Carole King: A Holiday Carole
Carole King decks the halls with first-ever holiday album
How adorable to see Carole King using her name on her first holiday album. It’s the good ole industry gimmick that never fails when developing a title for a Christmas album. A Christmas Carole sure beats “Christmas Tapestry.” The famed singer/songwriter may be a little late in getting in on the Christmas rush, with 2011’s gloomy forecast of economic depravity. But her good cheer may bring some added relief to the home system as she seeps her teeth into golden holiday pleasantries. She doesn’t go for goofy Santa standards or go for titles that would render her public ridicule at Christmas parties, but the songwriting legend falls for safe renditions while failing to produce any original compositions from Carole’s pen. “Christmas Paradise,” co-penned by her daughter Louise Goffin, is probably the album’s bright spot, with the original selection displaying dreamy calypso atop Utopian lyricism. There are a few hot spots to observe: The Stax favorite “Everyday Will Be Like A Holiday” feels nice on King’s quasi-soulful voice; “Chanukah Prayer” sounds like a Spike Lee production and “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” dons an angelic innocence. Still, with all the cheery selections aboard, A Christmas Carole makes a slight dip when it plays with big Motown R&B on “Christmas in the Air.” Sorry but “It’s Too Late” is as far as her voice will take her.
J MATTHEW COBB
- Release Date: 1 November 2011
- Label: Hear Music
- Producer: Louise Goffin
- Spin This: “Christmas Paradise,” “Everyday Will Be Like a Holiday”
