Search - Skip Ewing :: Following Yonder Star

Christmas Music For The Ages

musemaker@innocent.com | Asheville, NC | 06/30/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's one thing to cover all the requisite traditional material when making a country Christmas album, but quite another to successfully alter their arrangements and make them your own. Skip Ewing reveals another of his many talents here, pulling it off with style, and stopping along the way to remind us what Christmas is really all about. I remember when I first put this in my CD player and walked away from it, then I heard that VOICE: "O come, all ye faithful..." I had to go back, sit down and just listen. I think the medley for "Following Yonder Star" is just about the coolest thing I've ever heard in my life. It has a very jazzy feel, very infectious, you'll still be hearing these songs hours after the CD has stopped. Ditto for "Drummer Boy"...but all of that has been done before. Few people dare to write NEW Christmas songs anymore in country music. Skip wrote five for this collection, several of them worthy of that "classic" title. Want the other side of Skip's voice? Check out his lullaby, it's awesome. Want something with a little more substance? This album sports "It Wasn't His Child", from "The Will To Love". It's the definitive Christmas song of our time, and has since been recorded by other artists. Skip found a new perspective for Mary in "I Trust You". He didn't abandon his country roots to make a Christmas album; he's given us "Mrs. Santa Claus", revealing the woman behind the man. It's wonderful to just sit and envision those little elves dancing 'round the tree. How many modern Christmas songs get played year in and year out these days? "Christmas Carol" has been doing it for at least 8 years now. I have an aunt whose name is Carol, and she cries every time she hears it, to this day."

My utmost favorite!

Alex | Houston, TX USA | 11/30/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This has to be my favorite Christmas album. I probably have 20 or more, but this is the one that gets played over and over. So original, so funny, so haunting. I love all the songs -- especially the originals. If you can only afford one Christmas album -- make this the one."

Too good to pass up!

Floyd | 11/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It sure is a shame some people just don't 'make it big' as an artist. Skip's fans, myself included, are diehards- and that makes this Christmas album all the more fantastic. There are some liberties taken with a few arrangements, but the variety on the disc will only make you cherish it for years to come. I also think it's a shame that some people feel they have to charge more than triple what the album sold for new, even though it's out of print. Take my advice. Buy the mp3 version or search your pawn shops for a used copy. It's worth the search for the treasure of the man with a golden voice."