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Over the Rhine
Snow Angels
(Great Speckled Dog)
First Appeared in The Music Box, December 2007, Volume 14, #12
Written by John Metzger
Sat December 8, 2007, 07:45 AM CST
In crafting Snow Angels, its second holiday-oriented affair, Over the
Rhine threw out the plans that most groups tend to follow. Rather than
attempting to cover any of the customary Yuletide standards, the ensemble boldly
built Snow Angels from the ground up. Considering how tired so many
Christmas albums tend to sound, Over the Rhine’s approach is remarkably
refreshing. Nevertheless, it also, at least initially, makes Snow Angels
a little difficult to embrace. If given a chance, though, the set eventually
does reveal its seductive charm.
Over the Rhine doesn’t do any favors for itself by opening Snow Angels
with All I Ever Get for Christmas Is Blue; the solemn sadness that clings
to the tune’s blues, gospel, and R&B setting is enough to give one pause.
Perseverance, however, is key. The jubilant, Beatle-esque bass lines that run
through the subsequent Darlin’ (Christmas Is Coming) poke through the
prevailing mood of despair, thus lifting front gal Karin Bergquist out of her
doldrums. As the rest of the collection unfolds, the band’s methodology begins
to make more sense.
Cleverly, Over the Rhine allowed a few wisps of familiarity to drift through
Snow Angels, and not surprisingly, these moments provide prospective fans
with an opportunity to gain their footing while listening to the endeavor. On Goodbye Charles, for example, the group lovingly pays tribute to Peanuts
creator Charles Schultz by borrowing quite heavily from Vince Guaraldi’s classic
soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas. Similarly, the spiritual carol
O Little Town of Bethlehem is bent into the soothing folk hymn Little
Town, and One Olive Jingle transforms Jingle Bells into a
wonderfully blues-y motif. Elsewhere, the touchstones are less apparent. Snowed in with You finds Over the Rhine stepping onto Sam Phillips’ typical
terrain; Here It Is goes somewhere completely different by crossing
Melissa Etheridge with the Indigo Girls; the title track is a lovely piano
ballad in the spirit of Natalie Merchant’s solo work; and New Redemption Song
perfectly captures the sort of gospel-soul beauty that connects Po’ Girl to The
Band.
As it progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that Snow Angels
serves as a mediation upon love and loss. It simultaneously is shrouded in the
weariness of the waning year and bathed in the optimistic hope that the coming
months will provide some semblance of relief. Nevertheless, Over the Rhine often
struggles to find just the right balance for its pensive ruminations.
Consequently, Snow Angels isn’t likely to be viewed as a holiday classic
by anyone except those long-suffering souls who are tired of the same, old
cheerful refrains that emanate from radio stations and storefronts from Labor
Day until New Year’s Eve.  ½
Other Christmas Album Reviews at The Music Box
Ricky Skaggs - A Skaggs Family Christmas
Mindy Smith - My Holiday
Various Artists - Singers and Songwriters Christmas Songs
Snow Angels is available from
Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
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For UK orders, please
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Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2007 The Music Box
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