Wintersong

Wintersong is a perfect stocking stuffer just about anyone who digs good music but is tired of hearing those same old Christmas carols every year. McLachlan includes a few standard numbers here like “Silent Night” and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” and turns the former into a big, gorgeous, roomy hymn of Cowboy Junkies or Jonatha Brooke proportions with cascading layers of gossamer vocal harmonies, while the latter plays with a stark beauty similar to what Cocteau Twins did with their 1993 Holiday themed EP Snow. McLachlan keeps close to John Lennon’s blueprint with an opening rendition of his “Happy Xmas (War Is Over),” while transforming Gordon Lightfoot’s “Song for a Winter’s Night” into a beauteous ballad blending equal parts dream-pop, contemporary folk and adult-alternative to record what could be the prettiest song here. The album’s title-track proves to be the only original McLachlan song, but with its pensive narrative and moody feel, it fits perfectly among the other selections.