What I Love About The 'Osmond Family Christmas' CD
Deseret News
by Carmen Herbert
December 15, 2011
Nothing says Christmas to me more than the “Osmond Family Christmas” album.
Growing up, it was one of several cherished holiday CDs that my siblings and I would play over and over again. My sister and I memorized Donny and Marie’s duet of “Pine Cones and Holly Berries” and “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” and would sing them to my parents as we sat by the fire waiting to eat on those dark-before-dinner winter evenings.
There is something about the Osmond sound that is classic. It has never been reproduced. It has never changed. It’s like the entire Osmond generation has a certain musical gene that is completely unique to them.
The harmonies on the “Osmond Family Christmas” album are spot on, a product of hours and hours spent rehearsing and solidifying their famous “One-Take Osmond” title. I never get tired of or irritated listening to the CD, something I can’t say about too many others. It’s one of those rare every-song-is-good albums.
It also brings back poignant memories of me sitting beneath our huge pine armoire curled up on the wood floor looking at the tiny animated faces on the cover picture, wondering if they recorded all the songs in some rustic, cozy cabin in the woods somewhere because of how authentic the feeling was throughout the entire album.
That takes an incredible amount of talent — not only to sound good singing (an obvious goal, although you’d probably be surprised at how many singers struggle at that very thing) but to portray honest emotion and create a specific and different mood and feel for the listener with each song through their voice inflections, harmonies, dynamics and musical transitions.
The Osmonds do this so well, you have no idea they’re working so hard at making it sound effortless.
From the moving harmonies of “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” to the sweet strains of “Silent Night,” this album has become a staple in both the Rasmusen and Herbert households and will be for many years to come. A big thanks to my brother-in-law for giving this to us as a gift a few years ago, helping bring back some wonderful childhood Christmas memories and helping me now make more with a family of my own.
Perhaps it’s the whole “family" part of the Osmonds and what they represent that makes this timeless Christmas album so special to me.
Note: This album is not available on iTunes in the U.S., but you can find it on Amazon.com or in the UK version of iTunes by searching “The Osmonds” then “The Christmas Album.” |
