Another Laurie Berkner Christmas is chock-full of kid-friendly Christmas songs like “Holly Jolly Christmas,” “Up On The Housetop,” and “Winter Wonderland,” as well as many traditional carols, including “Here We Come A-Wassailing,” featuring one of Laurie’s favorite early musical influences, Suzzy Roche, and her very talented and accomplished daughter, Lucy Wainwright Roche. It also includes the song, “Good King Wenceslas,” starring the extraordinary talent of Broadway legend (and original King Triton in the Broadway production of The Little Mermaid), Norm Lewis. In addition, Laurie wrote three all-new, original Christmas songs for the album: “I Live Inside A Snowglobe (Shake it Up),” “Little Tree,” and “Icicles.” She’s joined on multiple tracks by two fantastic Broadway musicians on horns: David Mann (saxaphones and horn arrangements), and Trevor Neumann (trumpets), as well as being backed up by the rest of the Laurie Berkner Band: Susie Lampert (keys), Brady Rymer (bass), and Bobby Golden (drums). Finally, Another Laurie Berkner Christmas wraps up with dance remixes of The Laurie Berkner Band version of “Jingle Bells” and my song “Happy New Year” as Bonus Tracks.
Evaluation comments:
“A decade after Laurie and her band released an excellent set of Xmas tunes, they returned with a new – and equally excellent – collection of Christmas classics. Another Laurie Berkner Christmas, released for the 2022 holiday season, takes listeners on a journey through several centuries of Christmas songs, from the early 18th century (“Joy To The World” and “The Hallelujah Chorus”) through the 19th century (“Deck the Halls, “Up On The Housetop”) to the the 20th century (Winter Wonderland”, “Carol of the Bells”). The opening track, “Holly Jolly Christmas,” perfectly establishes the album’s “holly, jolly” mood that encompasses spirited performances (“Deck The Halls” and Twelves Days Of Christmas”) along with more traditionally spiritual numbers (“Where Is The Child” and “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen”). Berkner welcomes several guests for this project. “Good King Wenceslas” features Broadway star (and the original King Triton) Norm Lewis while a “Here We Come A-Wassailing” singalong includes the wonderful singers (and mother & daughter) Suzzy Roche and Lucy Wainwright Roche. The album also debuts three fun new Berkner tunes – “I Live Inside A Snowglobe (Shake it Up),” “Little Tree,” and “Icicles” – as well as a holiday version of “Time To Eat” and energetic dance remixes of “Jingle Bells” and “Happy New Year.” Another Laurie Berkner Christmas is a gift that delivers holiday joy all year long.”