Kelly McGrath - O Holy Night
“O Holy Night”, a long standing fixture of the
Christmas music tradition, receives a new coat of paint courtesy of
singer/songwriter Kelly McGrath. Instead of following tradition with the tune
and re-imagining it as a big production number for a modern audience, McGrath
chooses to strip the song down to its essential dramatics for a near solo
performance that proves affecting from the first and only deepens its effects
as time goes on. She never belabors her presence with the audience. “O Holy
Night”, on no level, is the sort of self indulgent Yuletide fare so common to
popular music in the 20th and 21st centuries. Instead,
her version of “O Holy Night” gets over with you as a showcase for her singing
and the high quality collaborators she’s aligned herself with, but it also
sounds like an intensely committed and personal vocal that stretches itself
emotionally and embraces being vulnerable with its audience. Every choice
McGrath and her creative partners make in this performance pays off with
enormous dividends.
If you’re a guitar fan, it’s impossible to not
admire both the sound and playing of the six string work on McGrath’s single.
The guitar is often an instrument for extroverts and sometimes expecting a
first rate guitarist to shelve their egos for the good of a song ends up being
a bridge too far, but there’s none of that here. McGrath is working with a top
notch cadre of musical imaginations who are audibly inspired to bring her
artistic and musical dreams to fruition. It means that “O Holy Night” is one of
finest examples of how this sort of material doesn’t need to have a narrow appeal
just because of its subject matter. This is music and a powerful theatrical
experience you can continually revisit and likely take away something new each
time out.
McGrath’s effect on the listener is hypnotic. Her
rich voice fills so much of the musically empty space on the song that it’s
tempting to hear her as omnipresent, but that’s never the case. Instead, she
brings an amount of true presence to “O Holy Night” that never seems too put on
or hammy. She sings with a voice of reverence and experience and the musical
backing only enhances the positive results of hearing her sing. It’s her
phrasing, perhaps, that we should hear as the crown jewel of her attempt to
tackle this song and it imbues every second of the performance with a tangible
spiritual quality other takes on this tune don’t ever have. Kelly McGrath’s “O
Holy Night” comes at listeners with such feeling that it’s almost like she’s
trying to put every earlier version into dust; of course, she isn’t, but the
performance is so confident and deeply felt that it’s entertaining to consider
her working with such confidence. This is a must have for anyone interested in
holiday music, music history, and meaningful full-rounded performative
experience.
Craig Bowles
