Sting - "If On a Winter's Night..."

Sting - If On a Winter's Night...
2009, Decca

1. Gabriel's Message
2. Soul Cake
3. There is No Rose of Such Virtue
4. The Snow It Melts the Soonest
5. Christmas at Sea
6. Lo How a Rose E'er Blooming
7. Cold Song
8. The Burning Babe
9. Now Winter Comes Slowly
10. The Hounds of Winter
11. Balulalow
12. Cherry Tree Carol
13. Lullaby For An Anxious Child
14. Hurdy Gurdy Man
15. You Only Cross My Mind in Winter
Bonus Track:
16. Blake's Cradle Song

Last year I watched the lighting of the big tree in New York City and Sting was on playing "Soul Cake" and I absolutely loved it. A lot of that had to do with how different it was from everything else that was being performed. Naturally, I had to look up more about this album which isn't so much a Christmas album as much as it is about the winter season in general. It's also not your standard Sting album. This is folk/acoustic music for sure - very minimalist in a lot of places. Sting doesn't even really use his normal singing voice, but sings in a much lower register. Your mileage may very as to whether you'll like it, but heaven knows I did. It's great to have some seasonal music that is completely different from anything else. I found a few new Christmas favorites from this album like "Soul Cake," "Christmas at Sea," "The Burning Babe," and "Cherry Tree Carol" just to name a few. Also, joy of joys, I got the special edition media book with extra DVD. If you're looking for something different, definitely check this out.

Useless Fact: The version of "Gabriel's Message" on this album is a more morose and acoustic version of Sting's 80's Christmas classic.