Pentatonix goes “Christmas”…again…

OK so my aversion to Christmas music is well known. As pointed out on a previous blog, though, it isn’t  really about the music per se. In fact Christmas songs and carols are some of the best known and best loved songs out there. Little wonder, then, that they are some of the most covered songs in existence. “Silent Night”, “White Christmas” and “Jingle Bells” are the most covered songs in the so-called “holiday” category. But what makes a cover of them “different”? Because that surely has to be at least some of the motivation to cover a song…making it your own, and a bit different from the myriad other versions out there? Well, enter Pentatonix, a 5 member a capella group that has, single handedly, sparked a revival in interest in the unaccompanied singing style. They made a name for themselves with a Christmas album, and here they again do not disappoint. Again, an exhibition of fine vocal control – so do they do an old classic differently enough to warrant a listen? Certainly yes – as they did with Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” (more than 500 million views on Youtube!), they have reworked the gold standard of Christmas carols, “O Holy Night” very very well. Different, but very very good. Again, great voices wielded like razor sharp rapiers – immensely powerful. Here is is…and the rest of the album is great too…