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TITLE: Christmas: A Time for Joy
ARTIST: Bill and Gloria Gaither and their Homecoming Friends
LABEL: Spring House Music Group
GENRE: Southern Gospel/Christmas
SPECIAL EFFECT(S): Aaron Wilburn shows that Mark Lowry isn't the only Homecoming character with a healthy overdose of humor. His "Putting on the Dog" is a hilarious Christmas novelty song.
PRODUCER(S): Bill Gaither and Ben Speer
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Twenty Christmas songs are presented on Gaither's seasonal project for 2001. Christmas: A Time For Joy is the fourth Christmas title in the popular Homecoming series.
New tunes include a moving anthem by Jeff and Sheri Easter ("Sweet Baby Jesus"). In the classic song department, Jake Hess performs "White Christmas," the Gaither Vocal Band covers "The Christmas Song," The Florida Boys put a personal touch on "I'll Be Home for Christmas," and the entire choir goes to a "Winter Wonderland." Recent Christian Christmas classics include The Martins' "Go Tell" and yet another rendition of "Mary, Did You Know" by Mark Lowry and the Gaither Vocal Band. "Angels We Have Heard on High" is the only traditional carol.
Other highlights include Legacy Five performing the worship tune "Holy Is Thy Name" with only a light piano accompaniment and The Bishops singing "Children, Go Where I Send Thee" completely a capella. Aaron Wilburn brings the house down as he describes making a fur coat for his wife's Christmas present in "Putting on the Dog."
Christmas: A Time for Joy offers a mix of styles and content, although it stays closer to Southern Gospel throughout than some Homecoming projects. The live concert setting doesn't seem to detract from the more intimate tunes, and Gaither has effectively captured the various facets of the season.
--David Bruce Murray
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