3OQ - Wednesday, December i2, 1990 — North Shore News

Diamond Xmas
album sparkles

IAMOND CUTS a

Christmas collec-

tien: Harmony
heard trom Sunshine Coast;
Roches turn out festive
tunes: McGarrigle sisters
sing dvain after seven-year
hiatus.

MICHAEL
BECKER

record review

Charlotte Diamond — The
Christmas Gift, Hug Bug Re-
cords/A&M Records 1990

The ever-pleasant, always ef-
fervescent Diamond has polished
a collection of 15 festive songs for
the holiday season,

Building on her widespread
popularity as a children’s enter-
tainer, Diamond steps into the
Christmas music market with a
release that takes the listener
beyond familiar Jingle Bells ter-
ritory and introduces many
unusual Christmas songs from
other cultures,

Among the more exotic are: Un
Flambeau, Jeannette Isabelle, a
traditional French carol; Little
Dreyil Spin S‘vivon, a traditional
Hebrew song for Hanukkah; The
Virgin Marv fiad \ Baby Boy, a
traditional West Indies carol; The
Fluron Caroi — fesous Ahatonhia,
a song written in Huron in 1642;
Alegria, a traditional Peruvian
carol: What Shall | Give To The
Child? a traditional Christmas
dance from Catalonia.

What makes Diamond so attrac-
tive to children —. her warm,
gosh-darn whalesome voice —
translates well in the winter
wonderland.

The local artist is also backed by
a lot of talented people. The Van-
couver Chamber Choir, musicians
with the Early Music Society,
members of the cast of Ain't
Misbehavin’ and Peruvian musi-
cians Grupo Aylly all play their
parts well to broaden the delivery.
Christmas With Harmony,

Lynne and Reg Dickson 1989

Home-spun Christmas fun from
a Sunshine Coast trio, Christmas
With Harmony is worth having for
the comical lyrical zpin on
seasonal sentiments.

Dashing Through The House, a
familiar tune and a familiar lament,
sets the smiling pace. Christmas
Rap, wherein labor discord strikes
Santa’s workshop, and Your Plastic
Cards, a credit-binging tale of woe,
offer ironic counterpoint to the
more saccharine seasonal fare.

Instrumentation -- guitar and
violin (Michelle Bruce) — neatly
frames the vuices of Reg Dickson
and Lynne Dickson.

The Roches — We Three Kings,
Paradox Records/MCA 1990

This Christmas collection is a
keeper. Those familiar with the
sound of the three New York
sisters know that Maggie, Terre
and Suzzy Roche have developed
three-part harmony to an impec-
cable art.

The secular (Deck The Halls,
VVinter Wonderland) and the
sacred (Adeste fideles, Break Forth
O Beauteous Heavenly Lighh
share equal time on the 24-song
set.

But the sparkler here is The
Roches’ version of Frosiv The
Snowman. Woomes Wrapped in
campy Brooklyn accents aed ac-
companied by a chorus of bors-
terous kids.

Kate and Anna McGarrigle —-

Heartbeats Accelerating, Private
Music/BMG 1990

It's been along seven-vear walt
since the albund Love Over and
Over brought the Quebecers lo
the attention of a wider audience
with the title song of that effort.

The sweet harmonies and oddly
orgaric combination of electronic
and traditional fotk instrumenta-
tion are intact folluwing a hiatus

spent rasine children and cam.
posing THO scares

Peacative, roadewise imagery 10
form rncisive dehberations on mat
ters ot the heart. The MeGarneles
are at there narrative best in the
haunted D.1. Serenade. which ex-
plores the restless heart the
deintegration ater lowe bas watk-
ed out the door, And tor conc
sion, far Dinner shows what can
be done with a simple premise to
create a stark invocation of
evaporated love: °No more can-
delight, no more romance, no
more small talk, when the
hunger’s gone.”

Vancouver Cuitor N's Cuoir.

--.. CBC's Patrick Muiiro — Narrator
Monday, December 17 —-8

WHILE»
QUANTITY
LASTS!

larky Work

jearhouse

| 1074 MARINE DRIVE, N.VAN

984-9591