Search - Various Artists :: City on a Hill: It's Christmas Time

Kathleen O. (KathleenMarie) from WALDPORT, OR
Reviewed on 12/16/2009...

I love this CD as a whole. The title song is one of my favorites. Even my granddaughter will ask me to play it over and over again. I had somehow lost my first copy so was thrilled when my wish list request was granted. It just wouldn't be Christmas without this CD in my home.

Worship the Baby

Mark Baker | Santa Clarita, CA United States | 10/23/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"City on the Hill takes its trademark worship focus and applies it to Christmas. The result is a must buy.The strength of this project is its new songs. Five of the six are absolute winners bringing a truly new spirit of worship to the holiday season. My favorites (and it's hard to choose) are "Child of Love," a lullaby for Mary that first Christmas night, and "Bethlehem Town" which juxtaposes the joy of Christ's birth with the pain and horror of his death. I always enjoy songs that remind us of why He ultimately came. Ironically enough, it's the title song that I don't especially like. It just seems so much less inspired then the others.The other half of the songs on the CD are traditional Christmas carols that focus on what Christmas really means. I especially enjoyed Out of Eden's take on "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and the lesser recorded "In the Bleak Midwinter." And I don't know if I've yet heard a recording of "O Holy Night" that I didn't like.My biggest problem with this CD is that, since most of the new songs are presented first, it doesn't seem that Christmassy to me right away. However, I love it so much, I think I'll be listening to it a lot at Christmas every year, so that won't last more then another year or two. This CD is destined to become a classic."

A great stocking stuffer!

Mark Baker | 12/14/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"As a fan of Essential Records' critically acclaimed City On A Hill series, I was excited to hear that they would be releasing a special volume of Christmas music. Although this CD doesn't quite stack up to the first two COAH compilations, it does provide a very refreshing mix of classic carols and new material for the holidays, performed by an eclectic mix of some of the top names in Christian music. One thing COAH is known for is its collaborations between artists, and that is present here as well. One of the highlights is the title track, a multi-artist song featuring the voices of Third Day's Mac Powell, dc Talk's Michael Tait, Out of Eden, Caedmon's Call's Cliff & Danielle Young, Jars of Clay's Dan Haseltine, Sixpence's Leigh Nash, and others. Third Day also gets a little help from Julie Miller and the Choir's Derry Daugherty on the "Manger Throne/Away In a Manger" medley. (The former song is an original penned by Miller, while the latter is a unique adaptation of the classic we're all familiar with.) Also, Michael Tait and Leigh Nash's voices are a match made in heaven (who'd a thunk?) on the closing track, the classic "O Holy Night". Sixpence None The Richer, who appeared on the first COAH CD but not on the second ("Sing Alleluia"), returns with a beautiful rendition of the classic "Silent Night", one of my favorite tracks on this CD. Another one of my favorites is Sara Groves' stirring performance of "Child Of Love", one of the original songs on this CD. It effectively illustrates how Mary must have felt holding her baby boy, not to mention her Savior, in her arms. "Babe In The Straw" is another original, penned by producers Steve Hindalong and Derry Daugherty (both of The Choir) and performed by Caedmon's Call, which is another of my favorites. (It was also previously recorded by Sixpence's Leigh Nash on another album, but I prefer this version.) One thing that surprised me was the inclusion of Out Of Eden, the first R&B act to appear on a COAH album, which mostly features acoustic/alternative acts, but their version of the classic "Do You Hear What I Hear" seems to blend in perfectly with the rest of the album and adds a little variety. (Their contribution to the title track is also beautiful.) The main disappointment here was Jars of Clay's track, "Bethlehem Town", which was written and produced by the band. I was hoping for something more reminiscent of their "Drummer Boy" EP, but this song sounds like it belongs on "If I Left the Zoo" instead. It just doesn't sound very "Christmasy" and doesn't really fit with the rest of the album. It's only strong point is the lyrics, which I'll admit are very good and very profound. Other artists to appear on this album are Terry Scott Taylor, who performs an original song, "Holy Emmanuel"; and Paul Colman Trio, who performs the more obscure classic "In The Bleak Midwinter"; both strong tracks on the album. Altogether, I was hoping this album would be a little better, considering how powerful the original "City On A Hill" album was and it's sequel, "Sing Alleluia". But I guess it's really not fair to compare this one to the other two; after all, this is a Christmas album and the other two were worship albums. I think they could have spent a little more time on it to make it better; after the success of "Sing Alleluia" earlier in the year, it seemed like they rushed to get this album out on the shelves before the holiday season. But after a few listens, I have to say it really is a good and unique holiday CD, one that I'm sure I will enjoy for many Christmases to come. I would strongly recommend adding this to anyone's holiday collection. It would make a fine stocking stuffer for your loved ones as well."