I said that I would be reviewing this and there's no time like the present. In listening to this, I've concluded that Chris Rupp is basically the musical equivalent of a chameleon. Especially when thinking about some of the other videos that he's put out this year alone. His taste in music is evidently quite varied and part of the fun of being a fan of his is seeing what he'll do next. He's not one to be pigeonholed into one style of music. This is perhaps an odd comparison, but in some ways he reminds me a bit of Eric Church in that respect. Namely, that he basically makes whatever kind of music that he wants.
Luckily for those of us who follow him, we live in a time where he's free to do this. Thanks to Patreon, content creators are able to produce any kind of content that they want without needing the support of a major label. It really is a wonderful thing. It also makes you think about how limiting being on a major label can be. Aside from having the freedom to do as he pleases, Chris is also able to put out as many videos as he feels like putting out. Contrast that to a major label act who may put out 2 or 3 videos a year. If that. Assuming I counted correctly, Chris has put out 20 videos this year. On his own channel. There's 5 official videos on 7th Ave's channel. That's not even counting the unplugged duets that he's in on their channel. Speaking of 7th Ave, in case you missed it, here's my review of their debut album Debut.
Of course, while we can certainly credit Patreon with helping him create all of these videos, the fact is that Chris has an incredible work ethic. He obviously loves creating music; that's apparent with every new video or song that he puts out. It's not just that he releases a lot of music, it's that he releases a lot of great music. A Little Bit of Christmas certainly falls into that category. This is a great album. One that would make a most wonderful addition to your Christmas music collection.
"O Come All Ye Faithful". I never really thought that I could ever more or less groove alone to this song, but I was wrong. This version feels so different from most that I've heard and I enjoy that. I really like the addition of the horns. They definitely add to that wonderful feeling of joy and triumph that the lyrics talk about. Check out the video.
"What Child Is This" featuring Home Free. I'm going to be honest and admit that video hit me right in the feels. I love what Chris has been doing and I love what Home Free has been doing, but hearing Chris sing with the guys again made my heart happy. Plus this was the first time that Chris and Chance have sung together. Yup, it's definitely gotten me feeling all sentimental and such. Suffice to say, this is one of my favorite tracks on A Little Bit of Christmas. I love the way they all sound together! Beautiful arrangement as well.
"Silver Bells". I feel like I can't listen to this without swaying along. It has a very pleasant feel to it that I quite enjoy. Just a nice, uplifting version of this and a very nice vocal by Chris too.
"It Came Upon A Midnight Clear". The first word that comes to mind when I hear this is jazzy. So we're going with it. It's a cool take on this song. I really like the piano solo that's about halfway through. Then the way his voice kind of comes into the forefront right afterwards. Great track.
"Infant Holy, Infant Lowly" featuring the Fox + the Hound. Arguably the prettiest track on the album, I love the way all of their voices sound together. It's just a beautiful and peaceful track. Love this one.
"Joy To The World" featuring 7th Ave. This one gets off to a fairly dramatic start that's pretty surprising, but in a good way. I have never heard "Joy To The World" sound quite like this! This might be the most Chris-like track on here. As in, leave it to him to change it up like this. Great hearing 7th Ave on here; everyone sounds great. Fun track.
"Movin' On" featuring Home Free. This song gets me emotional every single time I hear it. For a number of reasons. One of course being that it brings me back to when we first found out that Chris was moving on from Home Free. It also hits me on a personal level and I can definitely relate to this lyric. We don't need to get into all the ways it does that. It's such a beautiful lyric by Chris and just a beautiful track all the way around.
I have to say that the Christmas album game is strong this year! There's been so many great Christmas albums and this is absolutely among them. Never did I imagine that I could enjoy Christmas music so much in November! I've said it somewhere else, but I pretty much always wait until December to start choosing to listen to Christmas music. So much for that, I suppose. Though in complete honesty, I'm so happy that so many people are putting out these great albums now, in a time when tensions have been so high. These albums make for a nice break. They make me feel peaceful and joyful and those are some feelings that we could all use more of, if you ask me.
So, wonderful job, Chris! If you want to keep up with Chris, and I know that you do, here ya go:
Comments
Post a Comment