Archive for the 'Christmas' Category

• Band / Artist : Dusty Hughes
• Genre : Rock / Easy Listening / Christmas
• Sample Track Download : Little Drummer Boy
• Buy CD : N/A
• Buy Digital Download : Buy
• Rating : 8 out of 10

Christmas comes but once a year, and I’m pretty much OK with that, because on the whole Christmas music, while getting you in the mood for the holiday season, does tend to drive you nuts, with that tinkle, tinkle, bell ringing. For me the Christmas staples are Slades “Merry Christmas Everybody”, Mike Oldfield’s “In Dulci Dubilo”, Paul McCartney’s “Wonderful Christmastime” and Greg Lake’s “I Believe in Father Christmas”. However I do now have an additional song to add to that collection, indeed I now have a whole album to add to the mix, with Dusty Hughes’ “The Christmas Album”.

This really is a killer album, with a whole different sound for Christmas. The album comprises of 16 tracks including everything from “Little Saint Nick” to “Jingle Bells”, all performed with real soul and passion and sometimes even a hint of angst. The album opens with the absolutely stunning track “Do You Hear What I Hear”. This is one of those songs, that just builds and builds, engrossing you from beginning to end. I would buy the album for this one track alone. There are just too many excellent tracks to go into in depth, but for me the other stand out tracks are, “Mary Did You Know”, “Thank God It’s Christmas”, “Little Drummer Boy” and “Happy Christmas”. The full track listing is :

1. Do you Hear What I Hear
2. Please Come Home for Christmas
3. Little Saint Nick
4. Oh Holy Night
5. I Saw Three Ships
6. Mary Did You Know
7. Thank God It’s Christmas
8. Away in a Manger
9. Snoopy’s Christmas
10. Little Drummer Boy
11. The Saviour has Come
12. Beautiful Star of Bethlehem
13. Christmas is the Time to Say I Love You.
14. Silent Night
15. Light of the Stable
16. Happy Christmas

I think for me the only low point of the album comes with the track “Beautiful Star of Bethlehem”, which is just a little too syrupy for my taste and stands out as the odd track on the album.

Dusty Hughes isn’t a name I’ve come across before, but it’s definitely one I’ll be keeping an eye on in the future. With an additional 2 albums behind him, I’m looking forward to hearing what he can do with a more conventional rock album. Dusty has a very unique voice which is what first brought him to my attention. Its a voice with a very dark edge, something akin to Creed.

Conclusion : I can’t recommend this album highly enough. Not only is it a cracking album with tons of Christmas favorites, it’s available at an unbelievable price of $4.99 via download only. That’s just under 5 bucks for 16 Christmas classics. I’ve had it in my car for the past few days and with the tons of snow we have , it’s really getting me into the Christmas spirit.