Peter Hollens

Peter Hollens has done it again. This short (36 minutes, ten songs) CD is well worth listening to. He's selected what I think of as the essential songs from The Greatest Showman and worked his magic on them. They came across with a new freshness. Four of them feature background vocals from his fans.

As of mid-November, 2018, five of the ten songs on the CD are not available from Peter Hollens on YouTube. The CD comes with a short booklet with title information on it. It also comes with a folded poster.

The Greatest Show (featuring The Hollensfamily)
A Million Dreams (featuring Ashland Hollens and Evynne Hollens)
Come Alive (featuring The Hollensfamily)
The Other Side (featuring Chester See) (on YouTube as of 11/14/2018)
Never Enough (on YouTube as of 11/14/2018)
This Is Me (featuring The Hollensfamily) (on YouTube as of 11/14/2018)
Rewrite the Stars (featuring Evynne Hollens)
Tightrope (on YouTube as of 11/14/2018)
From Now On (featuring The Hollensfamily) (on YouTube as of 11/14/2018)
The Greatest Showman Reprise (featuring Taylor Davis)

I loved so many of the songs. This Is Me, Never Enough, and Rewrite the Stars float to the top of what I want to listen to multiple times.

If you like Peter Hollens, this should be in your collection. If you like The Greatest Showman, you would most likely enjoy this CD. If you like both, what are you waiting for? Get it!… (lisätietoja)

I have always loved folk music and Peter Hollens has the vocal range to handle these songs. The recording includes:
House of the Rising Sun
Loch Lomond (featuring David Archuleta)
Shenandoah (featuring Anna Gilbert -- different from the version on his Peter Hollens CD)
Danny Boy
The Water Is Wide
The Parting Glass (featuring The Hound + The Fox -- again, different from the version on his Peter Hollens CD)
Greensleeves (featuring Tim Foust)
Poor Wayfaring Stranger (featuring The Swingles)
Scarborough Fair
Loch Lomond (quite different from the version with David Archuleta)
Down by the Salley Gardens
Amazing Grace (featuring Home Free)
The Skye Boat Song
The Fox

Altogether you get 43 minutes of wonderful folk music with the richness that an arrangement by Hollens provides. My favorites are Greensleeves (oh my goodness, Tim Foust's voice is so rich on those low notes), The Parting Glass which is an inspired collaboration, Amazing Grace (oh, the harmonies!), and The Skye Boat Song which uses Robert Louis Stevenson's lyrics.

Poor Wayfaring Stranger was different than I expected with a jazzier feel. Still, it was a beautiful arrangement, leading nicely into Scarborough Fair. The Fox was a great closing song and made me smile.

If you like folk music I think you would like this CD. If you like Peter Hollens, you should certainly add this to your collection.… (lisätietoja)

Peter Hollens is one of the most remarkable vocal talents that I've had the privilege to hear. I've been awaiting a Christmas CD from him since seeing his Mary, Did You Know? video and I am not disappointed in this one. There's not a dud on any of the tracks.

The CD opens with a performance of Little Drummer Boy. Mike Tompkins is a good choice for this percussive song. Grown-Up Christmas List is one that resonates with me, so I was glad to hear Evynne Hollens singing it with her husband. Another collaboration was Happy Xmas (War Is Over) with Jackie Evancho. The song isn't one of my favorites, but I rather liked this version. The final collaboration was Amazing Grace sung with Home Free. I love Home Free, Peter Hollens, and Amazing Grace; it is not a surprise that I loved this recording.

O Come, O Come Emmanuel is one of my favorite songs, Christmas or otherwise. Peter Hollens creates a haunting version of this song that will stay with me. I think it may be my favorite of all the versions I have of it. A similar song for me is What Child Is This? and it has the same feeling for me.

Believe I loved with the children's voices in the background. December Song is new and has heartfelt lyrics and a melody that soars. I love it. It is repeated a capella as a bonus track. It made my heart rejoice as the holiday suggests it should.

I suspect everyone who reads this has heard or seen Peter Hollens performing Mary, Did You Know? The arrangement here is just as wonderful as the video.

If you like Christmas music, this should be on your short list to get this year. Peter Hollens fans should certainly acquire it. It will be repeated many times this season in my home.… (lisätietoja)

What a glorious mix of songs! While all are from the two J.R. R. Tolkien movie trilogies, they stand alone on their own merits. All of the tracks are great; this time I cannot pick my favorites. It would totally depend on my mood, the weather (sunny or drear), and how long it has been since I heard whichever song last. The harmonies are close; the words, easily understandable. The high parts are high; the low parts, rumbling. The collaborations are perfectly selected voices (especially Tim Foust in Misty Mountains). Taylor Davis's violin adds another dimension to I See Fire and May It Be.

I went ahead and bought this because there are versions on YouTube and I love them there. This CD will let me listen to them without hogging bandwidth or being distracted by the wonderful videos. No guilt about listening to them at work!

If you like the movies or vocal music, you will most likely enjoy these. If you like both, you certainly will.… (lisätietoja)