Christmas with the Celts

Personnel: Ric Blair (vocals, guitar, mandolin, keyboards, electric bass, bodhran); Yun Kim (vocals, pennywhistle); Paul Nelson (cello); Skip Cleavinger (whistle, pipes); Patrick Darcey (whistle, Uilleann pipe); Grey Stepp, Mark Polick (electric bass); Jeff Durham (percussion); Donnie Boutwell (programming).
Audio Mixer: Donnie Boutwell.
Christmas with the Celts features a mix of classic and ancient Irish and Scottish yuletide carols carried out by a seasoned group of players (the Celts) who blend traditional instrumentation like fiddles and uilleann pipes with keyboards and drum loops. The arrangements are mostly tasteful and the playing is stellar throughout, with only the occasional lapse into gift shop new age/worldbeat. There are some usual suspects to be found here, like "Little Drummer Boy" and "Silent Night," but it's the unfamiliar pieces ("Balulalow," "Da' Day Dawis," "Baloo Lammy") that end up delivering the goods. ~ James Christopher Monger