Reviewed by Brendan O'Regan

Here's a 2016 album with a variety of styles from the Nashville-based Shea, and while it's mostly the familiar Christmas material there are some surprises in the renditions. A jazzy version of "Winter Wonderland" opens the album and later "White Christmas" is given the same smoky treatment. "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" gets a quirky twist with electronic effects that enhances rather than ruins the song - the vocals are still strong and prominent. I loved the way Beckah does "Mary Did You Know" - very dramatic, with strings and bass to the fore. "Hanukkah" is one of the less familiar pieces and is relatively complex melodically. All in all it's an attractive album, the standards are done well, with vocals, instrumentation and production values good. I'd like to have heard more original material, but this makes for mostly easy listening and if played in the background at Christmas I'd suspect it will distract a few ears and turn a few heads.

The opinions expressed in this article are not necessarily those held by Cross Rhythms. Any expressed views were accurate at the time of publishing but may or may not reflect the views of the individuals concerned at a later date.

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