Product Reviews
Jersey Boys, the successful Broadway musical that chronicled the story of the Four Seasons, the vocal group that gave the world classic pop hits like Walk Like a Man, Big Girls Don t Cry, Rag Doll, Dawn, Silence Is Golden, Sherry, and so many others, has become its own sort of cottage industry, spawning several stage runs internationally and a national touring group, and now, a holiday album featuring various cast members from around the world singing Christmas songs and carols in the Four Seasons vocal style. Seasons Greetings: A Jersey Boys Christmas was produced by Bob Gaudio, a founding member of the original Four Seasons and the group s main songwriter and arranger, so naturally he knows exactly how to get that vocal style, although he has one huge problem. There s only one Frankie Valli, the group s iconic lead singer whose high, soaring vocals defined everything, and Valli isn t involved in this project. That doesn t mean A Jersey Boys Christmas fails as a recording. It s actually quite interesting, full of joyous energy and delightfully quirky arrangements, some of which intertwine bits of Four Seasons hits into the mix, and it drives along on big drums and bold rhythmic signatures. The various vocalists who take turns at being Valli do a pretty good job of approximating his signature vocal style, but it s never more than a close facsimile, so it s probably wrong to approach this album from a Four Seasons perspective. It really sounds as much like the kind of album Brian Wilson and what s left of the Beach Boys would make if they were to reconvene in a studio these days, which means, well, less than it could. That said, this set makes for a pretty darn good Christmas album, once one stops wondering what it might have sounded like if Valli had been out front. Highlights include a Drifters-influenced doo wop version of White Christmas, Winter Wonderland (with traces of Bye Bye Baby embedded in the arrangement), and a gorgeous Carol of the Bells/Angels We Have Heard on High medley, among others. The whole album is of a piece, and it rocks with joy and drive, and if it isn t exactly the Four Seasons, it comes close enough to bring a whole lot of good cheer. ~ Steve Leggett, Rovi
Product Notes
Many of the melodies and choral harmonies that catapulted the quartet from the streets of Newark into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are woven into classic holiday songs on Season's Greetings: A Jersey Boys Christmas. Listen for hints of "Come On Marianne" and "Oh What A Night" in the album opener "Joy To The World/O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" plus traces of "Bye Bye Baby" in "Winter Wonderland." For Jersey Boys' first Christmas on Broadway in 2006, the cast recorded "O Holy Night" for a Christmas album to benefit Broadway charities. This album features a new version of the song with a fresh arrangement that includes lines from the spiritual, "Rise Up, Shepherd." Other highlights from A Jersey Boys Christmas include a doo-wop version of "White Christmas" inspired by The Drifters and "Santa Medley," which infuses signature Jersey Boys harmonies into a trio of holiday favorites. Also featured is a unique version of "Angels From The Realms Of Glory" filtered through '80s synth-rock with a touch of Beethoven's "Ninth Symphony" thrown in for good measure.