Amy Grant was born in Augusta, Georgia on November 25,
1960. She’s the youngest of four
sisters. Amy released her self-titled
debut album in 1977. It included the
songs ‘Beautiful Music’ and ‘Old Man’s Rubble’.
In 1983 Amy put out her first holiday album, A CHRISTMAS ALBUM. In 2001 the book ‘CCM Presents: The 100
Greatest Albums in Christian Music’ rated it as #40 of all time. Amy’s second holiday record was HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
(1992, A & M). It hit #2 on the
Billboard 200 and #1 on the Christian Albums chart. It was produced by Brown Bannister and
executive produced by Amy and Michael Blanton.
In the liner notes, Amy shares: “It’s my hope that from year to year, as
the Christmas season rolls around, my own children will blow the dust off of
this recording and let the songs that were dear to me as a child find a sweet,
familiar place in their hearts”.
‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ starts the album
off on a sentimental, easy listening note: “Have yourself a merry little
Christmas/Make the yuletide gay/From now on our troubles will be miles
away/Once again as in olden days, happy golden days of yore/Faithful friends
who are dear to us/Will be near to us once more”. First Call and Chris Eaton provide background
vocals on ‘It’s the Most wonderful Time of the Year’, which is playful:
“There’ll be parties for hosting, marshmallows for toasting and carolling out
in the snow/There’ll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of
Christmases long, long ago.../There’ll be much mistletoe-ing and hearts will be
glowing/When loved ones are near/It’s the most wonderful time of the year”.
Brown Bannister and Ron Huff produced the next track. It begins with a majestic sounding
instrumental rendition of ‘Joy to the World’ and then goes into George Frederick
Handel’s: “For unto us a Child is born/Unto us a Son is given (2X)/And the
government shall be upon His shoulders/And His Name shall be called/Wonderful,
Counselor/Almighty God, the Everlasting Father/The Prince of Peace”. The London Studio Orchestra and The American
Boychoir are used. Next up, is the now
holiday favourite, ‘Breath of Heaven (Mary’s Song)’. It was written by Chris Eaton and Amy Grant
and became a #1 Adult Contemporary Christian radio hit for Grant. It serves as a sincere prayer from Jesus’
young mother: “Breath of Heaven/Hold me together/Be forever near me/Breath of
Heaven/Breath of Heaven/Lighten my darkness/Pour over me Your holiness for You
are holy/Breath of Heaven.../I offer all I am/For the mercy of Your plan/Help
me be strong/Help me be/Help me”.
Pioneering CCM artist Phil Keaggy skillfully plays guitars
on a laid back version of ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’. It’s a song of invitation: “O come all ye
faithful, joyful and triumphant/O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem/Come and behold
Him/Born the King of angels/O come let us adore Him (3X)/Christ the Lord”. David Foster and Linda Thompson Jenner wrote
the beautiful ballad ‘Grown-up Christmas List’.
It imagines a gentler world all around: “No more lives torn apart/That
wars would never start and time would heal all hearts/And everyone would have a
friend/And right would always win/And love would never end/This is my grown-up
Christmas list”.
Jerry McPherson plays guitar and Chris McHugh plays drums on
a happy country/pop version of ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree’. Here are some of the words: “Rockin’ around
the Christmas tree/Let the Christmas spirit ring/Later we’ll have some pumpkin
pie and we’ll do some carolling/You will get a sentimental feeling when you
hear voices singing/’Let’s be jolly, deck the halls with boughs of
holly’”. Woodwinds are added to the mix
on the romantic ‘Winter Wonderland’. It
tells a story: “Gone away is the bluebird, here to stay is the new bird/He
sings a love song as we go along/Walking in a winter wonderland/In the meadow
we can build a snowman and pretend that he is Parson Brown/He’ll say ‘Are you
married?’/We’ll say ‘No man, but you can do the job when you’re in town’”.
Craig Nelson plays bass on ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas’,
which was written by Walter Kent, Kim Gannon, and Buck Ram. Clare Fischer plays piano on this light jazz
version. It waxes sentimental: “I’ll be
home for Christmas, you can count on me/Please have snow and mistletoe and
presents under the tree/Christmas Eve will find me where the love light
gleams/I’ll be home for Christmas if only in my dreams”. Carly Simon wrote the gorgeous ballad ‘The
Night Before Christmas’. A children’s
choir is used to good effect here. Here
are some of the lyrics: “You don’t have to be an angel to sing harmony/You
don’t have to be a child to love the mystery/And you don’t have to be a wise
man on bended knee/The heart of this Christmas is in you and me/The night
before Christmas (2X)”.
Amy, Chris Eaton, and Robert Marshall wrote ‘Emmanuel, God With
Us’, a worshipful selection: “Emmanuel, God with us, Emmanuel/Emmanuel, God
with us/The Son of Israel/And the years they come and the years they go/Though
we may forget somehow/That the Child once born in Bethlehem is still among us
now”. Closing off the album is a
pleasant instrumental version of Bach’s ‘Jesu, Joy of Man’s Desiring’, with
derivative melody by Carl Marsh.
HOME FOR CHRISTMAS is a must have for fans of skillfully
presented holiday music. Amy’s vocals
are easy on the ears and the instrumentation is wonderful! Style-wise, I would put this record in the
light pop and inspirational music categories.
It’s a good one to listen to if you need to quiet yourself amidst the
hustle and bustle of the holidays. It’s
also appropriate music to play in the background during your family’s Christmas
meal. You will find songs of both a
sacred and a secular nature included here.
The pictures of Amy included with the CD are pretty. I’m rating HOME FOR CHRISTMAS a perfect
100%. For more info visit www.amygrant.com or check her out on
Facebook.