DIZZYING STYLES OVERSHADOW, BUT PHELPS’ MAGNIFICANT VOCALS SHINE
David Phelps is a busy man. Between releasing 2005’s full-length project
Life is a Church, 2006’s
Legacy of Love Live project, 2007’s
One Wintry Night and
No More Night: Live in Birmingham CD/DVD combo, Phelps is pairing up the fall release of his new studio record,
The Voice, with a live Christmas extravaganza taped earlier this year.
O Holy Night: A Live Holiday Celebration begins with “O Come, O Come Emmanuel,” filled with voices swirling around Phelps’ unmistakable tenor in a chilling a capella ode to the advent of Christ’s birth. Introducing the band, “The Singer (Let there be Light)” slowly builds in an epic journey from Creation to the cross.
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“Hallelujah” is a Gospel/rock fused rendition of Handel’s famous chorus, a throwback to the Young Messiah tour of the early ’90s. And a very Take 6-ish “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” skips and scats into “White Christmas,” a beautifully orchestrated segue to the haunting, Tim Burton-esque original “If Christmas Never Came.”
Of the finer, quieter moments “Lully, Lullay/What Child is This?” offers up another effective vocals-only arrangement, providing a lush bedding for Phelps’ exquisite phrasing and a perfect introduction to the hair-raising “Away in a Manger/Sleep Little Baby” composite.
The only criticism for an otherwise exceptional holiday collection is
O Holy Night’s dizzying orbit of styles. In an effort to conquer every popular genre, Phelps’ voice loses out. And a gorgeous instrument like his deserves the subtler context only half of this material affords.
Even still, after listening to a near perfect execution of Mark Lowry’s magnificent “Mary Did You Know?” it's no wonder Phelps is such a widely recognized and appreciated talent.
O Holy Night is certainly a legitimate addition to the holiday music scene.
–Andrew Greer