First, a disclaimer. I have no idea how long these links will be up on Youtube as the whole album is here and it may be taken down, but I have been spinning this CD for several days and this blog post shows that I am not ashamed to admit it. This was Amy Grant’s second Christmas album, I believe, and there are some great songs on here and only a few that I don’t really care for. Here are some standouts.

Here is Amy’s version of the best, saddest, most pagan Christmas song there is, which is nonetheless brilliantly wistful, if that is not an oxymoron.

I really like this medley of “Joy to the World” and “For Unto Us a Child is Born.” I don’t know a great deal about music, but I think they have arranged them nicely together.

The next three songs are a sandwich with the endpieces being two sappy-ish songs, which I really love nonetheless, with a nice, straight-up version of “O Come All Ye Faithful” in between them.

More than the lyrics, I really like how “Breath of Heaven” sounds, but it is nice, too, as a simple prayer to the Spirit for help and strength.

And, OK, so “Grown-up Christmas List” is a bit of a sappy concept, but my heart cannot but help deeply resonate with a dull ache when Amy sings the following. I see it as a perfectly legitimate longing for the New Earth:

No more lives torn apart,
That wars would never start,
And time would heal all hearts.
And everyone would have a friend,
And right would always win,
And love would never end.
This is my grown-up christmas list.

Finally, I am not sure why the final song is on the album exactly, other than Christmas is about Jesus, and he is indeed the Joy of our desiring. Nonetheless, I would really like to hear this version of the song at a wedding. I am quite serious about that. It really picks up at the 1:45 mark in an explosion of (Celtic?) joy.

Well, enjoy. There are six more songs on this CD, but these are my favorite, which keep it spinning in my car.