| 1. Something About the Holidays 2. Christmas in the City 3. Here's to the New Year 4. Wouldn't Be a Merry Christmas 5. A Christmas Song (String Quartet) 6. Vixen (Remix) 7. Fa La La (Acoustic) ELIZABETH CHAN'S WEB SITE ELIZABETH CHAN ON FACEBOOK PUCHASE FROM AMAZON PURCHASE FROM AMAZON MP3 |
Elizabeth Chan left a high paying executive gig to make Christmas music. You gotta respect that. In her heart, she's wanted nothing more in her whole life than to write and sing a song that will become a Christmas classic--a standard of the season like "White Christmas" or "Last Christmas" (and, hey, who among us saw "Last Christmas" becoming a holiday staple? Yeah, sure you did.). It's been a hard road getting this far, but Liz is not giving up. Not at all. She's gained oodles of insight and confidence in her quest--as much, if not more so, from the failures as from the successes.
In 2012, Elizabeth released her first EP of holiday tracks, "Naughty & Nice". A full-length album followed last year--"Everyday Holidays". It's another EP, this year, from the reigning "Queen of Christmas". "Christmas In The City" includes a pair of remixes, a string quartet version of "A Christmas Song", a countrified re-working of "Wouldn't It Be A Merry Christmas" from "Naughty & Nice" (fwiw, I preferred the original), and three new Liz Chan originals. "Something About The Holidays", which leads off the set, is lovingly flavored with Motown and cinnamon (and maybe a pinch of nutmeg). The title track is a pretty ballad about Christmas in New York. And "Here's To The New Year" is a disco inspired dance number.
Only time will determine whether Liz has a timeless classic on "Christmas In The City". Clearly, she has her own favorites among her holiday compositions. But it's really up to us. Me, I have my own playlist of Christmas In New York songs--its not exactly untrod ground. My favorites would be "Christmas Here" by Wednesday Week, "New York City Christmas" from the Cover Girls, Darlene Love's "All Alone On Christmas" from "Home Alone 2", and "Christmas Serenade" by Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge. So that's going to be a tough playlist to crack. And we've certainly had a long string of Motown and Spector-esque holiday tunes. Given all I said about Disco in my Salsoul write-up, its either hugely ironic or a sign of early onset dementia that the tune I immediately gravitated to was "Here's To The New Year".
As Mariah Carey captured the early 60s in her now standard "All I Want For Christmas Is You", Liz Chan captures the eighties to perfection on "Here's To The New Year" (although purists would demand a 9 minute 12" version). I could listen to that one over and over again. Even the 30 second sample was enough to transport me back to those days--to the best memories from a decade of which I'm otherwise not overly fond. And that makes sense to me, too. Mariah's 60s flavored slice of apple pie and ice cream was released 20 years ago. 20 years later, it would seem only natural that listeners' sense of nostalgia would be 20 years on as well. And, other than the Salsoul album and a few low-budget rip-offs, how much really good classic disco Christmas music is out there? I think "Here's To The New Year" is a winner. Of course, the even further irony is that that song is a "New Year's" song, not a Christmas song. Sorry Liz; looks like you're going to have to do another album for next year. ;^) Seriously, please do.
In 2012, Elizabeth released her first EP of holiday tracks, "Naughty & Nice". A full-length album followed last year--"Everyday Holidays". It's another EP, this year, from the reigning "Queen of Christmas". "Christmas In The City" includes a pair of remixes, a string quartet version of "A Christmas Song", a countrified re-working of "Wouldn't It Be A Merry Christmas" from "Naughty & Nice" (fwiw, I preferred the original), and three new Liz Chan originals. "Something About The Holidays", which leads off the set, is lovingly flavored with Motown and cinnamon (and maybe a pinch of nutmeg). The title track is a pretty ballad about Christmas in New York. And "Here's To The New Year" is a disco inspired dance number.
Only time will determine whether Liz has a timeless classic on "Christmas In The City". Clearly, she has her own favorites among her holiday compositions. But it's really up to us. Me, I have my own playlist of Christmas In New York songs--its not exactly untrod ground. My favorites would be "Christmas Here" by Wednesday Week, "New York City Christmas" from the Cover Girls, Darlene Love's "All Alone On Christmas" from "Home Alone 2", and "Christmas Serenade" by Johnny Maestro & The Brooklyn Bridge. So that's going to be a tough playlist to crack. And we've certainly had a long string of Motown and Spector-esque holiday tunes. Given all I said about Disco in my Salsoul write-up, its either hugely ironic or a sign of early onset dementia that the tune I immediately gravitated to was "Here's To The New Year".
As Mariah Carey captured the early 60s in her now standard "All I Want For Christmas Is You", Liz Chan captures the eighties to perfection on "Here's To The New Year" (although purists would demand a 9 minute 12" version). I could listen to that one over and over again. Even the 30 second sample was enough to transport me back to those days--to the best memories from a decade of which I'm otherwise not overly fond. And that makes sense to me, too. Mariah's 60s flavored slice of apple pie and ice cream was released 20 years ago. 20 years later, it would seem only natural that listeners' sense of nostalgia would be 20 years on as well. And, other than the Salsoul album and a few low-budget rip-offs, how much really good classic disco Christmas music is out there? I think "Here's To The New Year" is a winner. Of course, the even further irony is that that song is a "New Year's" song, not a Christmas song. Sorry Liz; looks like you're going to have to do another album for next year. ;^) Seriously, please do.
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