Following up on her critically acclaimed solo release, “Blue on Blue,” Leigh Nash brings her enchanting magic to seven tracks of holiday fare, a sweet mix of classic, contemporary pop, and even some old-school swing. “Wishing For This” will be available digitally on iTunes and other DSPs on November 14th. I think it might be just the antidote for the dreaded Christmas frenzy looming ahead.
Leigh Nash’s delicate vocals tend to exemplify sweetness and light to most listeners, a condition that I bet she finds confining at times. I’m not saying that her music doesn’t communicate wisdom and insight; “Blue on Blue” forever silences that charge. But her lilting charm makes it her inescapable fate to bring innocent wonder to mind. So I’m not sure that Frank Loesser’s Christmas classic, “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” was the best opener for the album. And let me preface this by confessing that this is a longtime favorite song of mine, with its swinging vocal interplay and softly suggestive lyrics. Gabe Dixon does a pretty straightforward Tony Bennett take on his end, and Nash holds her own nicely against the softly muted orchestration. But her breathy vocals come off just a bit light to me for this song.
That one complaint aside, I move on to rave about every other track. Her vocal qualities coincide perfectly with the optimism of the rolling, rollicking “Maybe This Christmas,” and the same magic continues on George Michael’s hooky pop-rocker, “Last Christmas.” Both tracks are pitch perfect and just fun to listen to.
“O Holy Night” has been sensitively arranged by Nash, the stark keyboards sparkling quietly beneath her gently soaring vocals. Here her voice personifies a quality of purity deeply enhancing to this classic holiday song. Carol Hall’s mournful, melodic “Hard Candy Christmas” follows perfectly, a tribute to one of Nash’s idols, Dolly Parton. Kate York’s country-flaired take on the holiday, “External Gifts,” reminds us of the reason for the season, its steel guitar twanging gently beneath Nash’s soft vocals.
And the self-penned closing track is all Nash, its delicate arrangements showcasing her famous strengths: those inimitable clear vocals, her straightforward perspective, and velvet-fist-in-iron-glove truth-telling. Very true to the contented voice of “Blue on Blue,” Nash closes this wonderful holiday project powerfully with “Wishing For This.” Suitable for tree-trimming, present wrapping, and just sitting in unadulterated pleasure, Leigh Nash’s “Wishing For This” will make your Christmas bright.
