Music Review: Sarah Mclachlan - Wintersong

Before I begin, I'd like to say, that while I liked Sarah Mclachlan's music in the past, I've never actually owned one of her albums until now.

It all started when I first saw one of her performances of Joni Mitchell's River a few weeks ago from her new Christmas album, and I knew it was something special from then on. Next was this week's free itunes download of her version of Silent Night, which had an Enya quality to it. I then knew I had to get this album.

So, now I have my first Sarah Mclachlan album, and as it so happens, it's probably the best Christmas album to be released this year. None of that tacky selection of Christmas songs like Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer or Santa Clause is Coming to Town are on the album. Sarah Mclachlan explains that she despises the commercialism of Christmas, and she chose songs that reflected Christmas as a celebration of Christ instead of a symbol of commercialism. As such, the album has more of a personal touch to it, and you can see that the album has been a labor of love for her. It's also quite a deep album as many of the songs are sung with melancholy. One would think that as a Christmas album, the songs should be cheerful and upbeat, but the reality is, that life isn't so cheerful, and one often wonders if we'll be together for the next holiday. That's what Sarah Mclachlan tries to show through her singing, and in the end, it brings a sense of hope to the whole situation in a way that a cheerful Christmas album might not possible.

The arrangements are quite interesting and not always what you would expect. For example, the first time I heard Greensleeves, I thought it was a completely different song. The melody isn't the same as we know, rather it seems like an entirely different melody wrapped around the same lyrics. It changes the mood of the song entirely into one that is darker, but in its own way, it is beautiful.

Along with covers of Joni Mitchell's River, there's also a cover of Gordon Lightfoot's Song for a Winter's Night and the Charlie Brown Christmas favourite, Christmas Time is Here. All in all, along with her original Wintersong, her covers and her interpretations of the classics, it's really quite a remarkable album that manages to convey artistic expression as well as keeping in check the true reason for the Christmas season.

NOTE: I should mention that there have been videos released around the same time featuring songs from this album. They have her singing while playing a piano. These aren't the same versions of the songs that are on the album and the instrumentation on those featured songs are different.

Album: Sarah Mclachlan - Wintersong
Label: Arista /Sony Music Canada
Release Date: October 17th, 2006
Bonus Material?: No
Site: http://www.sarahmclachlan.com/
Myspace page: http://www.myspace.com/sarahmclachlan

Currently Reading: Deception Point

I became a fan of Dan Brown after reading the Da Vinci Code, and I think many did after that one, although it is a book that you either love or hate. Ironically, it was the second book in a series of books that became extremely popular, and it was only after it became popular that they reprinted Angels & Demons, his first book in the series. I actually ended up liking Angels & Demons better then the Da Vinci Code, and I hope they make a movie out of it like they made the Da Vinci Code a movie, which I found to be very cleverly made due to the book's visual clues. So far, all those books in the series have religion as a recurring topic. Angels & Demons presented a topic that is a very heated debate topic; one of Science vs Religion. The Da Vinci Code showed us that we should keep an open mind, that not everything should be taken at face value, that there is often an other side to what we are told. Apparently the yet unnamed third book will tackle the topic of Religion vs Politics, or Religion vs State, the Pentagon being a location in the story. It's all speculation of course, but I'm anxiously awaiting for its release.

In the mean time, I've wanted to read one of his earlier novels called Deception Point. I've wanted to read it for quite some time ever since I read an excerpt of it in, I think Angels & Demons, and I got it as a present last Christmas and only getting to it now.

Here's the description and synopsis:

When a NASA satellite discovers an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory — a victory with profound implications for NASA policy and the impending presidential election. To verify the authenticity of the find, the White House calls upon the skills of intelligence analyst Rachel Sexton. Accompanied by a team of experts, including the charismatic scholar Michael Tolland, Rachel travels to the Arctic and uncovers the unthinkable: evidence of scientific trickery — a bold deception that threatens to plunge the world into controversy. But before she can warn the President, Rachel and Michael are ambushed by a deadly team of assassins. Fleeing for their lives across a desolate and lethal landscape, their only hope for survival is to discover who is behind this masterful plot. The truth, they will learn, is the most shocking deception of all.

Synopsis

When a NASA satellite discovers an astonishingly rare object buried deep in the Arctic ice, the floundering space agency proclaims a much-needed victory -- a victory with profound implications for NASA policy and the impending presidential election.