Christmas In the Heart
Product Description
2009 holiday release, the first Christmas album from the legendaryFolk/Rock singer/songwriter. Christmas In The Heart is Dylan’s 47th album and follows the worldwide success of his album Together Through Life. In a commitment to ending hunger, all of Bob Dylan’s U.S. current and future royalties from sales of Christmas In The Heart will be donated in perpetuity to Feeding America, guaranteeing that more than four million meals will be provided to over 1.4 million people in need in this country during this year’s holiday season. 15 tracks including ‘Here Comes Santa Claus’, ‘Winter Wonderland’, ‘Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas’ and many others.
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3 Responses
Ah, Bob Dylan. From Myth to has been to legend, all in one career.Now, an early Christmas gift, destined to bring cheer and food to needy folks. First off, Well Done Mr. Dylan.A great great thing to do. Secondly, a popping christmas album!Channeling Bing and Mel,[and the Harry Simeone Chorale} Dylan has actually put together a terrific album of Christmas music. Since folks speculate on everything with him, I dont care to wonder about his spiritual affiliation,simply the music. The best cuts here, for me, are the Little drummer boy, Do you hear what I hear,The Christmas song,and Hark the Herald angels sing. It’s a straight album, no winking or cheesiness present.Imagine of Hank Williams Sr and Woody Guthrie made a Christmas album together. This is that album. Hugely,happily recommended
When I first heard about Dylan’s Christmas project, I must admit I thought it was a joke. First of all, Christmas In the Heart is not a new Bob Dylan CD. It`s a charity project.
Dylan has loosened up over the last few years: He has finally stopped fighting his own legend. He recent records exposes humor, irony and is more playful than ever. It`s like he is thinking that life isn`t that serious after all. Dylan`s inspiration from traditional blues, jazz and music hall songs from the 1920 to 1950 is obvious. It`s manifested on “Love & Theft” from 2001 and is also the inspiration for “Modern Times” and is also recognizable on his more bluesy 2009 effort “Together through life”.
Dylan’s Christmas album is in an odd way inspired from the same tradition. It gives me a kind of Dylan meets Disney, Sinatra and Andrew Sisters feeling. Dylan has simply made a Christmas record true to a musical heritage from the forties and fifties. His voice gives a new and sometimes unexpected feeling. If Santa has a voice, Dylan is probably the closest we ever get to hear it.
It’s strange, but I feel Dylan’s genius comes true and all of the songs on the record grow on me.
As a Dylan fan I think “Christmas Blues” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” is the highlights of the album. “Must be Santa” is probably the only polka and the most up-tempo song Dylan ever has recorded. It`s great fun and is also expected to be the soundtrack for the video from the album. However the quality of this record is so high, that I am not able to spot one weak song, if you buy the idea and intention with this project.
Many Dylan fans will claim that this is the worst Dylan record ever. I disagree. I think it is a hilariously funny record, based on good musical craftsmanship. Some of the songs express a kind of enjoyable madness. It works in a mysteriously way. I believe “Christmas In the Heart” will find it’s natural place in many people’s Christmas tradition, also among Dylan fans after the first shock.
This album is not a new Dylan record. It is a very funny and entertaining Christmas album from Mr. Dylan. He has made a classical Christmas album – in some way or another. This is probably the most interesting Christmas record ever released and Dylan has put a lot of effort and energy in doing this right. I love “Christmas in the Heart” and I tend to define it as a Dylan holyday masterpiece. It`s that good!
I really, really wanted to write this one off. Especially after TTL, which for a long time I thought was a total disaster – and still think is a triple bogey at best. But sure enough, I found myself at 9:03 P.M California time downloading CITH off iTunes within the first three minutes of its release.
My first impression? So warm, so comforting, so nostalgic. And not just in a “it’s getting to be late Fall, so let’s get in the mood for Christmas” way. No, in a pure Americana kind of way. This is a Rockwell painting come to life, it is not some kind of ironic commentary on the past… it is a memorial to the past. Dylan does this perfectly. It baffles me, but I really think this will turn out to be one of his most memorable records.
Let me venture to say that this is also a vocal masterpiece. Forget those low-quality clips on amazon.com.. when you hear this the way Bob Frost intended it, you will curse yourself for ever cursing it.
And surprisingly, there are no real low points. It is just raw and perfect from “Here Comes Santa Claus” to “Little Town of Bethlehem.” It makes you think of a bright, white, hopeful day. Logs on the fire, ancestors passed on, old dusty pictures that were never digitized. This feels like something old that turned up in a cross-country move. A brilliant, sharp, autumn feeling like those old first days of school.
“Amen.”