Chilly Gonzales 'A Very Chilly Christmas' Review: Soulful piano covers warm the festive spirit with nostalgia
Known for his sheer tenacity, classical piano compositions with a pop music sensibility and extensive discography, Chilly Gonzales' brand new album titled 'A Very Chilly Christmas' is finally here. The Grammy Award-winning Canadian musician’s 15th full-length project is a follow-up to his 2018 project ‘Solo Piano III’, which was the last part in the ‘Solo Piano’ series.
With his unabashed loyalty to melody, Chilly Gonzales’ approach deftly navigates the myth of one shared songbook with a collection that opts for nuance over pomp. From Wenceslas to Wham, the great revelation of this collection is the restrained, distilled beauty of the musician’s signature minor-key interpretations.
Speaking on the same lines, the renowned artiste in an official statement said, “Christmas is a time of very mixed intense emotion for me, and the existing canon often sounds like a forced smile. Christmas is a typical time for superficial happiness, but also a time for reflection and mourning the sad events throughout the year, and to play the songs in a minor key makes Christmas more authentic and realistic.”
The 48-year-old musician’s ‘A Very Chilly Christmas’ surveys a broad scope of seasonal repertoire and sentiment. There is grandeur and solemnity, there is austerity and merriment, and there is Mariah Carey. Yes, the 15 songs in the album are the covers of some of the most popular Christmas songs and carols except the original ‘The Banister Bough’ featuring Feist.
The album opens with the Christmas essential ‘Silent Night’. The 2-minute-45-second piano rendition of the song feels like warm sunlight coming through a window on a chilly winter morning. The first few seconds will grab your attention with soft piano tunes but soon the violin comes along and fills the room with nostalgia.
‘Good King Wenceslas’ by The Irish Rovers has been given a little different treatment here which of course sounds very festive and you would love to put this kind of piano rendition at a background of a Christmas party where everyone is indulged in heartfelt conversations. Next in the line is ‘Silver Bells’ which will take you back to the romantic era as you sip your wine in front of the fireplace.
The cover only runs for 2-minutes-39-seconds but you would love to play this one on the loop. ‘God Rest You Merry Gentlemen’ is an English traditional Christmas carol by Pentatonix and Gonzales has made sure he doesn’t ruin the status it holds. He tastefully decorates nimble progressions with no complexity.
Gonzales has placed ‘Last Christmas’ by Wham as the next cover for his album. Maintaining the smooth yet delectable taste of piano with seamless melodies, the track doesn’t disappoint at all. The piano solo can surely make it your personal Christmas collection. Gonzales also brings in violin here which syncs perfectly with the piano. We really wish there were vocals on this one.
Well, our wish does get fulfilled in the next track ‘The Banister Bough’ which features soothing vocals from Feist and as mentioned earlier, is the only original track in the album. With 4-minutes-10-seconds on the clock, this is the longest song in the entire project. The song opens with Feist’s vocals accompanying the piano in the background and sounds like a track a family can sit back and enjoy their earlier Christmas photos while snuggling in a blanket together.
‘Jingle Bells’, we are sure needs no introduction at all. Christmas is absolutely incomplete if we don’t plug into this carol and if it is a piano version by Gonzales — all the way better. He has surely given it a different twist with minimal sounds which does sound relaxing to ears. Next in the queue is one of Mariah Carey’s biggest career-hits ‘All I Want for Christmas Is You’ but Gonzales has cut down the cover duration to only 1-minute-40-seconds.
Gonzales brings out the pop ends of the song brilliantly with his seamless piano work. We are sure if Maria gets to hear this version, she will be ecstatic too.
‘In the Bleak Midwinter’ featuring Jarvis Cocker with his vocals is a pleasant surprise. If you, by any chance, are alone on Christmas, you can always vibe to this minimal melodious song while rummaging through your memories. The violin, in the end, might make you a little sad but it doesn’t weaken the Christmas spirit at all. Gonzales then ropes-in both his collaborators — Jarvis Cocker and Feist on ‘Snow Is Falling in Manhattan’ which is hands down the best cover on the entire album.
The chorus is magical and the song switches between vocals and solo piano which adds to the beauty of the cheerfulness which Christmas brings every year. ‘O Tannenbaum’ by the Vince Guaraldi Trio has been covered next by Gonzales on the album. The song is perfect to play for kids as the stellar piano work brings the energy into the festive air. Gonzales, however, changes the mood in the next cover ‘Marie Durch Ein Dornwald Ging’ which is a popular German number.
Gonzales goes back to the warm and cozy mood which he maintained throughout the album. ‘O Come, All Ye Faithful’ doesn’t offer anything new and can be skipped if you do not want to spoil your festive mood. Gonzales brings another cover by Pentatonix with ‘We Three Kings’ which is another popular Christmas carol. We love how the musician brings in the chorus of a choir group topped with melodious piano and violin.
Gonzales flows absolutely free with his fingers on the piano and it finally feels he is having fun in the album. This one certainly makes it to our top three in ‘A Very Chilly Christmas.’ He wraps up the album with ‘Auld Lang Mynor’ and he surprisingly brings mouth organ paired with soulful piano work and boy! it sounds wonderful. The delicate sounds become much fuller and graceful and serve as an apt closing to the album.
In a nutshell, Chilly Gonzales has surely put in a lot of effort and dedication for his Christmas album. From solo arrangements to intricate, delicate additions of strings, bells, choir and more, ‘A Very Chilly Christmas’ is the space it creates for quieter moments amid the flurry and noise of the season. The album released via Gentle Threat also features Chilly Gonzales' frequent stage and studio collaborator, cellist Stella Le Page. You can stream the album here.