Reviews
Artist:Gretchen Peters
Album:Northern Lights
Label:Scarlett Letter Records
Tracks:12
Website:http://www.gretchenpeters.com/
I guess you could say it was a desire to get back to the simple things of Christmas that led Gretchen Peters to the path which resulted in her first Christmas album. Northern Lights. Gretchen has said of the origins of the album;
“I thought that I would really like to make an album that you could put on when you’re sick of the canned music, sick of the crowds, something that maybe gets a little deeper at the mystery and beauty of that time of year, without wearing out all the old clichés. It was a nebulous sort of idea, but then we were on tour in the UK in January, and I started messing around on the guitar, playing the chords for Vince Guaraldi’s Christmas Time Is Here without really realizing that’s what I was doing -- and as it turned out I was playing the wrong chords, too,” This led to an idea, which in turn led to a pairing of traditional carols and original pieces penned by Gretchen, which in turn led to the birth of Northern Lights.
I was interested to learn that the striking cover image of the Northern Lights was taken from a picture which Gretchen and longtime musical partner Barry Walsh, stumbled upon one day whilst out on the road in Europe.
When writing the title track, Northern Lights, Peters found herself reflecting on the Christmas at the end of her marriage, several years previously; “Being alone at the holiday can be daunting, especially if you’ve never done it before. I had friends around me, but there were times I knew I would inevitably find myself alone. I remember what I was craving most then was peace. It turned out to be one of my favourite Christmases, actually.” As a result the CD is ultimately about hope and connection and the mystery surrounding the midst of the winter season.
These concepts weave like thread throughout the album, to connect what was perhaps an unlikely set of songs into a wonderful collection.
Gretchen's take on Gordon Lightfoot’s Song for a Winters’ Night opens the album . Another cover titled Careful How You Go, a co-write between Kim Richey and Will Kimbrough. The story of a walk through the town on a winter’s night brings together the idea of connection and being alone which we see throughout the album. “My friends are some of the best songwriters in the world, so I e mailed them and said what do you have? Kim sent this over and said I wrote this when I was in London one year at Christmas, but it’s not a Christmas song. It was exactly what I was looking for” Peters said, ”It has that feeling of a winter night.”
There are also traditional carols on the album, all recorded in a minimalistic way totally befitting of the rest of the collection. I Wonder As I Wander is enhanced by Barry Walsh's almost intuative guitar accompaniment, whilst In the Bleak Midwinter must be the ultimate carol connected to the theme of loneliness and isolation.
Charlie's Angels, has an interesting slant in that in lieu of the traditional 'Glorias' we have the lick from Charlie Brown. An intriguing concept which somehow works. Who's to say what 21st century angels would choose to sing, anyway?!
Gretchen tried to portray December Child from the perspective of Mary as a mother, perhaps connecting with her own experience as a mother, to produce a truly beautiful, almost ethereal song.
My personal favourite , however, is Waitin' on Mary - a truly stunning addition, made all the better for Barry Walsh's guitar, and the harmony vocals of Gretchen's Wine, Women and Song sisters, Matraca Berg and Suzy Bogguss. Their voices mesh together like hot chocolate and a coal fire on a cold day, to create what is now certainly one of my absolute favourite Christmas songs.
Of the decision to close the collection with another traditional carol, Silent Night, Gretchen has stated that her grandmother always used to tell them they were related to the hymn's writer, so its inclusion was a little nod to her grandmother, really.
In typical Gretchen Peters style she discreetly made the decision that for every CD sold, part of the proceeds from Northern Lights will be given to Room at the Inn, a Nashville based group which gives aid to the homeless, especially in the cold winter months when they need warm shelter and food, much like Mary and Joseph did that very first Christmas, without which we would never have had Northern Lights.
Ultimately this is the perfect collection of music for those cold nights and days when you just want to curl up inside, watch the weather happen outside your window, and let the music remind you of the beauty and magic of not only Christmas, but of Winter as a whole. It is refreshing to have a CD of seasonal music which instead of being full of cliched, time limited songs about Santa and Reindeer, could actually be played throughout the winter months, long after the Twelfth day of Christmas is over.
Helen Mitchell