If you are looking for a some symphonic-rock infused Christmas music with more than a little theatrical flair, Mistletoe Madness by Luminare Christmas! is a pretty good place to start.
There are ten Christmas tunes on the album, some are instrumentals and some have suitably Christmas lyrics. There is a mix of classical tunes, classic Christmas songs and a few new songs. At first, I wasn’t sure what to make of this album. It is produced to an inch of its life and pretty much all the rough edges have been knocked off. Personally, I am quite fond of some rough edges, but when I started thinking of it as a theatre piece, designed to be seen as well as heard, it started to make more sense. As I closed my eyes and listened, I could imagine ice dancers or a spectacular laser light show synchronised to the music, and it all made sense.
There are ten tracks in all: six instrumentals and four with vocals.
The second track, the eponymous “Mistletoe Madness”, is the first instrumental. I like it, but, when you are creating a symphonic rock Christmas album, you are inevitably going to be compared to Trans-Siberian Orchestra and this track (to my ears) is the most Trans-Siberian-ish of the ten tracks on offer with (I feel) a hint of Wizards of Winter in there. Despite this, or possibly because of this, it sounds great. Have a look at the Luminare Christmas! – Mistletoe Madness official live video and see what you think.
In general, I prefer the instrumentals, but the third track is a fairly traditional rendition of “Oh Holy Night”. It starts gently, but there is n interesting build to the big note and then a nicely controlled return to a gentle end.
Track five, “Toy Soldiers”, is another instrumental and is a symphonic rock re-working of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker and I defy anyone of a certain age not to sing, “Everyone’s a fruit and nutcase” as they listen. (And I defy anyone younger than that “certain age” not to say, “What on earth is the reviewer talking about?”.)
My favourite track though, is “Winter”. This is another classical piece that has been given the Luminare Christmas! treatment: the Winter concerti from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The original from Vivaldi is pretty powerful but this is Luminare Christmas!, so you get all the brilliance of Vivaldi with added guitars!
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Track List:
1) The Light That Shines
2) Mistletoe Madness
3) Oh Holy Night
4) Carol of the Bells
5) Toy Soldiers
6) Like A Child
7) A Ray of Hope
8) Winter
9) His Majesty
10) You Look Like Christmas
Given the theatrical nature of the music, if you are able I think it would be worth seeing them live. The tour details are given below but, unfortunately, they are all in the USA, so I will have to make do with the official tour teaser (shown at the end of this review).
Tour details:
December 6 – GREEN BAY, WI – EPIC Event Center
December 7 – CLEAR LAKE, IA – Surf Ballroom
December 11 – ST. PAUL, MN – Fitzgerald Theater
December 12 – MILWAUKEE, WI – Wilson Theater
December 13 – CARTERVILLE, IL – Walker’s Bluff Casino
December 14 – ST. CHARLES, IL – Arcada Theater
December 19 – NEW PHILADELPHIA, OH – Tuscarawas Performing Arts Center
December 20 – NEWARK, OH – Midland Theatre
December 21 – LAFAYETTE, IN – The Long Center
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Header image: composite photo by Justin Roszkowski
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