O Little Town Of Bethlehem - Steven Curtis Chapman
O Come All Ye Faithful - Tobymac
What Child Is This? - Zoegirl
The Christmas Shoes - Newsong
I'll Be Home For Christmas - Jaci Velasquez
Angels We Have Heard On High - Chris Tomlin
Little Drummer Boy - Jars Of Clay
Away In A Manger - Casting Crowns
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel - Third Day
O Holy Night - BarlowGirl
Don't Save It All For Christmas Day - Avalon
We Wish You A Merry Christmas - Cece Winans
Track Listings (15) - Disc #2
Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas - Joy Williams
God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen - Bethany Dillon
Welcome To Our World - Michael W. Smith
Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow - Matthew West
Mary Did You Know? - Clay Aiken
Jingle Bell Rock - Point Of Grace
We Three Kings - Building 429
It Came Upon The Midnight Clear - Kutless
Deck The Halls - Relient K
Go Tell It On The Mountain - Big Daddy Weave
Silent Night - Selah
Feliz Navidad - David Crowder Band
The First Noel - Mark Schultz
Do You Hear What I Hear? - FFH
Sleigh Ride - Jump 5
Christian artists and Christmas music go together like milk and cookies left for Santa. But for every cold, delicious glass of milk there's a stale cookie. Same can be said for WOW Christmas. There are plenty of traditiona... more »l renderings like the delightful "Jingle Bell Rock" from Point of Grace, who could sing pages out of a phonebook and make it sound like the holidays; Zoegirl's "What Child Is This?"; Casting Crowns' "Away In A Manger"; Matthew West's "Let It Snow"; and, Mark Schultz's "The First Noel." For a different spin on the classics, check out Rebecca St. James' "Hark The Herald Angels Sing," otherwordly and strangely appealing; Tobymac's reggae-tinged "O Come All Ye Faithful"; Relient K's "Deck The Halls," which holds just enough energetic chutzpah to escape any charges of irreverency; and Bethany Dillon's smoldering jazzy take on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." New classics here give us a smile like Newsong's "The Christmas Shoes", David Crowder's south-of-the-border "Feliz Navidad," and Jars of Clay's ethereal "Little Drummer Boy." As for those overbaked cookies--FFH's close-but-no-cigar reworking of "Do You Hear What I Hear" or Jump 5's beat-silly "Sleigh Ride" will still be on the plate when Santa splits town. --Michael Lyttle« less
Christian artists and Christmas music go together like milk and cookies left for Santa. But for every cold, delicious glass of milk there's a stale cookie. Same can be said for WOW Christmas. There are plenty of traditional renderings like the delightful "Jingle Bell Rock" from Point of Grace, who could sing pages out of a phonebook and make it sound like the holidays; Zoegirl's "What Child Is This?"; Casting Crowns' "Away In A Manger"; Matthew West's "Let It Snow"; and, Mark Schultz's "The First Noel." For a different spin on the classics, check out Rebecca St. James' "Hark The Herald Angels Sing," otherwordly and strangely appealing; Tobymac's reggae-tinged "O Come All Ye Faithful"; Relient K's "Deck The Halls," which holds just enough energetic chutzpah to escape any charges of irreverency; and Bethany Dillon's smoldering jazzy take on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." New classics here give us a smile like Newsong's "The Christmas Shoes", David Crowder's south-of-the-border "Feliz Navidad," and Jars of Clay's ethereal "Little Drummer Boy." As for those overbaked cookies--FFH's close-but-no-cigar reworking of "Do You Hear What I Hear" or Jump 5's beat-silly "Sleigh Ride" will still be on the plate when Santa splits town. --Michael Lyttle
Diane R. from MIDDLE ISLAND, NY Reviewed on 1/10/2010...
I like this CD with it's variety of styles in music while still singing the old favorites.
CD Reviews
Wow, unlike others in the series this has 15 new songs
Michael Dalton | Eureka, CA United States | 10/22/2005
(3 out of 5 stars)
"What sets "WOW Christmas" apart from others in the "WOW" series is 15 new recordings. That's enough new songs to fill one of the two discs.
It's the new recordings that stand out. They sound fresher and more interesting than the songs gleaned from previous releases. One of my favorites is "O Little Town of Bethlehem" by Steven Curtis Chapman. This beautiful, acoustic rendition is from his new Christmas recording. It makes me want to hear his new release.
Chris Tomlin's acoustic version of "Angels We Have Heard On High" is a pleasant surprise. I had expected a modern worship sound.
With so many artists, the music styles are diverse. Rebecca St. James gives "Hark the Herald Angels Sings" a modern Euro-pop/rock sound. Third Day does an excellent rock version of "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." Surprisingly, BarlowGirl rock the hardest with "O Holy Night." Bethany Dillon combines light jazz with alternative country on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." It sounds a little like Norah Jones. "Let It Snow, Let It Snow, Let It Snow" by Matthew West is a likeable straightforward rendition that could appeal to anyone.
One of the biggest surprises was FFH's "Do You Hear What I Hear." The stanzas are punctuated by music that sounds like the Grateful Dead. The music is creative and energetic. They have never sounded so good.
Though the new songs stand out, there are some fine older recordings like "Welcome To Our World" by Michael W. Smith and Amy Grant's "A Christmas To Remember." The Newsong classic "The Christmas Shoes" is also included.
"
Modern sounding Christmas music for a modern world
Music Lover | USA | 11/21/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"My wife loves Christmas but I used to work in a mall so listening to traditional Christmas music still, to some degree, makes me cringe. In my attempt to find something we can both enjoy I picked up the new WOW Christmas 2005. This album is all about modern music. If you're looking for traditional sounding music you might be disappointed in this (leaving room for error based upon the fact that while this has a modern sound it's done very well). There are 15 new songs and 15 'traditional' songs so this album has something for everyone. While I mentioned above that the songs are done in 'modern' sounds, keep in mind that the genre of modern changes. Natalie Grant offers "Joy To The World" for example while has a modern gospel sound to it. Rebecca St. James' "Hark the Herlad Angels Sing" is done in a modern rock sound. Steven Curtis Chapman's "O Little Town of Bethlehem" has a traditional sound to it while the very next track is "O Come All Ye Faithful" by Toby Mac which can be called hip hop. As you can see there's truly something for everyone. It's very different and yet it all blends together - isn't that part of what Christmas is about? The Christmas season brings many different people with many different backgrounds together and this is truly celebrated with this offering."
Not your traditional christmas music
Gary Breckenbridge | 11/15/2005
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I was expecting traditional christmas songs and that's why I got the cd. But the songs are done in a modern style and they only slightly resemble the old good traditional christmas songs we all know and love.
I was very dissapointed."
Disc #2 is the best
L. Sappington | Montana | 11/26/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"The first disc remakes most of the songs you've known from childhood, but they make you prefer the traditional tune. HOWEVER, the second disc is incredible, which includes a surprisingly sultry rendition of God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen by young talent Bethany Dillon and a tearjerking Mary Did You Know by Clay Aiken.