Customer Reviews

The Lost Christmas Eve

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It seems that every radio station in December has a mandate to play all the known possible re-sung versions of traditional Christmas music. It gets so pervasive that I constantly flip channels trying to find something that does not spoil the mood by over use of sappiness or blind repetition.

At last, here is something different. From Trans Siberian Orchestra, this album puts a new, complex and unique spin on both old standards and new original Christmas Music. I listened to this album by chance and was pleasantly surprised at what it contained. The rock sounds combined with orchestral arrangements sounded full and complex. I enjoyed these new musical arrangements as they showed talent and understanding of music, a sometimes rare thing these days.

In particular, there was one song that I assume was from the composer Liszt. (wish Liszt) The piano work was amazing and the rock orchestrations fell comfortably into place. Most interesting since I believe that the original composition was from Franz Liszt. An 1800's composer who was famous for creating the most complicated piano music ever played.

It is nice to hear something different a opposed to the old standards. And for once I am not going to reach for the dial if I hear this band on the radio. Worth listening to if you like rock sounds and classical as well, or are a true affectionado of many gendres of music.

Love this CD! Trans Siberian Orchestra's music is different and fresh. Love their music! I could play it over and over again.

TSO released this album after releasing two great Christmas albums ("The Christmas Attic" and "Christmas Eve and other Stories"). There's good and bad news. The Good news is They SHRED more than ever!The Bad News is the singing has not improved (except for a few songs). Overall, this album is worth buying if you were into their previous work. If you have not gotten their previous albums, first get "Christmas Eve and Other Stories"!

List Track

1 - Faith Noel: I totally love this remake of the great Christmas song. Love the guitars, the melodies, harmonies, well everything! This is why I bought this cd, for this kind of song! AWESOME!. 10/10
2 - The Lost Christmas Eve: I don't really like the singing nor despite it. The song is still strong (mostly due to the guitars!). A solid effort. 8/10
3 - Christmas Dreams: This one is kind of fun. However, I usually skip it. Again, the vocals don't really help! 7/10
4 - Wizards in Winter: AGAIN! AWESOMENESS RETURNS! What an awesome instrumental track! I love the work of the violins with the guitars. It sounds purely majestic. An instant masterpiece. 10/10
5 - Remember: The children choir on this one really got me. Sounds beautiful! A good, solid classic! 9/10
6 - Anno Domine: Excellent classic with good choir work. It gets your Christmas spirit up! Solid track. 9/10
7 - Christmas Concerto: Well, this one is just a christmas concerto like implied. Not much here. 6/10
8 - Queen of the Winter Night: Another instrumental. This one is not the best of the record, but does not let you down either. Overall, a good instrumental. 8/10
9 - Christmas Nights in Blue: I don't really like the vocals on this one. I usually skip this song. 5/10
10 - Christmas Jazz: This one is a jazzy instrumental using just acoustic guitars and bass. Not impressive. 5/10
11 - Christmas Jam: One of my favorites from this album. A real instrumental gem! As a guitar player myself, I praise the guitar work here. Simply fabulous! 10/10
12 -Siberian Sleigh Ride: This sounds like it's from a Joe Satriani Album. A masterpiece at first glance. SHRED ALL THE WAY! 10/10
13 - What is Christmas?: SKIP IT! I don't like this song at all. 4/10
14 - For The Sake of Our Brother: This one is a nice, solid ballad. It adds a different feeling to the album. 8.5/10
15 - The Wisdom of Snow: This one is a piano instrumental. It follows the melody from Back to A Reason. Overall, it's nice. 7/10
16 - Wish Lizst (Toy Shop Madness): This one is a fun instrumental song featuring lots of shredding guitars and piano madness. One of the highlights of the album. 10/10
17 - Back to a Reason, Pt. 2: Good solid effort. One of my favorite songs sung by the male singer. 8/10
18 - Christmas Bells, Carousels & Time: A short instrumental. I love the melody! 8/10
19 - What Child Is This?: Skip it! 5/10
20 - O'Come All Ye Faithful: An acoustic guitar instrumental. I'm in love with the acoustic feeling of this remake! 10/10
21 - Christmas Canon Rock: Hands down, the best song on this record. I bought this record solely for this song (but I got many other gems as well). What an awesome remake with lyrics of a CLASSIC MASTERPIECE! 10/10
22 - Different Wings: This one features a female singer. What a sweet voice she has! Love it. 8.5/10
23 - Midnight Clear: A nice instrumental. 7/10

I really enjoyed moments of this CD, which brought great rock sounds to some traditional Christmas music. There are some other good moments with choral voices. However, I hesitate to play the CD, because I don't want to sit throught some painfully monotonous and predictable songs, and some with horrible voice parts (who told that guy he could sing???)to get to the few good ones.

Still, there are 23 songs on the CD, so you may feel there are enough of merit to make it a worthwhile purchase. I would estimate one-third of the songs are good, and when they are good they are quite good. There is less orchestra than I thought there would be, not being familiar with the band previously. Don't be fooled by the name, this is not classical music! It's Christmas for rockers.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra is not Christmas music for mall-shoppers -- it's richly symphonic Christmas music. And "The Lost Christmas Eve" is a rock opera of epic proportions, giving a new edge to Christmas music while telling a story about love, magic and beauty. It's Christmas music for classical fans, rock fans... or anyone who appreciates a new spin on the old.

It opens with a bang in the guitar-driven fervor of "Faith Noel," a sweeping rock reinterpretation of "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "The First Noel." Following it up is the eerie title track, and the bouncy bells of "Wizards in Winter." Some songs are driven by rich choirs, like "Remember" and the upbeat, soaring "Anno Domine."

But the rock edge is kept all throughout the album, such as the piano-driven "Christmas Dreams" and "Queen of the Winter Night," that blossom into bass-driven rockers. Not to mention the cascading hard rock of "Christmas Jam," or the rollicking "Christmas Sleigh Ride." But it ends on a quiet note, with the acoustic instrumental "Midnight Clear."

While Mannheim Steamroller tends towards Christmas music with a medieval edge, the sound of Trans-Siberian Orchestra is pretty modern. It blends classical, rock, jazz, choral numbers, and even a bit of metal. What's especially good is that it's enchanting without the story, though the story enhances the music further.

The story that "The Lost Christmas Eve" frames is, let's face it, a little sappy -- but it's a pretty, sweet one anyway. It's the tale of a little angel ("the youngest angel") sent to Earth for one night. He has only that long to find the person who best continued Christ's work on Earth; when he arrives, he finds many people from many walks of life, any of whom could be the one he seeks. The potential sappiness is tempered with references to crack babies, the mentally challenged, lost spouses, and much more. The entire story is included in an accompanying booklet.

The vocals are pretty solid, although J. Mark McVey sounds rather melodramatic in the title song. Michael Lanning gives some strong, restrained singing before letting rip, and Jennifer Cella's vocals are quiet and gentle. And that's only a few of the singers. There are also four choirs, including the strong Rock Choir, and the sweet-voiced Christmas Canon choir.

Bass and guitar aren't usually thought of as being "Christmas" instruments, but the typical rock blasts are tempered into symphonic grandeur, assisted by quiet piano and strings. The keyboards are especially important; they take the melodies just over the top to make them sound epic and sweeping. In a nutshell, the instrumentation is a perfect blend of typical Christmas music, and solid rock'n'roll.

Trans-Siberian Orchestra's "The Lost Christmas Eve" is a win-win scenario -- sentimentalists will love the story of loss, love and Christmas, while the more prosaic will love the sweeping rock orchestrals.

I absolutely love the fact that these hard rock/metal
musicians can take something as done and overdone as christmas music and put such an interesting spin on it!!!
Its unique,refreshing,its what the hard rock/metal
fan who love christmas music is looking for,They fufilled my need to try and fuse my two favorite types of music.
This cd, their 3rd christmas effort has its own story to tell,made my wife cry its kinda sad but with a message,
if you like the first two,this will not disapoint
also see them live!!! I am gonna for the 3rd year straight,you wont believe the show!!!
take it from a concert vet of over 200 concerts ranging
from neil diamond and kenny rogers to motorhead and slayer