Written by Richie Oliver
With the Christmas season fast approaching, radio stations across the country are starting to play the classics, including my personal favorite, “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire).” While I can always imagine listening to a Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, or Irving Berlin version of the song, nothing quite hits like Jacob Collier’s.
Released on November 20, Collier’s take on “The Christmas Song” is truly unique. Utilizing his own style of modulation, dissonance, and just pure wacky music theory, Collier’s five-minute version is a rollercoaster of emotion.
We start with Collier’s vocal layerings. He is known for having hundreds of vocal tracks, almost all recorded himself.
Starting with a bright opening, Collier dives into his bag of tricks after the first lyric. Time has no meaning to this artist, and that’s okay.
Listening to a Jacob Collier song is like letting him take you through an art museum by the hand, pointing out all the small details of each painting, and you never want his tour to end.
Collier’s warm voice makes the song comfy and cozy for the first pass, but then Christmas Hell breaks loose in the second...is that a melodica?
The vocal peak of the song is something to behold. My mind can’t tell whether I should be happy, sad, or confused; pure emotion, in its most standard form, is what I feel.
Jacob Collier’s take on this Christmas standard deserves a place among the classics. I can see it being revered as such in twenty year’s time.
“The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” is available for streaming wherever you listen to music, and you can support Jacob Collier by following him on Twitter @JacobCollier and checking out the music video for this track! If you gave this song a listen, let us know what you think by tweeting us @lgndsoftmrw!
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