Christmas Cards from Ireland EP (review / thoughts)

Christmas Cards from Ireland (Thoughts)

Cover

This cover is certainly different. The merry-go-round was an interesting decision. It's definitely not a cliché choice for a Christmas EP cover. I suppose it coveys a sense of nostalgia and childhood wonder. I thought they might have gone with dancing toys given that was a theme on the EP, but the central graphic choice they settled on works too, I guess. Given that Susan is on the EP instead of Hannah, it made sense not to have photos of the ladies on the cover (that would have just further confused an audience, most of whom by this point will have no idea who's actually in the group anymore).

The gray trees surrounding the merry-go-round, while artistically justifiable within the presented scene, aren't particularly appealing, but do offer a contrast that helps emphasize the merry-go-round. As a digital album, the appeal of the cover is less important than if it were an album that needed to draw attention on a shelf.

The rounded trees reminded me of the cover from Destiny, although I have to say I much preferred the colour scheme on the Destiny cover.

It should be noted, this may be the first Celtic Woman album or EP cover ever to not feature the original Celtic Woman "model" somewhere on the cover. Unless she's hiding in the merry-go-round or behind a tree, I don't see her.

The Toys' Waltz

I found this the most intriguing of the four tracks on the EP. The lyrics, melody, and arrangement were effective at evoking a nostalgic and magical mental scene where enchanted toys dance around the room. It's fresh, fun to listen to, and had me swaying in my seat. Definitely a lower-energy opening number than We Wish You A Merry Christmas from Celtic Woman: The Magic of Christmas, but I certainly enjoyed it and it was a good start to the EP!

O Holy Night

Ah yes, the obligatory "O Holy Night" cover. This is a refreshing arrangement of a song we've heard covered thousands of times in different ways by different artists. It felt like it was arranged sort of like a dance and I kind of liked it approached from that perspective. The track felt underpowered (an epic climax in this song is pretty much expected), but if one of the themes of the EP was to break from the Christmas clichés, the choices for this song were consistent with the theme.

The melody during the brief instrumental bridge was unexpected and sounded a little weird. I thought that was a good opportunity to feature Tara, but alas it was not to be. The harmony sounded nice and it worked for the track ... but I'm a bit confused why it was mixed the way it was . The harmony parts sounded more to me like a Muirgen solo with some choir-backup singers than the clear 3-part-principal harmony we had grown accustomed to during the Gavin Murphy era. Muirgen was by far the most dominant voice during the harmony.

I Saw Three Ships

This one was arranged like a lively march. My mind conjured images of toy soldiers marching around the room for some reason (carryover from The Toys' Waltz, perhaps).

I was half way through the track when, my jaw dropped. "What's this?" I thought. Then, I realized what I was hearing: "That's Tara!" :O She is on the EP! I had been starting to wonder, given that her talents had been frustratingly neglected to this point. Gavin Murphy valued her and knew how to use her effectively. I'm starting to think their current musical director does not. Tara is one of the most talented, expressive violinists on the planet and is now the longest-tenured active member in the group. She deserves to be at least as prominent as the other principal performers. I danced in my seat as her bow danced across her strings. It makes me so happy to hear her!

Then came another surprising twist. A rousing horn-backed into an effective harmony-filled finale. This was another fresh arrangement and was pretty well executed. It didn't have me excited out of my mind like "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" from the Celtic Woman: Home for Christmas album and DVD

Silent Night

Pretty and soothing as one would expect. Susan opens the song with some lovely humming in the background. The harmony in this one was nicely done. The prevalence of humming rather than singing was yet another interesting twist in this collection of songs. I'm actually not sure though if the voices humming were Megan and Muirgen or backup singers. I enjoyed listening to the track, but Daragh's arrangements, including this one, are still struggling mightily to connect with me on any sort of profound emotional level like Gavin Murphy's or David Downes' did.

Overall

It was a pleasant EP to listen to, though like Postcards, there wasn't anything that excited me to the point of cheers, or that impressed me to the point of tears. I liked that:
- It had a fun, cheerful vibe, similar to Celtic Woman: The Magic of Christmas, an album which I dearly love
- That they revived their commitment to harmony, which had been sorely lacking on the Postcards from Ireland album.
- It made an effort to avoid being cliché.

Though the mixing this time around resulted in a much better (I'll call it "less muddy") sound than Postcards, there were still some truly confounding and quite frankly disturbing mixing choices, including:
- Having Muirgen unnecessarily overpower the other singers on multiple occasions, and worse
- Burying Tara's contributions for most of the EP (again). This has become a concerning trend since Gavin Murphy left.

May I for a moment acknowledge how amazing Muirgen sounds on this EP? She by far got the best studio mix of the bunch. Her voice is gorgeous, so one can hardly complain. I do feel bad for the other performers though. I don't feel like the mixing (and maybe in part the arrangements) did them the justice they deserved.

Having listened to this EP a number of times now: I wasn't disappointed like I was with the Postcards album. It was satisfying and enjoyable to listen to, but I wasn't blown away. I can't help but think that this could and should have sounded more special than it did. There wasn't anything breathtaking. Maybe that's just me and The Magic of Christmas, Ancient Land, and the albums before them set a standard so unreasonably high it can never again be achieved. Christmas Cards from Ireland was pleasant to listen to. But I can't help but wonder: if this had been what I'd heard that night years ago when I needed Celtic Woman the most, the night their beautiful music changed my life, would this have been enough...

Looking Forward

The Christmas tour, free from the recent studio mixing woes and with a full orchestra behind four of the most incredible performers in the world, is going to sound great! I'm looking forward to hearing Hannah with the group for the first time and seeing my favourite people doing what they love for all of us.

I Saw Three Ships is probably my favourite track out of the four (The Toys' Waltz does come a close second, though). Postcards from Ireland never really gave Muirgen to show off her "operatic" side, so the fact she does so here is definitely a big plus to the whole EP.

I guess all I need now are the music video for The Toys' Waltz and some photos/videos from the A Christmas Symphony tour when they come...

It would be hard to tell if I needed them most sure if this was in the beginning w/o The Original show, A New Journey (especially) and Song's from the Heart then yep probably wouldn't known them to the degree and impact those 3 earlier shows had and to our lives! One way I love that this direction is more storytelling it is like Celtic Woman as a Holiday Hallmark Card.

This was indeed way better than Postcards from Ireland you may say Toy Waltz and Silent Night made it's own new direction turn setting them apart from Postcards from Ireland style that was well more dramatic. I Saw Three Ships is fantastic but you can take from it that the horns and instrumental is the power here. Celtic Woman has always been either the the vocals the power or an equal slice of both take Going Home from Ancient Land as a perfect example or Home For Christmas as my most Grandiose of wow!

As a fan since it's humble beginning I wouldn't pay much attention or critique on that for for me as long as there's new songs, new albums, former cast revisits, new members new shows then I'm one happy camper!