Christmas Niles MI

Christmas

Mannheim Steamroller

American Gramaphone Records, 1984

REVIEW BY: Christopher Thelen

ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 12/20/2000

Chip Davis probably didn't realize it in 1984, but he was aboutto release an album which would become a holiday standard.

Christmas, the first seasonal release from Davis's personalproject Mannheim Steamroller, was unique in that it took New Agemusic and combined it with both modern influences and old-worldcarols. Admittedly, the logic of the project doesn't hit you on thefirst listen, but this disc quickly grows on you.

Most everyone has heard the synthesizer-laden version of "DeckThe Halls" by now, with its poppy beat and layered instrumentation.This was a sign of things to come for Davis and crew: respectingthe heart of the original while putting their own unique spin onthings.

Sometimes this works well, as on their renditions of "We ThreeKings" and the group of four old carols known collectively as"Christmas Sweet". By keeping the style of these tracks in aMedieval mindframe, they capture most likely what it would havebeen like to hear these songs during an English RennaissanceChristmas.