Stryper - The Greatest Gift of All

The Greatest Gift of All sounds like Stryper and sounds like Christmas – and a pretty rocking Christmas at that…

The Greatest Gift of All

Stryper

Frontiers Music

10 tracks / 39:55

www.stryper.com

 ‘Christmas album.’ Hmmm. Tricky – those two words trigger warning lights almost as much as the words ‘hymns project’ did in the eighties. Your favorite band or artist decides to journey outside of their wheelhouse to create a collection of themed tracks for a unique and specialized album. Sometimes the result is a batch of songs that sound nothing like the music that ‘brought you to the dance’ in the first place. Of course there’s another potential danger in these special collections: the songs are so radically transformed that they no longer bear even a familial resemblance to the originals. In this case I can report that Stryper’s Christmas project, The Greatest Gift of All, sounds like Stryper and sounds like Christmas – and a pretty rocking Christmas at that.

Of course, long-time Stryper fans will tell you that the band is not exactly new to creating Christmas music. Back in the eighties they gave us “Reason for The Season” and their well-known cover of “Winter Wonderland” (for 50 bonus points: what CCM artist produced an equally-outrageous version of that same holiday classic about four years after?). Decades later, Stryper is going strong and continues telling us that Jesus is still the reason for the season. The crunching chords, soaring melodic twin guitar solos, relentless drumming, operatic lead singing, and washes of background vocal harmony are all still there – the signature Stryper sounds are all in full force as the band delivers a Christmas package of five originals and five covers. At times you might sense a little of that Trans-Siberian Orchestra vibe and realize that Stryper just might have been an influence there.

Produced with some holiday atmosphere by Michael Sweet, the album is peppered with hints of clock towers sounding in the distance, ‘cold’ winds blowing, and other subtle atmospherics suggesting the Christmas season.  Church bells sound distantly as the title track starts the album, but don’t be fooled – “The Greatest Gift of All” is a rip-roaring, lyrically uplifting track. Not overly heavy-handed, the song lets you know right off the bat who you’re listening to and presses all of the ‘Stryper’ buttons. For the most part, the cover versions alternate with the originals – next up is “Go Tell it on The Mountain,” which retains the integrity of the melody and structure of the standard even with the double guitar solo! Is it just me or am I sometimes hearing echoes of 50s girl-group vocal phrasing in some of Michael’s vocals (not a bad thing). Great hooks and a strong melodic chorus are featured on “Heaven Came on Christmas Day,” followed by another Christmas classic. “Little Drummer Boy” is heavy and ponderous, with screaming guitars and the unmistakable Stryper sound.

Looking for real classic Stryper? “Still the Light” is well-played metal that would sound great on any of their non-holiday albums. The same is true for “On This Holy Night,” a sort-of ominous sounding reprimand for what we as a culture have allowed Christmas to become; “Jesus, where’d you go this time? / We lit the tree but dimmed Your light / Wrapped your name in tinsel lies, On this holy night…” This one will work very powerfully in a live setting. Quite a contrast to the preceding song, “Silent Night,” which features acoustic guitars and synths, harmony vocals and Michael in his best “Honestly” choir-boy vocal mode.

A basic rock version of “Joy to the World” wraps things up before a delightful re-visit to “Reason for the Season” and “Winter Wonderland.” Oh – the answer to that question in the second paragraph? Steve Taylor gave us a mariachi band version of “Winter Wonderland” in ’88.

The Greatest Gift of All is a title that might sound like your church’s dreaded Christmas cantata but don’t let that fool you. It’s a unique celebration of the season that’s respectful and rocks – and is a lot of fun. Oh, and good news about the cover art – the band did not dress up to depict a Nativity Scene…

- Bert Saraco

You can see Bert’s concert photography - including pictures of Stryper - at www.facebook.com/express.image