For Christmas With Love
Judith Durham
Columbia SX 6374
1968
This is a mono pressing of the British version of Judith Durham's Christmas record. It differs from the Australian version by having one additional track "Just a Closer Walk With Thee." Curiously the song features a 1965 copyright on the inner label which is also the date that the song appeared on The Seekers' album "A World of Our Own" but it is not that version. I believe it is the version she released on a 1967 single in Australia. I prefer The Seekers' version which features harmonies from the boys and a folk style arrangement to this version with its gospel organ and piano accompaniment although she sings both great. Although this album was recorded at Capitol Records studio in Los Angeles I don't believe it was ever released here. This was her first solo album after leaving The Seekers and being a big fan of that group I have long coveted it. I finally found a copy last year but I was disappointed when I played it. Arguably it is more of a gospel record than a Christmas record. Every song is religious aside from "White Christmas," "Lullaby for Christmas Eve" and "The Christmas Song." "The Lord's Prayer," "My Faith" and "Come On Children, Let's Sing" are not Christmas songs at all. Her piety is obviously sincere and her singing is heartfelt, but this is not my cup of tea and it sounds nothing like The Seekers so I shelved it after a couple of spins. I brought it back out at Christmas and played it while trimming the tree and I liked it better probably because my expectations were different. "White Christmas" opens the album in an orchestrated easy listening style version. Durham delivers a pleasant vocal but the track is otherwise unremarkable. "Mary's Boy Child" was written by Jester Hairston and was released as a single by Harry Belafonte in 1956. His version had a slight calypso flavor to it which is not present in this stiff orchestrated version. The song lacks the warmth of the Belafonte recording even though Durham sings it impeccably. The album finally comes to life with a jumping gospel style performance of "Go Tell It On a Mountain" driven by piano and organ. Durham showed an interest in gospel with The Seekers but really shows her affinity for it here and I love the way she hits the high notes at the end. This is one of my favorite tracks. The record loses this energy with the heavily orchestrated "Lullaby for Christmas Eve" which had been a single for Jack Jones in 1964. Nonetheless it is a sweet song and at least it isn't religious. Durham's soaring vocal on "The Lord's Prayer" impresses me but I dislike the song and the heavy inspirational arrangement. "My Faith" is even worse. Durham sings it like she means it, but the song is just too sappy for me to tolerate. The record picks up with the lively gospel song "Come On Children, Let's Sing" which was recorded by Mahalia Jackson in 1960. I love Durham's voice and she sings it well but she can't compete with Jackson. She sounds stilted by comparison. I wish there were more songs like "The Christmas Song" on the record. She seems more inspired by the religious stuff, but she still sings this well and it is a much more appealing song to me. "Just a Closer Walk with Thee" fits well with the rest of the album both in terms of sound and content even though it was recorded earlier. As I said before I prefer The Seekers' version but this is still pretty compelling. Most of the arrangements on this album are stodgy and conservative, so it is surprising that "Silent Night" is given an up-tempo treatment including drums, probably the most dynamic version of the song that I have ever heard. I'm not sure that the song is well-served by such treatment but I like it anyway especially with Durham's exquisite vocal. The album concludes strongly with a kinetic gospel arrangement of "Joy to the World" that inspires Durham to loosen up and have some fun. It is my other favorite track on the album. Although there are parts of this album that I enjoy, I have to admit there is no way I would keep it if Durham was not singing on it. I like her voice so much I would listen to her sing just about anything even a bunch of hymns, but I'm not going to listen to it very much. I'm alienated by religion and I prefer folk arrangements to easy listening ones so I'll just stick with my Seekers albums. Recommended to religious Judy Collins fans who dislike folk music.
