LABEL: BEC RECORDINGS
RELEASE DATE: SEPTEMBER 24, 2010

Come All Ye Faithful is a collection of Christmas songs from some of today’s most popular CCM artists.  Jeremy Camp, Chris Tomlin, Bebo Normin, Amy Grant, Shane and Shane, and Kutless are just a few of the big name artists that lend their talents to this holiday soundtrack.  As with most holiday cover albums, the best part about this project is also the worst.  O Come All Ye Faithful is full of songs that we are familiar with and thus there is bound to be something on this album that every listener loves.  But, on the other hand, O Come All Ye Faithful is full of songs that we are familiar with most likely because they are songs we already own, possibly even by some of these same artists.  Yet, despite the possible repetitiveness, this does not mean that the artists here do not do a good job with their given song.

Chris Tomlin’s performance of “O Holy Night,” which sounds like it is being performed live with the audience singing along, has a nice essence about it. “Silent Night,” performed by Amy Grant, is backed up by a choir which lends to a more classic feel.

I particularly enjoyed Shane and Shane’s cozy rendition of the classic “White Christmas.” It gives you the feeling that you are bundled-up by the fireplace with a steaming cup of hot cocoa. Another good performance is by Bebo Normin with his version of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.”

Though O Come All Ye Faithful is full of good songs by talented artists, it just seems a bit unnecessary. I suppose it is popular for artists to come out with a Christmas album, but if you already own these songs, you might not find much value in having the same song by a different singer. On the other hand, if you do not own many Christmas albums and you are a fan of the artists featured on this project, these songs are executed nicely and might be worth checking out. Bottom-line: good classic songs, performed well, but still just more of what we have heard before by different artists.