Christmas Theme Preview and a Chris Mann "Roads" Review

    I was recently contacted by One2One Network to do a review on Chris Mann's new album, Roads. My answer was an easy YES! You see I had been following Chris Mann since watching him on The Voice last season. He came in 4th place, but he could have easily been the winner.

    What I loved about Chris is that while he is trained in opera, graduating from Vanderbilt's Blair School of Music in 2004, with a degree in vocal performance, he has the ability to also look and sound like a pop star. The only person that I can think of that has that same ability is Josh Groban, they both are what I guess I would call "cool opera" and are able to blend the two genres into something amazing.

     Roads is an eclectic mix of songs, ranging from Willie Nelson's Always on My Mind and Lady Antebellum's Need You Now to Ava Maria. Chris also co-wrote two of the songs on the album.

     My feelings about the album are a bit mixed, but it certainly has nothing to do with the amazing voice of Chris Mann. Every song he sings is perfection. I personally am not crazy about a couple of the cover songs (My Way, Always on My Mind) so as I listened to the CD, I found myself thinking, "I love this" and then, "oh, I never liked that song". My favorites are The Blower's Daughter which he sings with Christina Aguilera and Falling (which he co-wrote). It is truly a beautiful album by a man with a beautiful voice. You can listen to The Blower's Daughter by clicking here.

Playlist

Roads
Need You Now
Cuore
The Blower's Daughter Feat. Christina Aguilera
My Way
Unless You Mean It
Always On My Mind
On A Night Like This
Ave Maria
Falling
Viva La Vida 

Now, for a little bit of Christmas is Coming!

 

     I think most of you know by now that I like to "theme" my decorations each year. Yes, I was a good mother and always had a tree with the kid's handmade ornaments and their favorites, but now that they aren't here for Christmas (and neither are we) I go with whatever strikes me that year. Believe me, I don't have to add much to what I already have to change themes. I thought I'd share the trees from the years I've been blogging. My tutorial on making a tree topper is on my sidebar and it has the most views of all of my posts.

 

 

 

     Last year, the vintage tinsel tree with blues, turquoises, hot pink and peacocks! It was a fun one to play with and required almost no lights on the tree.

 

 

 

     2010, the tree and the house were done in silvers and golds...I always think this is the most elegant combination and the easiest to do.

 

  

 

     In 2009, I went with bronze, chocolate brown and hints of turquoise. It was really different, but I loved the look.

 

 

     So, just a sneak peek at what is happening around here this year. I'm not feeling all glitzy and glamerous...I'm feeling a bit nostalgic and wintery. I also have decided to make it easy on myself this year so that I have time to roast a few chestnuts and have a cup of cocoa in front of the fireplace. More to come, after Thanksgiving.