Steven Curtis Chapman
“All I Really Want for Christmas”
Sparrow Records
13 tracks @ 52:29

It is a little weird listening to Christmas music before Halloween, but then again I saw Christmas items in the stores before Labor Day!

Chapman releases his first new Christmas project in several years. If you liked any of SCC’s previous releases, this is a good record to have around.

There’s a good mix of original songs; “Shaoey’s Christmas Story, church songs; “Angels from the Realms of Glory, and seasonal music; “Silver Bells.”

The contemporary arrangement of “Angels” was very pleasant and reminded me of SCC’s “Speechless” project. “All I Really Want” is an excellent original song about a child waiting for adoption, a subject that is literally close-to-home in the Chapman house.

“Go Tell It on the Mountain” has a jazzy feel with an upright bass and syncopated rhythm with a gospel backing chorus.

“Night Before Christmas” is another original song that has little to do with the familiar Christmas Eve bedtime story by Clement Clarke Moore. The song reminds us of the ordinariness of an extraordinary event. The first Christmas Eve seemed like “an ordinary night in an everyday staple in an everyday town.” The song also has a very sweet surprise ending.

- Rob S.