Music: Christmas Special #1

Music: Christmas Extraordinaire (Mannheim Steamroller)

I thought about doing a blogpost or two on Christmas music last year, but didn't end up getting to it. So this year I am going to do a (hopefully) four-part review on by far my favorite group making Christmas music, Mannheim Steamroller. Their music connects me to the season with an intensity beyond any other similar effect in music. Put simply, I can't imagine Christmas without listening to this musical act. I have four of their albums, which I'll review in reverse chronological order; I think there are one or two more but I haven't listened to them yet. As a brief introduction to those unfamiliar with Mannheim Steamroller (yes, both of you), the group is primarily instrumental and uses a unique combination of electronic, modern symphonic, and Baroque-era styles. There is great variation in their arrangements, from major to slight alterations on the originals (and they have a few of their own compositions as well). On to the review!

1. "Hallelujah"

I hate to start off my review of Mannheim on a less than stellar note, but I'm afraid that's how it goes. This arrangement is not bad, but not up to their very high standards. Like the rest of this album, and leans much more on the electronic side of their style than the Baroque-y, featuring a number of synthesizers and drums to keep a pretty steady tempo. Towards the middle, some real strings and brass give a nice change of pace, but the overall vibe is a little like disco (particularly the drum part) which is kind of off-putting and not the best choice for this literally classic piece. A fine album opener, but by no means in the group's upper tier.

2. "White Christmas"

Occasionally, Mannheim adopts a style that is almost too cheesy - but they usually choose the right songs for which to use it. This is one of them. A kiddy-sounding set of bells plays the main melody and is supported by a nice chorus; later a string section takes over to give a tad more weight to the mood. Finally, the chorus takes over for the last major recitation of the theme, and the usual Mannheim electronic instruments show up. This song shows off one of Mannheim's strengths: knowing what style to use in adapting beloved Christmas tunes. Still not a personal preference of mine, I give credit for the quality of the song nonetheless.

3. "Away In A Manger"

Unfortunately for me, here is another song that, regardless of the arrangement, is not one that I especially enjoy. However, the Mannheim touch for style comes through again, perhaps even better this time. Certainly it shows more creativity in the combination of instruments. A lone guitar starts with an intro and continues on to provide support for a recorder playing the melody - a nice combo. The recorder is joined by a pretty oboe in the melody, and a backing string part, all playing well together. Some Mannheim electronics join the party at the song's climax but then fade away. Classic Mannheim, despite my personal lack of fondness for it.

4. "Faeries" (from the Nutcracker Suite)

Here Mannheim goes back to the heavier electronic emphasis heard on the album opener. A deep electronic bass intro precedes the tinkling xylophone-like melody. As the song moves to the second major part of the song more traditional instruments jump in, mostly strings and I think a bassoon. At 2.5 minutes, it's quite short and ends very abruptly so it almost seems like an interlude piece. Nothing wrong with this one, but it last long enough to leave a very significant impression.

5. "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

The tinkling xylophone leads us off again with an intro, backed by a beautiful part in the bass by a string section. A woodwind plays the melody (I believe a clarinet), and the xylophone plays on while the strings are reduced to a quiet but high-pitched backing. Eventually lower-octave strings start a neat plunking rhythm which is quite nice. A return to the stripped-down xylophone/lower strings part ends the song. Certainly one of Mannheim's more passive arrangements, it is one of the album's stronger efforts, fitting very well with the album's sonic themes if not branching out very much (it doesn't hurt that the original is a nice song, anyway).

6. "The First Noel"

A full, beautiful string section intro starts things off, followed by another prelude to the original melody, played by electronic instruments and low, low strings. A violin plays the main melody slowly and somewhat sadly, with only the xylophone still tinkling away beneath it. The second play through gives the oboe a shot at the melody with greater support, with those low, low strings again. The song climaxes with a violin-oboe duet, and it peters out with, again, just the xylophone. Although it's not a bad arrangement, there are several problems. First, the placement is poor, coming after the not much more upbeat "Do You Hear"; second, in my opinion this song's melody tires itself out extremely quickly. Something more creative than xylophone, oboe and violin was in order here.

7. "Silver Bells"

Here we have a more upbeat song, although it's not exactly a rousing rondo, of course. A muted keyboard sound backs the melody throughout and gives it, unfortunately, a rather sleepy feeling (not to mention almost elevator music-like). And guess what instrument plays the melody? Yep, the tinkling xylophone is here again. It isn't until about a minute left that a non-electronic/percussion instrument enters; a single French horn gives the song a little more life. To top it all off, the song is way too long at 4.5 minutes. As you can tell, I'm not a fan of this song. I pretty much skip it every time it comes along.

8. "Some Children See Him"

Ah, no more tinkling xylophone at last! A familiar Mannheim bass drum starts an intriguing beat; overall, in fact, the song feels much more like classic Steamroller than the last few tracks. With strings and keyboard playing an exotic backing, a very high woodwind plays the main melody, one reminiscent of "Pat A Pan." Familiar harpsichord takes over the backing after that and finally some great drumming and a little low brass brings the song to its full energy. The main melody carries on for a good while, though not quite too long, before giving way to the bass drum again and one last solo play through. Perhaps the album's strongest song.

9. "Fum, Fum, Fum"

Lone recorder starts off the quiet, interesting melody, joined by a few siblings after a minute or so. The xylophone makes a return, but the tinkling is toned down and an oboe soon dominates the main melody, anyway, as the song assumes the album's overall instrumental pattern. This one is much like "Faeries," in that it's done before you expect; it's a little bit longer, but has really only two sections in it. Thus, my feelings on it are pretty much the same.

10. "Winter Wonderland"

The heavier electronic theme bounces back for a third round here, with a guitar-like keyboard playing an intro that serves as the backing for the song throughout (sounds a little like a TV intro theme, actually). The main melody is played by a different keyboard, one that sounds more like 80s-style Mannheim, or other similar artists. High strings shimmer and tambourines shakes to give the song yet more of a floaty, whispy feeling. More variety, with harpsichord and French horn, have a bit at the end, but by then it is what it is. I suppose it's a pretty appropriate arrangement for the song, and a fairly strong one at that - but again, here's an original that doesn't rank among my favorites.

11. "O Tannenbaum"

A men's chorus sings a few strains of the melody to start this one, a nice touch. This is followed by a major style change with xylophone, French horn and other electronic effects added in before the most horrifying thing ever heard on a Mannheim record comes in: the voice of Johnny Mathis. This awful decision really overrides everything else, and this is probably the only Mannheim song that I always skip when it comes on.

12. "Auld Lang Syne"

Obviously, this is a very appropriate album closer. I'm not sure what instrument plays the melody here; the best I can think of is perhaps an electronic chime. This is backed by a quiet chorus and high strings from time to time, along with a strange electronic effect. The song ends with a men's chorus, like the one at the beginning of "Tannenbaum", taking over the melody, backed by a deep electronic bass. It's certainly a very Mannheim-y take on the holiday classic, and the sort of minimalist style is a nice touch, symbolizing the reminiscence that takes place at the end of each year. Good finisher.

One reason that I wanted to go backwards in reviewing the Mannheim Steamroller albums was that I could get the worst over with first. This is not a bad album by any means, but I think its songs come across much better when listened to among a mix of other Mannheim songs. The album keeps a nice theme of sound, but sticks to it almost too well in creating more similar songs than you typically find on a Mannheim album (the song selection certainly did not help the group to diversify their sound here). There is still very good quality musicianship and creative arrangement here, but many of the songs are simply not my favorite Christmas tunes. Worth checking out, at least shuffled in among a larger collection of Mannheim music.

Essentials: "Away In A Manger", "Do You Hear What I Hear", "Some Children See Him"

Weak(er) Songs: "Silver Bells", "O Tannenbaum"