★★★★ | Christmas, With Love,
Christmas, With Love, Album Review: The Voice Returns For Christmas.
I’ll admit, I love a bit of Leona; I remember watching X Factor in 2006 as she took the X Factor crown and embarked on a journey to becoming the most successful artist to survive Simon Cowell’s talent competition.
Sadly, that being said, I’ve found her albums to have gotten progressively unsuited to her vocal style and ultimately unlistenable, if truth be told I didn’t even buy Glassheart, and judging on the sales figures neither did her legions of fans. Where are the power ballads? Where are the soaring riffs and runs? Where is Britain’s Mariah – the reason why she ultimately wowed that X Factor audience.
But Lewis, the voice, returns for the holidays and gives fans something they will truly treasure, her festive offering Christmas, With Love.
A very traditional-sounding record, which does take a few tracks to get used to, but pays perfect homage to Phil Spector’s Wall of Sound.
Usually the big reverbs and muddy sounding recordings are reserved for rockier vocals, but these arrangements allow Lewis’s vocal prowess to shine through with her crystal intonations; with a few tracks delivering exceptional and surprising performances – check out Ava Maria, Mr. Right and Your Hallelujah.
The outcome is an entirely magnificent range of Christmas belters where we are reminded why Lewis became the voice of her generation.
Bravo Leona! Britain’s Mariah might just reign supreme this Christmas.
