What’s in a name? Straight No Chaser sounds like your typical bar order of scotch after you’ve had a long day, right? Well, upon hearing the voices behind Straight No Chaser, you’ll no longer need your scotch habit because these guys will cheer you right up.
Straight No Chaser landed on my desk at work because a friend of mine was producing their music segment. Wait, that’s not true. Let’s just say I stole it from my friend’s desk because I knew she was producing their music segment. You see, I was among the throngs of 8 million downloaders who first saw them on You Tube with their sensationally-arranged “12 Days of Christmas”. I was blessed to come from a high school of musical delicacy, where a choir director by the name of Marty Sirvatka turned his University of Illinois-Urbana’s acapella men’s group “Other Guys” into the teenage swoon-worthy “Nine”. In high school, being the choir geek that I loved, I was always the one doing the swooning. My love of acapella grew from there. But I digress…
Listening to this album while driving home on a particularly challenging day at work, I became engrossed in the arrangement of all the familiar carols that warm the winter heart. “Jingle Bell Rock” and “Santa’s Coming to Town” filled the speakers, as well as reminded me of a time I knew when, in high school, when I hadn’t a care in the world (besides teenage angst and the inevitable question “where do you see yourself in 5 years?…does that ever go away!?) “12 Days of Christmas” is this expertly arranged rendition that is both pleasing to the ear and still brings a smile every time I hear it. And having never heard these songs before, listening to “Christmas Wish” actually made me tear up a bit. I mean, it was a cold evening, but I’m a sucker for romantic lyrics sung from the heart. And I will always be a sucker for a guy that can sing. But again, I digress. As I’m driving home, listening to these tracks, I take the long way so I can listen some more. And right when the smile spreads across my face, it begins to snow. Don’t tell me I’m dramatic. I’m just tellin’ it like it is.
But the greatest thing about this holiday album is not that it is well-produced (with great bass throughout), or well-sung (soloists include Hong Kong’s “The Lion King” stage version performer and an ABC-7 reporter), it is the fact that these guys actually love to sing. They have a passion to sing. And they have kismet. I always say that the best stories in life happen because they were a story to begin with.
P.S.–They are on right now on World News Tonight with Charles Gibson, on ABC. Go network TV!
P.S.S.–Don’t you think “Kismet” would be an excellent album title!? Call me!
