Collaborateurs – Put It On The Sleigh
Collaborateurs – Put It On The Sleigh – Album Review
I’m sorry. I am the Christmas music in your mall. I am the display that changed on Nov. 1st to Christmas mayhem the minute Halloween is done. It might be the 6th today, but let’s face it….I’m already reviewing the first holiday album of the year…could be in for a very, very long couple months for a guy like me, who’d be just fine if I didn’t hear another Xmas song for, like, the duration of my life…
Ok…my rant is out of the way…I clearly haven’t done my shopping, haven’t even thought about it – I’ll try not to be grumpy…
For the first Christmas album of the year, we have an offering from Collaborateurs, a band with a great knack for creating memorable melodies, rhythmic songwriting and well put-together songs. I mean, if we’re comparing these to other holiday songs out there from across the planet – I personally see no reason why this set of new songs on Put It On The Sleigh wouldn’t match up to your favorite Xmas songs of the past. These are instant Christmas classics, written in that timeless holiday style.
What is very clever, is the tremendous amount of diversity within the songs. From funk to rock, to soft, melodic songs; this album covers a whole year’s worth of genres & styles while being lyrically-based around one month, or perhaps even one day. There’s classics redone, like the funked-out “Frosty,” the playful jazzy “Winter Wonderland” and haunting instrumental of “What Child Is This?” in amongst several new Christmas tunes brought to us from the original minds in Collaborateurs.
“What Child Is This?” is a fantastic example of Collaborateurs getting it all to come together perfectly. The saxophone in this track is just phenomenal. Overall, there’s no real weak point musically on the album – these songs are all extremely well-played, written and produced. I often wonder what becomes of these albums in January-November – if this band is at risk for anything, it’s that it would be extremely bizarre to roll-out blasting Put It On The Sleigh with the top down, driving the highway in July.
I’ll fully admit…it’s hard NOT to enjoy. You read the beginning of this review…you know I tried my hardest to resist…but there’s undeniable fun here on Put It On The Sleigh. Tracks like “Florida Christmas,” “Mellow Fellow” and “Every Christmas” are songs that I found myself singing along to in my repeat listens. “Every Christmas” was a real highlight for me on this album…loved the melody in this song and really thought this was another glimpse into Collaborateurs at the very best of themselves.
I can only hope….that one day they’ll make an album for the OTHER eleven months of the year! But since we ARE heading towards the holiday season – we’ll take this for now! YOU can take this album as well – and the best way to do it is to donate to a charity project they’re involved with called Gathering Of Mountain Eagles, which supports wounded veterans and their families overcome their obstacles. By donating here at this link: http://www.gofundme.com/collaborateurs you’ll get yourself a free copy of the entire Put It On The Sleigh album from Collaborateurs, get some great holiday music and start the season off on the right note by doing something awesome. Can’t say no to that!
Find out more about Collaborateurs at: https://www.facebook.com/collaborateurs
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