Alright, alright. . . we got another thrift store find to dust off and subject to some audio scrutiny.
Album Title: You Make It Feel Like Christmas
Album Artist: Gwen Stefani
So I picked this one off of Amazon about two years ago, more or less because it cost about $10 at the time, and it was insanely high-rated. Granted, I'm not what you could call a huge Gwen Stefani fan by any means; I mean, I didn't mind No Doubt back in the mid-90s - c'mon, they were a ska band with a hot singer - but I don't listen to her music these days, and couldn't tell you one song she's performed since, oh, 1997.
My wife, on the other hand, does like Gwen - maybe not one of her all-time favorites, but definitely enough for me to pull the trigger on a brand new, $10 Christmas record. I figured 'what the hell,' might be a nice addition to the collection (I don't own a lot of contemporary 'pop' records, it'd definitely fill that niche.) Plus, it's pressed on limited edition White Vinyl.Booya.
Anyway, this album is a fairly painless experience. As stated before, Gwen isn't someone I regularly listen to: she's a pop singer these days, and that's one of the few genres I just can't stomach. Still, that being said, her voice and singing style hasn't changed all that much since the '90s, even if the music behind her has.
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| Who the hell is the soul-less ginger in the corner? |
I think this the biggest reason I'm able to stomach this album in the first place (it also doesn't hurt that, even at her age, she's still ridiculously hot): it's easy to fool yourself into hearing the feisty, young singer fronting a hard-swinging ska band, jumping around the stage and into mosh pits. Instead of, you know, some lady who makes pop albums and judges performing contestants on a reality TV show. Gwen keeps things simple on this album, she doesn't attempt belting out anything too strenuous, nor does she reach for those unattainable high notes. That was never her forte - she's a good singer, not a great singer.
That, and she's hot.
The songs themselves on this album sway back and forth between Christmas classics and some of her own originals, and in all cases the songs are produced well and the arrangements are solid:
Things are upbeat for the most part, which isn't a huge shocker because that's kinda Gwen's shtick - she's a 'fun' singer, in the vein of Cyndi Lauper. Her versions of 'Jingle Bells' and 'Let It Snow' are upbeat numbers with a horn section, 'Santa Baby' could be a striptease number, and even with slower, quieter numbers - 'Silent Night,' 'White Christmas,' etc. - she doesn't put on a solemn, reverent face.
Her originals are okay. She's got two off this album this get heavy radio play during the Holidays - 'My Gift is You' and 'You Make It Feel Like Christmas' which she penned with her country-singer fiance, Blake Shelton. As far as Christmas pop goes it's tolerable, but certainly not my cup-of-tea. This is more of a reflection of my distaste for bullshit radio fodder, however - even if Gwen Stefani wrote the greatest pop album of all time, it's still likely I wouldn't care for it all that much.So, all in all, reviewing this album was hard, because I'm not a huge fan of the genre itself. There's nothing wrong with this release, mind you - it's done well and I'm sure, if you're a fan of pop, you'd love it. Gwen's delivery isn't trying to make you realize the true meaning of Christmas, or remember praise Jesus, or yank at your heart strings. No, she wants you to have fun. She wants you to get into the Yule of the Season. She wants you to get laid.
And I'm okay with that.
VERDICT: 7/10 - Pretty Rad (A well-produced pop album that executes Holiday classics and original songs without issue. Not my favorite, but she is hot.)
- REMAINS IN CIRCULATION -
- Brian
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