Album- Christmas,
with Love
Artist- Leona Lewis
The biggest act to come out of the X Factor in terms of UK
sales, Leona Lewis has already had an amazing musical career. However, it is
safe to say that with each successive album that she has released that success
has waned and sales have shrunk. Acting as an in-between record before her next
proper album, Lewis’ fourth album is a Motown inspired Christmas collection
that features seven covers and three original songs. The Christmas album is a
tricky record to pull of correctly, whilst many will surely see this record as
a means for Lewis to captilise on the Christmas market and simply do better in
her career in terms of sales. But could Christmas, with Love actually be the
Christmas record that the UK is crying out for, and perhaps more importantly,
could her original songs become future Christmas classics?
Track 1- One More
Sleep
Opening track lead single One More Sleep is a mid to up
tempo affair that finds Lewis evoking that Christmas spirit of wanting your
partner with you and longing for you them whilst all these great Christmas
times are going on around. The first of the sets original composition, the
songs sentiment is a message other Christmas songs have already covered really
well, but Lewis does a fine job, giving us a solid and memorable chorus whilst
using some nice Christmas references. Emotional weight is given to the track
through the richness of Lewis’ voice and the build-up of the vocals so that by
the end Lewis can give us some great high notes that makes for an awesome
finish. Sound wise the songs production gives a cool Motown feel to the track
with some glittery piano melodies, a swaying rhythm and some snazzy drumbeats
that makes for a nice upbeat tone to the track that compliments the sad but
hopeful and love based essence of the lyrics.
3.5/5
Track 2- Winter
Wonderland
A Christmas classic that has been covered by over 150
artists already, Winter Wonderland is all about evoking the Christmas spirit
through some awesome winter imagery. This version is a big brassy number with
some great use of horns and a snappy guitar groove, and vocally Lewis brings
some diva elements to the song that allows it to be a bit different and vibrant
in a new way, but for me this is a bit too much of a copy of the original and
isn’t quite exciting or interesting enough to feel like Lewis is totally
invested in the idea of Christmas.
2/5
Track 3- White
Christmas
Lewis brings a Motown, 60’s girl group feel to the Christmas
classic made famous by Bing Crosby. The songs finds Lewis wishing for a
Christmas filled with snow and joy, and the smooth RnB flecked tone of her
voice brings a natural warmth and pizzazz to the song that is fun to listen to.
The snappy production with the heavy drumbeats and grand sound gives a funkier
element to the song that nicely builds in power and makes this version feel
more like a natural extention of who Lewis is an artist rather than just
another cover version, and whilst some people may not like just quite how
different this version is to the Bing Crosby version, it makes for a much more
interesting listen, and if she had just stuck to the typical sound then people
(myself included) would have probably just said it was a boring safe rendition.
3.5/5
Track 4- Your
Hallelujah
The first ballad of the record and the second original song
finds the singer seemingly taking some inspiration from religion whilst also
bringing a touching romanticism to the holiday period. The song lyrically
focuses on this person coming home and being fully loved and safe, with the
message being very powerful and lyrically structured in a great and poetic way.
Lewis’ vocal performance is smooth and within this musical setting feels very
natural, whilst the addition of a gospel choir adds extra depth to the track
that makes it feel very sincere. Keeping the production impactful but simple is
a great sound, with the song featuring beautiful piano instrumentation and
string arrangements that will have you hooked and feeling a certain type of a
Christmas emotion by the final note.
3.5/5
Track 5- Christmas (Baby
Please Come Home)
Lewis’ rendition of the classic song made famous by Darlene
Love is another song that is more faithful and in tune with the original song.
However in this instance she could have really ruined the song doing anything
else, and with her big diva vocals the essence of the song is very naturally
suitable. The songs lyrical sentiment is encapsulated in the title and is still
powerful today, with the power of Lewis’ voice really adding dramatic impacts
to the songs message. The brassy, vibrant and forceful sound of the record with
the gorgeous mix of drums and horns is joyful and fun to listen to and really
captures a part of the Christmas spirit to make this a strong song for the
album.
3.5/5
Track 6- Mr Right
Mr Right is another Motown flavoured original track with a
more vibrant, snappy production complete with some almost military like
drumbeats and joyful, typical Christmas bell ringing. The song finds Lewis
sitting comfortably vocally in a smooth RnB groove where her voice conveys the
songs sentiment wonderfully. Here we find Lewis singing of her loneliness this
Christmas and wishing for that Mr Right to come together, with the chorus being
an equally snappy, catchy piece that will resonate with some of the sadly
lonely hearted, wishful thinking people this Christmas. It is a nice slice of
up tempo Motown pop which I think would have been a better single choice than
One More Sleep.
3.5/5
Track 7- O Holy Night
With her rendition of the classic Christmas carol O Holy
Night, Lewis allows her rich tones to naturally bring out the faith based
essence of Christmas. The song is nicely backed by soft guitar instrumentation
and a beautiful string arrangement, whilst vocally the build in intensity is so
strong to listen to with the gospel essence of the track with the use of a
choir making the song that much more impactful. The only issue I have with this
song is that it is very faithful and in this sense just6 feels like something
that Lewis could have produced very easily, and so it lacks that Christmas
spark that would make it a truly amazing rendition.
3/5
Track 8- I Wish It
Could Be Christmas Everyday
Wizzard’s I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday is probably
a song that many wouldn’t have expected Lewis to cover. But she actually does a
great job, exuding the same joy and passion that the original had and keeping
the sound in line with the original song, whilst allowing her strong vocals and
powerful tone to give the song a bit of a diva makeover. The stomping drum
rhythms and brass band sounds of the production are a perfect sound that makes
you just want to jump for joy that it is Christmas, and the vocals are strong
enough to mark it out as different and more dramatic than the original version
of the track.
3.5/5
Track 9- Ave Maria
Ave Maria is probably the least obvious Christmas song on
the record and the one song people might not necessarily find appealing. But
really Lewis’ rendition of the song is amazing, as she shows off her classical
roots and gives a rich, powerful vocal that a singer like Katherine Jenkins
would probably be really jealous off. It throws this musical curveball within
the record that reminds us that there is so much more to Lewis than you would
expect, whilst the song is also further made amazing by the fact that she
completely sings in Latin. The piano and strings of the production add as a
simple base that allows the singers voice to shine, and this song just perhaps
signals that one day we could have an awesome classical song from the singer.
3.5/5
Track 10- Silent
Night
The final track for the record is a rendition of another
classic Christmas carol, Silent Night. The song finds the singing ending the
record on a soft but powerful note in which she reminds us of the true meaning
of Christmas and gives a beautiful vocal performance that is made stronger by
the layering of her vocals. The soft, almost acapella but not quite essence of
the songs production just adds to the renditions power on the listener, and
this is just a strong song to finish things up with.
3.5/5
Final Review
This is a nicely assembled Christmas album that really
showcases Leona’s voice well and gives us Christmas songs that feel in tune
with whom Lewis is as an artist and which brings a fresh, fun and interesting
take on some Christmas classics. Keeping the set at a short 10 track length was
a good move, whilst the few original compositions nicely capture the Christmas
spirit and could become classics in their own right. There are a couple songs
that bring down the quality of the record and the production value for me could
be more fine-tuned, but Lewis still brings a glamour and vibrancy to Christmas
music that has been missing a bit, and the record works nicely in preparation
for her next proper album.
7/10
Best Track- Mr Right
Worst Track- Winter
Wonderland
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