Fingerpicking Champion and GRAMMY winner Doug Smith's second Holiday release is  A Guitar For Christmas  and features... 

 

O Come All Ye Faithful          

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear         

Wassail                

O Holy Night                

Carol of the Bells           

The First Noel                 

Coventry Carol            

Ding Dong Merrily on High         

Away in a Manger              

Veni Veni Emmanuel              

Christ is Born                  

Still, Still, Still         

God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen      

What Child is This 

 

FROM CHRISTMAS REVIEWS ...

Our Review

Great instrumental guitar music for the holidays depends on several important factors. First, the artist has to know his way around a guitar. Grammy-winning, International Fingerstyle Guitar Champion Doug Smith certainly brings the right credentials to the job, and his musicianship here is astounding. Second, song selection can make or break a release. Smith's A Guitar for Christmas presents 14 traditional carols, the classic ancient pieces that ring warm and true in the hands of a superbly talented guitarist like Smith. Even better, the music extends over nearly an hour (56 minutes!), making each track average a full four minutes in length. This brings me to my final--and perhaps most significant--element: the arrangements. Since we have all heard these traditional tunes a zillion times over our lifetimes, it is important that the artist bring something fresh and compelling to the holiday interpretations. Here, Smith uses the four-minute-per-track average to develop and unwind thoughtfully conceived and exquisitely executed arrangements of the seasonal selections we know and love.

Honestly, A Guitar for Christmas is outrageously good. From the opening bars of his first cut (Oh Come All Ye Faithful), I was hooked. Smith's incredibly rapid cascade of fingerstylin' beauty had me wondering whether he might have two or three Smith clones joining him on the album. The arrangement transitions from the richly layered tapestry to a more serene, minimalist presentation of the melody before building once more into a delicately-constructed and dramatic wall of acoustic sound. This sweet combination of the straightforwardly simple with the sensationally complex typifies the entire release. Smith has the heart to convey deep emotion in the more elementary passages and the artistic chops to sell the most sophisticated sections with deceptive ease. In fact, his rendition of Carol of the Bells brought tears to my eyes; the creative midsection had me holding my breath as the bars crescendoed, then receded once again into the fragile melody.

I must confess to a certain bias for acoustic guitar music for the holidays. The instrument's warm and organic voice just seems so naturally matched for the songs and sentiments of the season. Music like this provides the perfect backdrop for just about any holiday activity or function; your family and friends will enjoy basking in the glow of Smith's artistry.

Doug Smith's excellent A Guitar for Christmas is the gift that keeps on giving. If, like me, you relish holiday favorites in the cheerful context of brilliant fretwork and innovative arrangements, you will not find a guitar album better than this. Bravo!

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2007)