1. Melissa Etheridge's 2008 Christmas album A New Thought for Christmas is less about a new idea than an ancient one: love, love, love for the sake of love in the name of love.
2. I've enjoyed the album since my daughter gave it to me a few weeks ago because it gets to the heart of the holiday.
3. In her deep, gritty, and soulful way, Etheridge breathes new life into "Angels We Have Heard on High" in "Glorious" with this delightful play on the old lyrics: "love, love, love/it's glorious." The song is delightful, happy, hopeful. It's light.
4. Likewise, "O Holy Night" travels through time in O Night Divine.
5. With guitarist Philip Sayce's accompaniment, she transports this ancient Christmas songs into a present and leaves me believing that it really is possible to live Christmas throughout the year: "Throughout time we've watched the sky/ And waited for the sun to come and save us/ Save us from the longest night."
6. "Ring Those Bells" is full of heart and hope, too: "I belive in peace my only wish/ I belive taht we can coexist/ Let's go further than we've ever gone before/ And ring the bells/ Ring the bells of change." It is beautiful, sweet, and sure.
7. In the same vein, "Christmas in America" is an impassioned plea to "send my baby home" from war: "Hey mister, send my baby home/ This December I don't wanna be all alone/ Christmas in American I need you i my arms/ Far away from harm/ Send my baby home."
8. In the album notes, Etheridge points out that Christmas songs and celebrations are based on solstice traditions that predate "Roman Christian times."
9. For her, Christmas is about seeing the light.
A new thought for Christmas? No--an old on whose time has come:
10. What if we did create peace on earth
11. How would we feel about ourselves
12. Would we eknow we were perfect and good enough
13. For all we desire as well
2. I've enjoyed the album since my daughter gave it to me a few weeks ago because it gets to the heart of the holiday.
3. In her deep, gritty, and soulful way, Etheridge breathes new life into "Angels We Have Heard on High" in "Glorious" with this delightful play on the old lyrics: "love, love, love/it's glorious." The song is delightful, happy, hopeful. It's light.
4. Likewise, "O Holy Night" travels through time in O Night Divine.
5. With guitarist Philip Sayce's accompaniment, she transports this ancient Christmas songs into a present and leaves me believing that it really is possible to live Christmas throughout the year: "Throughout time we've watched the sky/ And waited for the sun to come and save us/ Save us from the longest night."
6. "Ring Those Bells" is full of heart and hope, too: "I belive in peace my only wish/ I belive taht we can coexist/ Let's go further than we've ever gone before/ And ring the bells/ Ring the bells of change." It is beautiful, sweet, and sure.
7. In the same vein, "Christmas in America" is an impassioned plea to "send my baby home" from war: "Hey mister, send my baby home/ This December I don't wanna be all alone/ Christmas in American I need you i my arms/ Far away from harm/ Send my baby home."
8. In the album notes, Etheridge points out that Christmas songs and celebrations are based on solstice traditions that predate "Roman Christian times."
9. For her, Christmas is about seeing the light.
A new thought for Christmas? No--an old on whose time has come:
10. What if we did create peace on earth
11. How would we feel about ourselves
12. Would we eknow we were perfect and good enough
13. For all we desire as well
Sandy Carlson Social