The Henningsens Invite Fans In for ‘Our Family Christmas’
After the fun album-opener “Happy Birthday, Merry Christmas, Baby Jesus” comes “Carol of the Bells (Medley),” where it’s not hard to picture the family trio performing this on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium with the help of a full band and string section. Clara’s vocals have the perfect amount of restraint on the verses, but then give us taste of her power on the chorus.
On “Holly Jolly Christmas,” the family shakes it up a little bit by sharing a Christmas memory after the first chorus. The group singing the lines “Somebody waits for you/Give them a kiss for me” has a nice retro feel to it.
Clara duets with labelmate Jerrod Niemann on “Christmas Kissin’,” which is a warm, romantic song just in time for the coldest time of the year. Clara and Jerrod’s vocal styles mix very well together, and Clara shows off more of her range, too.
“O Come, O Come Emanuel” has a very dramatic feel to it. You can almost picture it being performed during a nighttime Chuch service while the snow is falling at a steady pace outside. The background vocals make it feel as if they have a choir backing them, and it adds a nice layer to the song.
Another standard, “Silent Night,” features a guest vocal by former American Idol contestant Janelle Arthur. The whole song has a very calming feel to it, and the addition of background vocals towards the end doesn’t disrupt that calming feeling.
The album finishes off with the trio bringing it all back to the family as Aaron, Clara, and Brian harmonize on “Auld Lang Syne.” While Clara’s voice is very easy to pick out, the voices blend very well together.
The album blends all the important parts of the season into one very enjoyable experience that will be part of Christmas music collections everywhere for years to come. It’s a nice reminder that the best part of Christmas isn’t always what’s under the tree, but who you spend it with.
