I participated in the Idina Menzel Holiday Wishes album review program as a member of One2One Network. I was provided an album to review but all opinions are my own.
I’m always excited to hear new Christmas albums that include my favorite classics, and this year I’m excited to report that, Idina Menzel’s Holiday Wishes will be the main album played at my family’s holiday Open House gathering. Like most people, I like hearing the Christmas songs I’ve grown up signing, but hearing it sung by different artists always livens things up, so I try to pick a new artists each year. While I can’t say I’m over the moon about Menzel’s album, it’s one of the best new ones I’ve heard this season. In all fairness, I have 4 daughters and I’ve heard Menzel’s song “Let It Go” as Elsa on the Frozen movie soundtrack no fewer than once (or 10 times) every day for the past year. In fact, my ONLY experience listening to Menzel is via the Frozen movie / soundtrack. Although most of the songs on Holiday Wishes is a far cry from her passionate rendition of Let It Go, there are some really good tracks on the new album that I’ve enjoyed hearing over and over.
I really really enjoyed Menzel’s Baby It’s Cold Outside duet with Michael Buble. Menzel has the perfect jazzy, sophisticated voice for this song, and I love the way she keeps it very true to the original version. Funny thing – as she’s singing “Baby It’s Cold Outside”, my 9-year-old daughter asks me “But didn’t she say ‘The cold never bothered me anyway?’” (The hard truth is that some actors will simply always be associated with their famous beloved roles, and this is no exception!)
My favorite track on the album, “What are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” is a beautiful jazzy love song of admiration and courtship, and for the mom with several kids, the song took me for a stroll down memory lane. I especially liked the use of the saxophone in this song.
If (1) you’re a Menzel fan and (2) you prefer your Christmas songs to have more of an upbeat tempo, this album is for you. The first track, “Do You Hear What I Hear?” does seem a bit rushed and doesn’t showcase her excellent vocal range, but still I was happy to hear the song on her album because it’s not one that typically popular artists take the time to redo. You can add this to your holiday playlist too; the album is currently out on Warner Bros. records and can be purchased via iTunes or Amazon.
