The Heart Of Christmas by Matthew West

Reviewed by Stella Redburn

It's hard to make a Christmas album that makes much impact but the best selling singer/songwriter from Nashville has succeeded with this one. Of the 12 tracks Matthew has written seven himself and they are all strong, catchy songs which balance perfectly the five remaining tracks which are classic Christmas repertoire. Matthew says, "I wanted it to be a fun record," and it certainly is! Right from the opening notes of the opening number "Come On, Christmas" we are swept along with the good-time feel. Matthew has learnt his lessons well from decades of popular music and this song contains all the ingredients of a regular Christmas pop anthem. The third track is the title track and is, in fact, the heart of the album: a beautiful new carol with relevant words and a decent tune. I liked the sentiment of "Give This Christmas Away", which he did with Amy Grant for last year's Christmas VeggieTales release. "Leaving Heaven" is a more serious number in which he duets with country star Vince Gill. He also duets with American Idol star Mandisa in the song "Christmas Makes Me Cry". "One Last Christmas" is a real tear-jerker, inspired by the true story of the Locke family in central Illinois and the local community who decorated their town early for a terminally ill little boy. The traditional songs are good, too. I loved the swinging, brassed-up version of "Jingle Bells" and it's nice to hear "O Holy Night" brought to a very convincing climax. Matthew has a strong but flexible voice that works well in these up-beat arrangements and I recommend this for a Christmas album that's a bit different.