1. The Gift Of Incarnation
2. When Christ Was Born
3. Carolina Christmas (with Buddy Greene)
4. Come Celebrate Christmas Morning
5. Christmastime Again
6. In The Fullness Of Time
7. Angels And Oxen
8. Wandering Star
9. Jesus Came (with Cindy Gibbs)
10. To Bethlehem
11. Oh How Tender Was The Man
12. Prelude a la Nativite
13. Heaven Came Down
14. La Nativite Ouverture
15. I Glory In The Cross
ARTIST SITE
REVERB NATION
AMAZON MP3
2. When Christ Was Born
3. Carolina Christmas (with Buddy Greene)
4. Come Celebrate Christmas Morning
5. Christmastime Again
6. In The Fullness Of Time
7. Angels And Oxen
8. Wandering Star
9. Jesus Came (with Cindy Gibbs)
10. To Bethlehem
11. Oh How Tender Was The Man
12. Prelude a la Nativite
13. Heaven Came Down
14. La Nativite Ouverture
15. I Glory In The Cross
ARTIST SITE
REVERB NATION
AMAZON MP3
This is a classic case of "never judge a book by its cover" (or an album). This cover art just screams at me "run fast and far". I don't care what the current Doctor Who says, bow-ties are NOT cool--never have been, never will be. But I read that Cindy Gibbs shared vocals on "Jesus Came" and decided it was worth a look see.
Michael Milton is a bit of a renaissance man in the Christian world--singer, songwriter, author, motivational speaker, theologian, pastor, and the Chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary--and "When Heaven Came Down" is his first ever Christmas/Advent album. At the moment, this is showing as a digital-only release but, should hard copies be available later, you'd likely find them first at Music for Missions.
Milton has a voice and style that lies in the general neighborhood of Dan Fogelberg and James Taylor (a pretty nice neighborhood)--a soft pop folk with country and bluegrass tinges. His singing and songwriting have the kind of earnest simplicity of a Jim Weatherly. And all 15 tracks are originals. In short, I was kind of impressed.
While there is, needless to say, plenty of music focused on the deep religious aspects of the holiday, there are a few tracks that are more accessible to those of us who want our Christmas with just a modest amount of sermon. "Christmastime Again" is a beautiful track that any Adult Contemporary, Pop, or Modern Country station would be proud to feature and one, I'd wager, that will get plenty of covers down the road. Yeah, that song's a keeper for sure.
As mentioned earlier, Cindy Gibbs joins Milton on "Jesus Came", sounding for all the world like a young Alison Krauss. There are also female vocals on several of the other tracks, so I'm just going to assume that Cindy was more involved than the pre-release publicity suggests.
There's a lot to like here. If I had one complaint, it would be that the album opens with a rousing Irish number, "The Gift Of Incarnation", but never touches that level of energy again. Personal peeve, I suppose, but I think your opening number should be a keynote--essentially setting the mood for the rest of the disc. "The Gift Of Incarnation" would have served as a nice change of pace mid-record but instead hits me like a double shot of espresso before bedtime. That nit aside, "When Heaven Came Down" from Michael Milton is a really sweet record that should and will appeal to a wide range of tastes. Just don't let the bow-tie scare you off.
Michael Milton is a bit of a renaissance man in the Christian world--singer, songwriter, author, motivational speaker, theologian, pastor, and the Chancellor and CEO of Reformed Theological Seminary--and "When Heaven Came Down" is his first ever Christmas/Advent album. At the moment, this is showing as a digital-only release but, should hard copies be available later, you'd likely find them first at Music for Missions.
Milton has a voice and style that lies in the general neighborhood of Dan Fogelberg and James Taylor (a pretty nice neighborhood)--a soft pop folk with country and bluegrass tinges. His singing and songwriting have the kind of earnest simplicity of a Jim Weatherly. And all 15 tracks are originals. In short, I was kind of impressed.
While there is, needless to say, plenty of music focused on the deep religious aspects of the holiday, there are a few tracks that are more accessible to those of us who want our Christmas with just a modest amount of sermon. "Christmastime Again" is a beautiful track that any Adult Contemporary, Pop, or Modern Country station would be proud to feature and one, I'd wager, that will get plenty of covers down the road. Yeah, that song's a keeper for sure.
As mentioned earlier, Cindy Gibbs joins Milton on "Jesus Came", sounding for all the world like a young Alison Krauss. There are also female vocals on several of the other tracks, so I'm just going to assume that Cindy was more involved than the pre-release publicity suggests.
There's a lot to like here. If I had one complaint, it would be that the album opens with a rousing Irish number, "The Gift Of Incarnation", but never touches that level of energy again. Personal peeve, I suppose, but I think your opening number should be a keynote--essentially setting the mood for the rest of the disc. "The Gift Of Incarnation" would have served as a nice change of pace mid-record but instead hits me like a double shot of espresso before bedtime. That nit aside, "When Heaven Came Down" from Michael Milton is a really sweet record that should and will appeal to a wide range of tastes. Just don't let the bow-tie scare you off.
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