Will Downing

Christmas, Love and You
GRP / Universal

Will Downing is setting new standards here. He has done what many have tried before him - to own old Christmas classics without sounding pretentious or self gratifying. If I hear another crescendo craving diva this season there could be trouble. One of my musical mentors told me years ago, "If an album makes you crave to know the artist better, to read those liner notes one more time then they've reached you." Downing is the kind of guy whose brain I want to pick." Christmas, Love and You" kicks off with "Little Drummer Boy," featuring rapper Jabba, it's breezy, playful, with a touch of reggae and South African harmonizing. Downing takes a stab at creating his own standard with the title song, co-written by Keyboardist Rex Rideout and bassist Gary Taylor. It has a current easy, street smart, R&B sound but still falls in the vein of traditional smoothies like "The Christmas Song" or "Winter Wonderland." The deeper I got into this album the more it reminded me of another holiday favorite "The Night Before Christmas" by The Sound Of Blackness - both have elements of that halleluiah mountain top feel - truly festive right down to the bone. Downing treats "White Christmas" like the girlfriends he wants to know a little better; this is sensual, sexy stuff. The tune is slowed down and he sings as if he's in a trance, he's certainly plugged in. I enjoyed his visit to Charlie Brown land with Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here" and Mel Torme' would be proud of his breathy take of "The Christmas Song." I'm always disappointed when artists, especially ones known for writing their own songs don't add to the Christmas bank of tunes and write a few themselves. It's too tall a task for some, no one wants to pen the worse Christmas song of all time, just ask Paul McCartney how that feels. Downing has three originals, the aforementioned title track, the up-tempo catchy, "All I Want For Christmas Is You" and the slow sweet "Christmas Time After Time" featuring our singer sounding a lot like Luther Vandross. This is one of the strongest Christmas vocal albums I've heard in years. - by John Beaudin