Project Info:WOW website Album length: 2 Discs: 30 Tracks Street Date: October 4, 2005
The WOW series did things right when a Christmas installment was introduced three years ago.
Thirty songs were gathered from thirty CCM artists to make up one memorable and expansive collection of
pop/contemporary Christmas offerings. And while some may feel like a new WOW project is standard
fare, WOW Christmas's first sequel WOW Christmas Green is a welcomed treat.
Like the first installment in 2002, WOW Christmas Green mixes up old recordings and brand
new ones specially made just for this project to bring a diverse seasonal effort. Opening with
the title track from Amy Grant's 1999 release A Christmas To Remember, Green gets off
to a rather mild start. A brand new recording or perhaps a traditional one would have worked better
to get the album going, but Natalie Grant's soulful "Joy To The World" from her album Believe
and a brand new recording of "Hark The Herald Angels Sing" from Rebecca St. James pick up the pace.
Steven Curtis Chapman's tender "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" is a wonderful moment, although followed
quite strangely by TobyMac's "O Come All Ye Faithful" from his 2002 This Christmas single.
ZOEgirl's memorable "What Child Is This?" precedes the modern holiday staple "The Christmas Shoes" from Newsong
and Velasquez's emotional nod to the classic Christmas tunes of decades ago, "I'll Be Home For Christmas."
Chris Tomlin offers up a brand new acoustic-driven recording in "Angels We Have Heard On High" while Jars Of Clay's "Little Drummer
Boy" is pulled from their EP of the same name released ten years ago. Casting Crowns presents a rather
favorable and worshipful rendition of "Away In A Manger," while Third Day's "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,"
which originally appeared on the rare Essential Energy Christmas in 2000, is given a slight remix
and update. Disc One draws to a diverse close with BarlowGirl's exceptional rock version of "O Holy Night" (which
originally appeared on last year's Absolute Favorite Christmas) and soulful tracks from both Avalon and CeCe Winans.
Disc Two gets off on the right foot with a brand new recording of "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,"
beautifully sung by Joy Williams. Bethany Dillon's "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," also a new song,
is a clever jazzy little rendition that precedes Michael W. Smith's piano ballad "Welcome To Our World" from his
1998 release Christmastime. Matthew West includes his own delightfully fun version of
"Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow," before Clay Aiken makes a random appearance with his cover
of Mark Lowry's "Mary, Did You Know?" from his own project. Point Of Grace's bouncy "Jingle Bell Rock"
almost revisits the days of the Andrews Sisters, while Building 429 turns to a rock flavor for their
"We Three Kings" and Kutless goes mostly acoustic for "It Came Upon a Midnight Clear." Relient K's pop/punk
"Deck The Halls," from their Christmas EP, is a minute-plus interlude before Big Daddy Weave's unique
take on "Go Tell It On The Mountain" presents itself. Disc Two winds down with ballads from Selah,
and Mark Schultz, only broken up by David Crowder's spin on "Feliz Navidad," and finishing out
with FFH's upbeat "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and Jump5's sugar pop "Sleigh Ride."
WOW Christmas Green is a festive collection of contemporary/pop Christmas tunes. It's not
a perfect mix, suffering mostly from some songs sounding much more dated than others, or the styles
being slightly too jumbled, but overall, it's a successful sequel and a fine project to add to your
Christmas album rotation.
- Review date: 10/3/05, written by John DiBiase
Record Label: EMI CMG/Word Records
Album length: 2 Discs, 30 Tracks
Street Date: October 4, 2005
Disc One
A Christmas To Remember - Amy Grant
Joy To The World - Natalie Grant
Hark The Herald Angels Sing - Rebecca St. James
O Little Town Of Bethlehem - Steven Curtis Chapman
O Come All Ye Faithful - TobyMac
What Child Is This? - ZOEgirl
The Christmas Shoes - Newsong
I'll Be Home For Christmas - Jaci Velasquez
Angels We Have Heard On High - Chris Tomlin
Little Drummer Boy - Jars Of Clay
Away In A Manger - Casting Crowns
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Third Day
O Holy Night - BarlowGirl
Don't Save It All For Christmas Day - Avalon
We Wish You A Merry Christmas - CeCe Winans
Disc Two
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Joy Williams
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Bethany Dillon
Welcome To Our World - Michael W. Smith
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Matthew West
Record Label: EMI CMG/Word Records
