Posted on: December 22, 2007 Posted by: James McQuiston Comments: 0

Rick Springfield – Christmas With You / 2007 Gomer / 15 Tracks / http://www.rickspringfield.com /

Of course, Rick Springfield is the mastermind behind the song “Jessie’s Girl”. This song was released a good twenty years ago and the catchiness of the song has been enough to keep Rick Springfield at least somewhat in the public eye since then. However, there has not really been a follow-up that has reached the level of fame as “Jessie’s Girl”, even if there have been a number of new tracks in the years that have followed. The last time that Springfield even approached the charts was in 2004, when eir single “Beautiful You” reached #28 on the United States adult contemporary charts.

“Christmas With You” is Springfield’s latest album, and features Springfield’s rendition of a number of Christmas classics. These Christmas tracks include “Oh Little Town of Bethlehem”, “Hark The Herald Angels Sing”, and “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear”. For those individuals that like hearing new Christmas and holiday-themed songs, there is one track present that will catch your interest: “Christmas With You”, the disc’s first track, is an original and is dedicated to all of the troops that have fallen since the beginning of the Iraq war. While the current trend of stars doing a Christmas album has created a number of weak albums (Michael Bolton’s comes to mind), Rick Springfield has been sufficiently distanced from the limelight for a long enough time that eir compositions and performances on here are solid.

Ey cannot rest on eir laurels any more, so the renditions of these songs are equivalent to a full time musician and their interpretations.  Of particular note during “Christmas With You” is Springfield’s version of “Carol of the Bells”. It is hard to screw up “Carol”, but the intensity of the title instrument is mirrored quite nicely in Springfield’s voice. “Christmas With You” has the strong songwriting and skillful instrumentation enough to possibly allow Springfield some time back in the limelight during the holidays. The song is memorable enough that I could even it becoming the next “Christmas Shoes”, which would ensure that individuals fired up the song any time the holidays drew near. Regardless, Springfield’s Christmas album shines brightly over any of those put forth by stars, whether current or musical. Give the disc a listen if you can stand the Christmas standards, and you will be shocked at how much Springfield has evolved over the years.

Top Tracks: Christmas With You, I’ll Be Home For Christmas

Rating: 6.8/10

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