2003 Christmas album featuring a mix of traditional and contemporary holiday songs, with guests such as The Blind Boys Of Alabama, Anne Cochran, Kristy Starling & Collin Raye. Includes the bonus track 'Peace (Where The Heart Is)'. BMG.
Peace, Jim Brickman's second collection of holiday-themed music, is largely a mirror image of his first (The Gift, released in 1997). Both feature a mix of solo piano works, augmented piano selections (involving oboe, strings, synthesizers, a pop-jazz ensemble, or some combination thereof) and glossy, radio-ready pop vocal productions. To some ears, the polished sheen of the vocal tracks (four are included) may infringe on the more contemplative mood of Brickman's instrumental tracks, the way a city's after-dark glow can seep into your view of a deep night sky's canopy of stars. Still, as with The Gift, Peace is an attractive mood-setter for the season. Brickman's best arrangements will resonate with a listener's introspective sensibilities. "Jingle Bells," "Away in a Manger," and "We Three Kings," for instance, all receive slow-building, reflective treatments that might prod you into pondering deeper meanings. A pair of nonholiday originals, "Early Snowfall" and "Blessings," achieve the same heart-nudging effect. As for the vocals, The Blind Boys of Alabama reinforce the finger-snapping, muted-trumpet, '40s-swing vibe of "Let It Snow;" Kristy Starling takes a sweetly romantic turn on "Sending You a Little Christmas;" and country's Collin Raye (also featured on The Gift) earnestly conveys the clear-eyed optimism of the title track. --Terry Wood
