Mini-Review: Kelly Clarkson – Wrapped In Red

Kelly Clarkson

Wrapped In Red

Label: RCA Records

Release Date: October 25th 2013 (Amazon mp3/iTunes)

Track Listing:

  1. Wrapped In Red
  2. Underneath the Tree
  3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
  4. Run Run Rudolph
  5. Please Come Home For Christmas (Bells Will Be Ringing)
  6. Every Christmas
  7. Blue Christmas
  8. Baby It’s Cold Outside (featuring Ronnie Dunn)
  9. Winter Dreams
  10. White Christmas
  11. My Favourite Things
  12. 4 Carats
  13. Just For Now
  14. Silent Night (feat. Reba McEntire & Trisha Yearwood)
  15. I’ll Be Home For Christmas
  16. O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Initial thoughts: Kelly Clarkson has some amazing vocal pipes, and these Christmas songs are sung beautifully to perfection. On a production level, Wrapped In Red is one of the best Christmas albums I have heard- so it goes without saying that I reckon that this project deserves at least one spin. By then you’ll all be a fan.

Reason to listen: It’s a Christmas album and it’s Kelly Clarkson. Plus her rendition of “My Favourite Things” is so fully sick (as a positive… it’s what kids say these days, right?)! What other reason could there be to listen to this work of art?

Reason to buy: In the day of Spotify and stream, buying albums isn’t quite needed… but this is one album that you must buy, so that you can gift to you relatives who don’t have Spotify. Because it’s just that good!

Reason to skip: If I hear ‘my reason to skip is ____’ from anyone, then I’d counter that and say ‘That’s not a real reason’ and ‘that’s the wrong answer’!

No. of carols: 9

No. of originals: 7 (including an Elvis Presley cover and an Imogen Heap cover)

No of guest artists: 2 (Ronnie Dunn on track #8, Reba McEntire & Trisha Yearwood on track #14)

Does it have heart?: Kelly’s passion and enthusiasm has never been questioned all throughout her career, and on Wrapped In Red her exuberance and joy is never more on display. In fact can I say that Kelly’s heart here on this album seems to be the biggest- because there’s no restrictions on this album to be confined to one particular genre?

Does it have a Christmas-y atmosphere?: Plenty of light piano in the ballads, and an abundance of bells int eh upbeat tracks- Wrapped In Red sounds like it is the quintessential Christmas album, Made for the season, and bound to get us all excited for Christmas even if we all are like Scrooge McDuck. Just listen to “Underneath the Tree” and tell me that you hate Christmas. Go on, I dare you.

Uniqueness?: There’s plenty of genres encompassed on this eclectic project. Jazz, country, soul, gospel, pop… there is indeed something for everyone here. And it’s all very uniquely Kelly Clarkson sounding. What more could you want?

Christmas message: In every sense of the word, Wrapped In Red is a holiday ‘secular’ album (aside from Silent Night and O Come O Come Emmanuel)- but this isn’t a bad point. Because it’s way, way better than Michael Buble’s Christmas, which has indeed been overplayed to death. And that, my friends, is a good thing. Such a good thing.

Closing thoughts: People will be talking about Wrapped In Red for many years to come. I guarantee it. So my questions to you al is this. will you join us on the bandwagon and bear witness to one of the finest pieces of musical art in the history of Christmas albums?

3 songs to listen to: Underneath The Tree, Every Christmas, Just For Now

Overall rating: 5/5

Yes/no; why/why not?: Yes. Go buy this album. Go buy many copies and give them to family and strangers alike- all year round!

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