New Halford CD

[Fat Freddy]

I wasn't aware of this till yesterday but apparently the track "Winter Song" on Halford's holiday album is actually a cover, of a song by someone named Sara Bareilles.

 

 

Shore sounds purty but I prefer Rob's version.

[HighNDryRulz]

Halford's WINTER SONGS has been growing on me with repeated spins... still hate that "Christmas for Everyone" song tho... here's the review I wrote for Detritus e-zine of the CD, if anyone cares...

 

HALFORD – WINTER SONGS (B-) Metal God Entertainment, 2009

10 Tracks, RT: 41:43

 

Okay, let’s be honest. When this project was first announced a few months ago, you all hated the idea, didn’t you? As soon as word hit the streets that the Metal God was doing a Christmas album (!), Internet message boards around the world were immediately lit up like…well, like Christmas trees, with countless fans screaming, “Is he serious? Dude, this is gonna totally suck. Has Rob completely lost his frickin’ mind?” But hold on y’all! WINTER SONGS may not be the waste of plastic that you’re all imagining that it is. In fact, it’s been growing on me with repeated listens, like the fungus on that Christmas fruitcake that’s been passed around my family for what seems like several generations now. (Haha!) Longtime Halford fans will probably recall that this is not Rob’s first foray into Holiday music; back in ’93 he recorded a promo/fan club only Christmas single (“Christmas Ride”) with his then-current band Fight, so right there we’ve got some precedent for this sort of thing. What the hell, I guess ole Rob just really, really digs the Christmas season and since he now runs his own record label to release his solo stuff and therefore he can pretty much do whatever the hell he wants with that, he has decided to share a little holiday cheer with the rest of the headbanging world. Is there anything really wrong with that? On WINTER SONGS, Rob and his solo band tackle six traditional Christmas hymns along with four new original songs with a winter/holiday theme. Of the originals, the one that’s most “Halford-like” would be the leadoff track “Get Into the Spirit,” which is a fast paced rocker that could almost pass for a B-Side from CRUCIBLE. “Winter Song” is the heart of the album, a plaintive, moving piano ballad (that still has balls of steel of course) which (call me crazy if you will) hearkens back to Priest’s SIN AFTER SIN era. The other two original songs include one fair-to-middling entry (“I Don’t Care if It’s Christmas Night,” which sounds like a bad attempt at the vibe of those classic 1960s Phil Spector rock-n-roll Christmas singles) and one that’s out and out godawful (“Christmas For Everyone,” a slab of sentimental pap with lyrics that read like a rejected Hallmark card interior). Moving on, I have no complaints about Rob’s takes on holiday staples (including such Church-ified classics as “O Holy Night,” “Oh Come All Ye Faithful,” and “O Come, O Come Emmanuel”), in fact, I was quite impressed with how classy they sound. Rob made the wise choice of treating these songs with the respect that they deserve and playing them straight, rather than tarting them up in tons of studio polish (as Trans-Siberian Orchestra would’ve done) or overplaying them for the camp value (Hell-ooooo, Twisted Sister!)… he simply sings these winter carols the way they should be sung. Period. OK, so there may be an electric guitar solo added on here and there that the original composers would never have dreamed of, but hey, this IS the Metal God we’re talking about here, after all. Though I expected this to be a “one listen and gone” disc for me, WINTER SONGS has seen repeated spins in my player since I first got it and it will likely continue to be played through the holiday season. It’s not a perfect album by any means, and Lord knows I would’ve preferred a new Halford release to be jam packed with the screaming heavy metal we all love Rob for, but I can’t deny that WINTER SONGS has a unique charm of its very own. No one is more surprised by that than me. Since this is a seasonal release it will obviously have zero replay value after Dec. 25th (until next holiday season, anyway) but despite that, I'll still say that it’s worth investigating. Merry Christmas, Mr. Halford.

As Usual an Incredible Review!!!!!

 

Great review Keef. If it wasn't for the fact that I don't like the songs I heard and don't care much for Christmas music in general then your review might of made me want to buy this.

 

Wow! This is exactly how I feel. Not impressed at all with the music, but this is one HECK of a thorough review!

 

Winter Songs: 34/100

Review: 98/100