With the passing of Thanksgiving and the lighting of the Rockefeller Center Tree, the Christmas season has officially begun. Christmas décor, lights and trees are ornamenting the Fairfield campus, and blaring Christmas music can be heard incessantly throughout the housing complexes and the dining hall.
With the new season comes new holiday movies and music to further enhance our Christmas spirits and cheer. Adding to the Christmas craze is Jessica Simpson’s latest album. Entitled “Re-Joyce: The Christmas Album,” it brings a colorful array of old favorites and new classics to form a compilation that embodies the Christmas spirit.
Jessica’s signature soaring voice resounds through this album, especially in “The Christmas Song” and “O’Holy Night,” two Christmas classics sung in a traditional style.
However, unlike many of Simpson’s previous releases, the album is anything but monotonous. Simpson decorates it with two duets: one with husband Nick Lachey in “Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” and the other with her sister Ashlee in “The Little Drummer Boy.”
“Baby, It’s Cold Outside,” is a song with a jazzy edge that mixes mellow beats with powerful voices. This song, which happens to be my favorite song on the album, takes classic lyrics and interweaves them with two soothing voices and vivacious beats to form a new favorite out of an old tradition.
“The Little Drummer Boy” is also a cute song as Jessica and her sister take turns singing the lines and the verses. However, once the two are singing together in unison, Jessica’s voice reigns high over Ashlee’s much lower and mellow sound. It’s a fun song, containing a modern beat with a big emphasis on the drum itself, which is much different from any other rendition I’ve heard.
Simpson also has more fast-paced songs such as “Let It Snow,” a dance-along song in which Simpson’s voice takes second chair to the instrumentals and fun beat. This is definitely a useful song in reviving a waning family gathering.
“Hark, The Herald Angels Sing,” reminded me of a gospel choir, with Simpson rejoicing with a choir behind her. It’s probably the most fun song on the album in that it embodies a series of emotions, including not only the singer’s, but also the many voices in the background.
I suggest to all those who blast their stereos with Christmas music to go pick up this album. It has a great mix of different melodies and a sensational voice to go along with it.
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