It's that time again ... time for the relentless onslaught of holiday music. Get ready to enjoy new stuff as well as the classics we all know and love from a variety of artists including:
Annie Lennox - one of the most successful, iconic and talented artists of the late 20th century -- is back like you’ve never heard her before with
'A Christmas Cornucopia'. A stunning collection of new and inspired interpretations of eleven traditional festive songs, the disc is rounded out by her new composition and first single, “Universal Child.” The CD will be released on Decca in the U.S. and everywhere else November 15th on Island Records.
“I’ve known these songs and carols all my life, and I’ve sung them since I was little,” says the songwriter and singer of such beautiful tracks as “The Holly And The Ivy,” “Silent Night,” “The First Noel,” and other, more unconventional songs such as “Il Est Ne Le Divin Enfant,” and “Lullay Lullay.” “They’re just in me. They’re a huge part of my life. So it’s not an arbitrary selection. Those relationships with those pieces of music were there intrinsically before I approached the recording.”
The music on the album was mostly played by Lennox, in collaboration with co-producer Mike Stevens, and recorded in his southwest London studio – at the bottom of his garden. But to achieve the resonance and vibrancy that were integral to Lennox’s ideas, the pair also worked with a 30-piece orchestra at Pinewood Studios. They also traveled to South Africa and recorded with the African Children’s Choir, a remarkable organization with whom impassioned campaigner and activist Lennox has long had a relationship.
The Annie Lennox Foundation, the star’s own charity, raises money for charitable projects supporting and educating women and children in Africa with HIV/AIDS. “All the income that I earn from ‘Universal Child’ will be paid to the Annie Lennox Foundation,” commented the singer of her first single.
Shelby Lynne offers up
'Merry Christmas' – the Grammy winner’s first holiday collection, coming out on her own Everso Records.
Swingin’ and rockin’, sexy and eccentric have never before described a Christmas album--until now. Then again, there has never before been an artist who claims both The Andrews Sisters and The Smiths as influences. Holiday music finally puts on red lipstick, slips into a silky cleavage-celebrating ballgown, and goes gorgeous and glamorous with
'Christmas With The Puppini Sisters' (below left).
A female vocal trio featuring ‘40s-style close harmony, backed by a fearless jazz threesome, the retro-futuristic Puppini Sisters put their signature sequined stamp on timeless songs of the season for the sensational group’s third album.
From a scorching cover of Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas,” hyperspeed “Step Into Christmas,” oh-so-sexy “Santa Baby,” cabaret “Here Comes Santa Claus” and lilting “Last Christmas” to a weirdly wonderful “White Christmas,” scat-filled “Let It Snow,” ukulele oozing “Mele Kalilimaka,” uber-trad “Winter Wonderland” and divine “O Holy Night,” the Puppini Sisters deliver original twists rather than nostalgic flashbacks.
