Carrie Underwood - My Gift (2020)

Reason for Listening:
#10 on the Billboard 200 (Week of 20201205). From the top. Holiday.
Last Week: 25 | Peak: 8 | Weeks on Chart: 9

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This year's holiday album listening kicks off with the - at the time of this writing - highest charting holiday album, My Gift.

Released 20200925.
11 songs. 41:16. My Gift (2020)
11+1 songs. 41:16+03:17. My Gift (Amazon) (2020)
Wikipedia

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Notes:
--20201204--
First listen.
What a great start to the album. I love this version of "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee."
This song features Carrie Underwood's oldest son Isaiah. I suppose his voice sets it apart from other recordings but I can't say I'm a fan of the recording itself.
Upon listening to "Sweet Baby Jesus," I moved "Joyful, Joyful" and "O Come All Ye Faitful" from a "2" to a "3."
Solid, but somewhat underwhelming end ot the album with "Silent Night." Perhaps I expected just a little extra flare in the recording.
After completing the album, I moved "Joyful, Joyful" from a "3" to a "4"

4: "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee";
3: "O Come All Ye Faithful"; "O Holy Night";
2: "Sweet Baby Jesus"; "Mary, Did You Know?"; "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"; "Away in a Manger"; "Silent Night";
1: "Little Drummer Boy" (ft. Isaiah Fisher);
0: "Let There Be Peace"; "Hallelujah" (ft. John Legend);

Summary:
Carrie Underwood really nailed most of the traditional songs on this album and I'm personally happy that she didn't extend too heavily into original songs (three out of the eleven tracks; "Let There Be Peace," "Sweet Baby Jesus," and "Hallelujah"). In particular, I had given two of those original songs a "0." With that being said, it's common for me to assign a "0" to a song I have not heard before.

Upon finishing the album, there was no doubt in my mind that "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" was my favorite track of the album. I didn't realize it at the time, but the song is performed a cappella.

Overall Rating: 5.4/5
Favorite Song: "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee"

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20201228 Comment:
The other day someone I know pointed out that he/she liked "Sweet Baby Jesus." I then listen to it and I felt as if I had gained a new appreciation for it. On a different note, in my household we frequently listen to "Little Drummer Boy" and so Carrie Underwood's version has grown on me a bit. As such, I would move "Sweet Baby Jesus" to a "3" and "Little Drummer Boy" to a "2". I'm not sure if this would fully bump the 5.4 rating to a 5.6 or not. Actually, I think I would have to also bump "Hallelujah" from a "0" to at least a "1". I might say the same for "Let There Be Peace". On paper, that would surely qualify a bump in rating to 5.6. However, I think a full album listen would be the official way to update the rating.

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20211228 Comment:
While not logged on last.fm, I had this album played several times on the Echo Spot. In other words, it might be my favorite holiday album. Looking back at old ratings, I think what I'll have to do is give this album a 5.6 and lower the two holiday albums currently rated a 5.6 to a 5.4 (These Are Special Times and Elvis' Christmas Album).

Overall Rating: 5.6/5