This recent release features a mix of traditional and modern songs, with a live worship feel. Angels We Have Heard on High works really well. He offers a new take on the magnificat with My Soul Magnifies the Lord. He sometimes breathes new life into carols with an alternative chorus or verse melody. After an upbeat start, Glory in the Highest marks the start of some more reflective songs, including a few guest appearances from other worship leaders. The closing track, Born That We May Have Life sounds like belongs in a Christmas musical production. Christianity Today complained that they didn’t like the live worship style, but I thought it made a nice change from most other Christmas albums.

Casting Crowns – Peace on Earth (2008) (Listen on Spotify)

Mostly traditional carols, nicely performed of course, but that isn’t enough to make this one stand out from the crowd, despite getting off to a good start with I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. While You Were Sleeping is the most interesting on offer, starting off as a reworking of O Little Town of Bethlehem, before bringing in a prophetic edge (spoiled by dispensational left-behind overtones). The album closes with a instrumental piano & strings rendition of the beautifully mournful O Come, O Come Emmanuel.

Jars of Clay – Christmas Songs (2007) (Listen on Spotify)

Having enjoyed several of their other albums, I was a little disappointed to see that they succumb to seasonal sentimentality with tracks like Wonderful Christmastime. Musically though, they keep things a bit more interesting than most, with the traditional carols they choose getting major overhauls. My favourite is Love Came Down At Christmas.

Another one that lets a bit of sentimental mush sneak in, including a small child reading the Christmas story in a cute voice. Groves offers some new tunes to It Came Upon a Midnight Clear and O Holy Night. Apart from the irritating Toy Packaging, this was a pleasant listen.

Michael W. Smith – The Ultimate Christmas Collection (2009) (Listen on Spotify)

This three disk special provides plenty of material to provide a soothing backing track to a leisurely Christmas dinner. It sounds like a Christmas movie soundtrack, with piano and plenty of full-on orchestral crescendos. We are spared no cliché, including choirs of children and plenty of jingling bells. These are rounded off with a generous helping of musical interludes and orchestral renditions. If Disney were to make a “Magic of Christmas” album, this is what it would sound like.

A collection of five short albums, featuring mostly traditional songs, but played in Stevens’ distinctively folksy style. We are treated to several short instrumental extracts, as well as full length songs. There is a good number of classic carols and even hymns (such as Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing), in addition to a selection of more light-hearted Christmas tunes such as Get Behind Me Santa. This collection would benefit from being pruned down a little, especially as a number of songs feature twice across the five disks.

Graham Kendrick – The Gift (1988) (Listen on Spotify)

Overlooking for a moment how dated this sounds, it is apparent that this is a landmark production from one of the UK’s most respected song-smiths. Rather than fobbing us off with an album full of traditional carols, Kendrick has crafted almost 20 fresh Christmas songs. OK, some of them (actually, come to think of it, most of them), are really cheesy in a “Christmasy” kind of way. But what this album offers is an escape from the overly familiar lyrics of the traditional carols, allowing for some genuinely fresh light to be shed on the wonder of the incarnation.

Some highlights include a brief extract from his superb hymn The Servant King (a song which sadly seems to have fallen into disuse). Good News while being a little on the jolly side for modern tastes, deserved to have been sung by more churches. God With Us, is my favourite track, with great lyrics exploring the way Christ identified with the human race through his incarnation.

Spotify’s version of the album is bundled with another of Kendrick’s Christmas albums, “Rumours of Angels” from 1994. It would be great to see some other CCM artists attempt similar projects, rather than churning out yet more covers of carols. Maybe Stuart Townend will oblige?

To my mind, Amy Grant is the queen of Christmas albums, having produced a series of successful seasonal releases over her illustrious career. Somehow, where others fail, she manages to pull off the Santa, sleighbells and snow lyrics without ending up in the kitsch category (or maybe I’m biased because it brings back happy memories of listening to this album as a 7 year old at Christmas). There are several Christmas albums from her on Spotify, but I have picked out her earliest, mainly because it features my favourites  Emmanuel, and Love Has Come.

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