It was you!dearmadine wrote:The hot chocolate analogy would be me. Lol. Hannah_kirstin and Nikki178, thanks for the beautiful reviews. Can't wait till the CD comes out in America!!! Really curious how Josh's new lowlowlow voice sounds like!
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It was you!dearmadine wrote:The hot chocolate analogy would be me. Lol. Hannah_kirstin and Nikki178, thanks for the beautiful reviews. Can't wait till the CD comes out in America!!! Really curious how Josh's new lowlowlow voice sounds like!
Three words: OH MY GOSH!!!hannah_kirstin wrote:Just bought my copy a few hours ago and have had it on repeat since then. Can't seem to get enough! I love Libera and all things Christmas! Here's a quick review. Too excited now and can't seem to focus, so bear with me! Solos are well-distributed among the boys. Personally would've liked to hear more Stefan and Luke though..
1. Joy To the World
2. Still, Still, Still - Solo : Ralph Skan - Very slow and tender. Imagine watching stars under the Bethlehem sky when listening to this. Lower register is very, very prominent in the last stanza of this song. Yay for Josh, Liam, Jonathan, Tiarnan, Sam, Ben (did i leave anyone out?)
3. Carol of the Bells - always loved this song. Libera did a fantastic job. Fast-paced, perfect pitch, diction, and blending. Wonderful descants by Stefan?Cassius? not sure
4. Veni, Veni Emmanuel - Solo : Daniel Fontannaz - Daniel's voice is definitely breaking. Probably has by now. Still, he did a great job on the solo.
5. Once In Royal David’s City - Solo : Eoghan McCarthy - More of the beautiful voice we heard in 'Glory to Thee.' Really love the lower voices in this song. Libera sounds like it has a full choir backing them because of this!
6. O Holy Night - solo: Ralph Skan - Tough to make a song that has been sung so well by so many choirs and singers sound ''new" but Libera does a great job of it. Great solo by Ralph and love the arrangement RP did for the song
7. White Christmas - Solo : Stefan Leadbeater - very christmassy! Imagine walking in a winter wonderland. Stefan is a rockstar! What an amazing solo on the first verse. I would buy the album for this track alone.
8. Corpus Christi Carol - Solos: Ralph Skan and James Mordaunt - not really a fan of the song as it's really slooow, but Ralph and mini James sound great on it. hopefully this isn't the last solo by James..
9. In Dulci Jubilo - fast-paced, light, feel-good song.
10. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas - Solos : James Mordaunt and Ralph Skan - previously released
11. Sing the Story - Solo: Luke Collins - also fast-paced. Luke has a very nice voice. Expect more from this lad
12. Coventry Carol - Solos : Joshua Madine, Ralph Skan & Stefan Leadbeater - song starts with descants by Stefan and Ralph. Then shock, awe! Josh sings the melody in a very LOOOWWW voice. I think this is the lowest anyone has ever gone on a Libera song, but still Josh has a very warm, soothing voice. Dunno if he's a baritone or tenor now. Wonderful blending of the 3 voices on the chorus. Sounds like someone with a bass voice is backing them in the chorus (RP perhaps??_ haha)
13. The First Nowell - Solo : Freddie Ingles - first verse and chorus sung by all. Freddie sings on the 3rd verse. Beautiful tone, clear diction. Well done, Freddie! Nice arrangement for this very popular song.
14. Jubilate Deo - Solo: Jakob De Menezes-Wood - Liam O'Kane sang this on the first Libera album. Jakob definitely does the song justice. His voice is still very high, maybe not as clear as Liam's but still very beautiful. Great job on the descants, Jakob!
15. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks - Solo : Cassius O’Connell-White - sounds even better than the earlier version aired on SOP. Cassius sounds very good! His voice is similar to (Mini) Ben P., so you won't notice the difference that much
16. Lullabye - Solo : Joshua Madine with Jakob de Menezes-Wood & Benedict Philipp - previously released
Thanks for the info! I think I'm in shock. A good one thoulabbie wrote:For those of you who wish to hear samples of the tracks, go to the Amazon UK home page. There you will see a "Search" option at the top. First, use the pull-down menu to find "MP3 Downloads". Then, in the space labelled "Search", type in "Libera Christmas album". It should take you to a page where you can play samples of the Christmas CD tracks which will be offered as MP3 tracks. Yes, I also was impressed by Josh's beautiful low voice on "Coventry Carol".
It does seem to be a new direction for the group but you need to hear the whole track before you judge it - often the blend of deep and high voices lends a beauty to a song that high or low voices on their own can't achieve. There are a few Libera songs (versions of well known hymns) that I am not so keen on because I think they sound better with a full choir. The review of Coventry Carol mentions that the harmonies on the full track are brilliant so the clip may not do it justice.dani wrote:Just heard some of Josh's song !
I have to say I am not sure I am sold on non trebles getting solo's . I listen to Libera because they sing treble , so it's a bit disconcerning to hear a voice so low on a Libera album. It's quite strange and it takes you away from the album almost because it's weird hearing a broken voice . Almost ruins the mood in a sense.
Ralph and Stefan are also listed as solos for this song and this preview clearly didn't feature their voices. Hope you think otherwise after hearing the full song, not this 10second sample. I think the lower voices backing the trebles makes the song more wholesome and diverse at the same time.dani wrote:Just heard some of Josh's song !
I have to say I am not sure I am sold on non trebles getting solo's . I listen to Libera because they sing treble , so it's a bit disconcerning to hear a voice so low on a Libera album. It's quite strange and it takes you away from the album almost because it's weird hearing a broken voice . Almost ruins the mood in a sense.