For over a dozen years now, Carolyn writes a new song for the Christmas Eve service at her church, Blue Mountain Baptist. “Christmas: An Irrational Season” contains seven of them, as well as four Christmas classics and a sweeeeeeet Robbie Robertson cover that just won’t quit. The brief opening "Prelude" sets the album’s tone immediately, its vibrant instrumentation bearing Madeleine L’Engle’s verse: “This is the irrational season/ When love blooms bright and wild/ For if Mary had been filled with reason/ There’d have been no room for the child.” Setting the stage for Carolyn’s signature lyrical wit and artful expression, this short title track moves gently into a brief instrumental quote of “What Child is This” and we’re off to the land of lovely, Arends-style.
One of the strengths of “Christmas: An Irrational Season” is its creative arrangements; Arends and her lively band of merry-makers breathe fresh life into even the most familiar carols, and her original songs are imaginative in their instrumentation as well. You have to love the thick fretless bass under her clear vocals in the bouncy “Come and See,” a song of sheer exuberance that closes out with the interwoven chorus of “Come Let Us Adore Him,” oh yeah, to a calypso beat. See what I mean? “Do Not Be Afraid” is from Carolyn’s 2001 “Travelers,” loping rhythms under lyrics comforting and slightly ironic.
I can’t say enough about the slow-burning groove of Robbie Robertson’s “Christmas Must Be Tonight.” It’s a sizzling arrangement, the organ burning up under Carolyn’s low vocals, so perfect for this quiet rocker with the country heart. Another standout track is her 2004 Christmas Eve offering, “Now in Flesh Appearing,” a rollicking rocker thick with all of the special Arends touches we’ve come to expect and love. Bright and truthful, it salutes the true heroes, those who serve sacrificially, as the song says, “on December 25 or in the middle of July.” And don’t miss that sitar!
She shows her usual lyrical acuity in “The Lord’s Servant,” describing Mary’s reaction to the angel’s announcement: “See Mary was young, she was humble and poor/ And she could not imagine what she could be used for/ But the Spirit within her just started to soar/ She said, “I am the Lord’s servant.” Arends just slips it in so smoothly that you don’t always realize you’re hearing radical truth.
There are so many golden moments on this project. The sizzling vocals of bluesy rocker, “Go Tell it on the Mountain,” the honeyed harmonies of “Come Thou Long-Expected Jesus,” and the warm Christmas cheer of “A Christmas Blessing” are just a few. And it's not important to everybody, but I have to mention the CD’s appealing packaging. Very nicely done.
But I think I’ve passed the point of reviewing and have moved into simple raving, so I’ll simply say: if you’re looking for a new favorite Christmas album, make sure you pick up Carolyn Arends’ lovely “Christmas: An Irrational Season.”
Click here to read the Suite review of Carolyn Arends' last CD, "Pollyanna's Attic."
