"Holiday High" by Spalding and Lasar

And now for a Christmas music review. Now that finals are over, I now have the time to do this.

I first discovered Cadence Spalding through my pandora radio stations this past year, and I liked her layering vocals, so I caught on. During my free trial for emusic, I was looking her up and discovered this album that she did with her husband Mars Lasar. After one listen, I used my credits to download the album and now have the pleasure of listening to it frequently. For those not acquainted with Spalding's work, she sounds like Enya except her voice is higher and that she sings what sounds like both alto and soprano parts, which set her apart from the Irish singer.

"All Is Calm"

This is a version of "Silent Night". It is a very pretty version, though I think having Cadence's more real-sounding vocals almost sounds a bit jarring.

"Candles Shine"

This is "Away in a Manger". Another pretty song.

"Prayer"

This is a different version of "O Christmas Tree", as these lyrics do not match up with the original ones. The real vocals again sound a bit jarring and almost ruin the ethereal sound of the layered voices.

"Peace"

I believe this is an original composition of Spalding's or her husband's. This is basically a prayer for Christmas.

"Oh, Come Rejoice"

I think this is also another original composition. It is pretty though not one of my personal favorites.

"The Babe"

This is "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel". I personally like versions of this old hymn that have a darker feeling to it, and this one suffices very well between the haunting voices, the drums in the background, and then the flute towards the middle of the song. My only complaint is that I would have not sang the first verse and chorus twice. Otherwise, it is very pretty.

"Angel Song"

This is "What Child Is This?", and it is very beautiful. It just might be my favorite version.

"Turn Your Heart"

This is "Angels We Have Heard on High", and it is also is a pretty piece.

"Fall on Your Knees"

This is an original composition, though it starts off like "O Little Town of Bethlehem." It is one of my favorites from the album.

"Stars in the Sky"

This is "O Holy Night." I believe this is Cadence singing the main melody, though to me it almost sounds like a boy's voice. Not another of my personal favorites.

This is a very pretty album. It is not sentimental like other Christmas albums, and I love Spalding's use of the layering. However, I think she could have removed her more natural- sounding voice from some of the pieces, as it did not add much to them. Another problem I have is that some of the song titles are seemingly mixed up. I don't know if this is emusic's fault or not, but the last three song titles do not match what I listen to on rhapsody and what amazon says (the song order in the review is as rhapsody gave me and is the same as amazon's). Along the lines of song titles, it got confusing trying to figure out what Christmas song was what and re-naming them so I remember which one is which; it would have been easier to stick to the original titles.

Otherwise, I have very few complaints with this Christmas album. It is beautiful and will probably be listened to all year round by me. I give it four and 1/2 stars out of five.