Send "Annie Lennox " Ringtones to your Cell 
| Popmatters |
 2009’s crop of Christmas albums were a typically mixed bag, encompassing the good (Tori Amos’s Midwinter Graces, Sting’s underrated If on a Winter’s Night…), the bland (Neil Diamond’s A Cherry Cherry Christmas) and the plain ugly (Bob Dylan’s Christmas in the Heart). Although it has some significant problems (more of which anon), Annie Lennox’s A Christmas Cornucopia looks likely to be one of this year’s superior offerings. Reuniting Lennox with Mike Stevens, co-producer of her last studio album, 2007’s erratic Songs of Mass Destruction, the new album is Lennox’s first release on Universal. Featuring a 30-piece orchestra, the African Children’s Choir and Lennox herself on an arsenal of instruments, the album comprises eleven carols and one original composition with nary a reference to jingling bells or snowmen called Frosty among them. The results are lush and slick, classy but not over-cautious, and the album fits snugly into Lennox’s body of work. And yet, for all of its undoubted strengths, the record only intermittently stirs the soul. Unsurprisingly, perhaps, A Christmas Cornucopia strives to present itself as a Bona Fide Artistic Statement rather than a commercially-motivated cash-in. Publicity material emphasises Lennox’s long history with these songs—“I remember hearing all these beautiful Christmas carols in choir when I was 6” she has been quoted as saying—and stresses the album’s status as “a labour of love”. The record also comes complete with the predictable, meant-to-be-reassuring disclaimer that the artist doesn’t “personally subscribe to any specific religion”, a statement that might as well read: “Other Belief Systems Are Also Available.” But while you can’t accuse Lennox of a lack of commitment to the material she’s selected here, there are times when a more restrained approach might have been beneficial. The album’s arrangements suffer from a tendency to over-adornment and sometimes push Lennox into a harsh, declamatory singing style that’s a little wearying. Some of these issues are flagged up immediately, in the opening salvo “Angels From the Realms of Glory”, with its crescendo of strings and vocal overdubs, and even more so on the following track, a hybridised Celtic/Middle Eastern take on “God Rest Ye Merry Gentleman”. The treatment is arresting, but the arrangement never completely gels, and Lennox’s unfortunately Auto-Tuned vocals sound robotic and off-putting. Several tracks start out well only to get swamped in over-elaborate arrangements: the biggest casualty is Christina Rossetti‘s gorgeous “In the Bleak Midwinter”, which begins beautifully but then sabotages itself with an over-wrought middle-section that seems totally at odds with the delicacy of Rossetti’s imagery....full text |
| Slantmagazine |
| For an artist whose most famous (only?) contribution to contemporary holiday music is Eurythmics's synth-pop rendition of "Winter Wonderland," Annie Lennox's A Christmas Cornucopia is surprisingly non-secular. There's no mention of Santa Claus, no talk of sleigh rides or snowmen. Eleven of the album's 12 songs revolve around Jesus Christ's birth, which purists will say is the way it should be. But for Lennox, who, in the liner notes, says she doesn't "personally subscribe to any specific religion" and views Christ as no more divine than Buddha or Allah, many of these songs have a deeper meaning. In the ominous but beautiful "Lullay Lullay (The Coventry Carol)," for example, she sees not just King Herod murdering babies, but modern African children forced to become soldiers. That interpretation is made manifest via miltary drums and the presence of the African Children's Choir, who sing on more than half of the songs here. Rather than record a predictable pop holiday album, Lennox draws on both folk traditions and the ancient histories say claims these songs carry with them. With its mix of choral arrangements and what sounds to these ears a heck of lot like Auto-Tune, "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen" marries the traditional with the modern in a daring and ultimately very successful way. Lennox's commitment to the material is palpable....full text |
| Technorati |
| You don’t have to be Christian to be moved by the story of the birth of one that many believe to be the chosen one. Annie Lennox, who is not Christian, has recorded a Christmas album with the hopes of restoring “the hymnal heart and soulful sentiment” of the selected songs. In the biography on her website, she states her hope that these covers will “appeal to listeners of all faiths, creeds and cultures.” Working with Mike Stevens (who had worked with her on her 2007 album, Songs of Mass Destruction) Lennox selected sacred, secular and traditional pieces (German, French and English) along with an original composition of her own for this cornucopia. One of particular significance to her is “Lullay Lullay” (also known as the “Coventry Carol“), a dark lullaby about King Herod’s murder of first-born boys in an effort to kill Jesus. For Lennox, it is brought to life in present day Africa with children soldiers. This cover is close to the traditional a cappella performance with only a string instrument and a drum which add an African flavor. Additionally, several selections (particularly “The Holly and The Ivy”) include the voices of the African Children’s Choir from Cape Town....full text |
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