have a full length CD review here, but here are a few highlights for me:
“Let it Snow” is given a great bossa nova makeover, and the sweet break/vocal soli around 1:20 into the recording takes my breath away every time.
Morten Vinther’s arrangement of “River” is a marvelous feature of Katarina’s voice, and is such sophisticated writing. Really cool vocal effects on some of the vocal parts here for a really novel sound.
Finally, the title track, “The World For Christmas”, is a heartfelt plea for better care of the world. In less careful hands, it might be overly saccharine or maudlin, but Anders Edenroth’s clever and emotional writing, along with TRG’s pitch-perfect singing, makes it a classic.
They released a music video of this track, full of equally powerful images to match the song. Enjoy.