Sunday, 8 December 2019

OG3NE ~ A Magical Christmas


17 DAYS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Buy A Magical Christmas here (Amazon GB)

I do enjoy a good Christmas concert special. And when it is captured for audio enjoyment, well so much the better (particularly when an ocean separates me from attending said concert special). Dutch sisters, OGN3E, have come together at the most wonderful time of the year to offer their fans A Magical Christmas. And they've conjured up a bewitching set of songs to enchant the most discerning of listener. Across a whopping 22 tracks they tackle songs from the season, both new and old (the Andrews Sisters medley is a work of joyous art). There is so much to enjoy here that you'll no doubt find your own favourites but here are my top five highlights from the holiday opus...
  • Homesick ~ an achingly beautiful ballad that captures the sentiment of missing those you love at a time when togetherness and family seem to be everywhere you look. Set to an elegiac piano accompaniment, the ladies add yearning nuance to their textured harmonies, guiding the pretty melody like the wise men following the star. The emotions are so vivid that you feel you can almost reach out and touch them. And it is one of those songs that fits the melancholy playlist but can be revisited all year long.
  • Snow In California ~ with a sumptuous score and expressive, descriptive lyrics, the sisters paint their own winter wonderland just with the spell of their voices. They make the dreamy words sound exquisitely romantic, a lush vocal driven by genuine longing and simmering desire. The chorus is power ballad heaven, yet the delivered with the right amount of passion which shows you don't have to belt it to the rafters to have an emphatic effect.
  • The Power of Christmas ~ a charming bit of nostalgia, this was one of Lisa, Amy and Shelley's first hits over ten years ago and before they were OG3NE. A shuffling jingle bell beat, sassy brass section and a buoyant piano riff craft a splendid backdrop for the trio to unite their voices. I do love a song that brings home what a transformative effect Christmas can have on the world. Feels custom made for Christmas radio and the rousing finale of any Hallmark Holiday Movie.
  • Last Christmas ~ if you ever wanted to hear Wilson Phillips do the Wham classic then this is definitely for you. The version is a slightly slowed down ballad version that focus on the poignant nature of the lyrics, fuelled by the whimsy of regretful acceptance of one's lot in life. Once again, the piano accompaniment is a lilting treat - like little musical snowflakes falling from the skies. With the Wham original in the running to be the UK Christmas number one, this is a charming alternative.
  • All I Want For Christmas Is You ~ For 25 years this song has proved again and again that it is a flawless, modern day classic (and like Wham is riding a wave of anniversary fondness to be the main competitor to Last Christmas claiming the UK Christmas top slot). It is a fairly faithful version but performed with such giddy joy that it is hard not to get swept up in the radiant glitter of the performance. Rousing!
**Ghosts of Christmas past**
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