For anyone, young or old, wishing to capture the magic of Christmas, The Christmas Collection, by Achill Island's James Kilbane, is a must-have this Christmas season.
The album is a heart-warming mix of 14 all-time Christmas favourites with a country twist. This is an easy listening mellow collection featuring traditional carols “Away in a Manger” and “The First Noel” alongside well-known spiritual gems “You Raise Me Up” and “There is a Place”.
Kilbane's natural home as a country singer can also be seen in the inclusion of some new Nashville tracks, including “Sweet Mary Sing”, “Moments Like This”, and the very beautiful “One Holy Night”, which James co-wrote with Tennessee writers Nancy Peacock and Scott Lindsey.
Dedicated to his late father, who passed away earlier this year, the album represents Kilbane's musical offering as his contribution to the celebration of Christmas.
James has assembled some of the country's top session musicians for this album, including piano player Gavin Murphy, traditional fiddler Máire Breathnach, guitarist Bill Shanley, James Blennerhasset on bass, and drummer Des Lacey. Smooth blending vocal harmonies are provided by Nigel Connell and Connor McKeon.
The Christmas Collection is now available nationwide and is also available for download on iTunes, Napster and Amazon.com
Mayo Advertiser competition
To win a copy of The Christmas Collection (five to give away ) answer this question: How many Christmas classics are on James Kilbane's new CD? Please send answers to the Mayo Advertiser, Market Square, Castlebar or email [email protected].
