Saturday, 4 December 2021

Anthony Nunziata - Together For Christmas


3 WEEKS UNTIL CHRISTMAS!!

Buy-stream Together for Christmas here (external link)

It is incredibly hard not to fall very much in love with Anthony Nunziata as soon as he sings - and when he takes on the most wonderful time of the year, he casts a spell so enchanting you would swear he is auditioning to be the next Santa Claus. He teased us a couple of years ago with a new seasonal song called The Greatest Wish (with Jim Brickman) so it really is a treat to have a full album of all new music that is destined to become the soundtrack for many snowy winters to come. With a co-writing credit on each song, Anthony demonstrates his innate understanding of what makes for a future timeless Christmas song - full of lush arrangements, evocative lyrics and enough heartfelt emotion to power Santa's sleigh all night long on Christmas Eve...

The album opens with Christmas Everywhere, a vivid description of how magical NYC can be when decorated with ornate icicles and falling flakes. His lyrical prose paints a Christmas card picture with each note, while that delicate piano provides warming charm. First Christmas encapsulates all the wide eyed romance, which seems so much more sparkling at Yuletide, and swathes it in an effusive score that ensconces the listener in a melodic hug. It will make you feel merry and bright all the live long day, like a sing-song Love, Actually. Together for Christmas sees Anthony accompanied by acoustic guitar; this setting shows what a gifted narrator of stories he really is. Elegiac strings sweep in to enhance the yearning in the lyrics, then lift the emotion of the chorus to seventh heaven and beyond.

New York on New Year's Eve takes us beyond the season, a lovely lounge ballad that is the belated response to What Are You Doing New Year's Eve. Sumptuous piano crafts an elegant backdrop whilst the wide-eyed wonder in Anthony's vocal helps build the anticipation. And that middle 8? Magical as The Greatest Wish, Anthony's single from a couple years back. You are immersed in a utopia world where kindness and generosity of spirit are all around you - and how you can find this in the redemptive power of love. Anthony sings with a soulful sincerity that caresses every word which comes out of his mouth. Mama's Little Angels is a contemporary hymn with a solemn, reverent accompaniment that is both intricate and intimate. 

Take a holiday vacation for Caribbean Christmas, bringing a sunny island vibe to the music - a chance to (at least while the song plays) have some finger click fun that transports you away from the hustle and bustle of the run up to the big day to a far more relaxed environment. Baby, It's Christmas Time is all the encouragement you need to live in the moment whilst immersing you in a frisky canter of a song that lets your heart be light, whatever worries of the day may be plaguing you. Surely the cure for what ails you. Then it is time to work out who your Secret Santa is this year - let's face it, if Anthony were singing to you the way he does here, you'd probably be quite glad that he was serenading you instead of getting you a Starbucks gift card...

The album ends with two pensive, reflective songs that lean into the true meaning of the holidays. God Bless This Home is complete with a piano duet partner that tells as much of the story as Anthony's reverent vocal does. It is truly a radiant performance, the type that live in concert would command the audience so you could hear a pin drop before the rapturous applause. Similarly, Just One Prayer Away is a modern day hymn to add to your Christmas eve carol service - a theatrical soliloquy that is just such a shimmering, elegant and hopeful dance that you'll want to play whenever you need a boost throughout the year. Mr Nunziata really has bought together a selection of glorious songs that tackle every emotion, leaving you joyful and triumphant. 

**Ghosts of Christmas Past**
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