Hanson – Christmas Time – with Mark Hudson 11/29
Hanson perform ‘Finally it’s Christmas’
Hanson Drop New Chrissy Music Video Featuring Themselves As Bébé Hansons
WARNING: This writer is a massive Hanson fan and the content which follows is extremely biased.
Well it’s a bloody Christmas miracle. 20 years after Hanson‘s 1997 platinum record ‘Snowed In‘ – quite possibly the greatest chrissy album of all time – Hanson have dropped a new music video as part of their long-awaited, follow-up release holiday album, ‘Finally It’s Christmas‘. ‘Finally’ couldn’t be a more appropriate word. I’m not angry, just disappointed.
Regardless, the video’s a beauty, kicking off with the Hanson we all know and love from ’97 (and, if you’re anything like me, every year thereafter). The footage is pulled from ABC’s Christmas Special from that same, fateful year Mmmbop entered our lives and it’s max adorable. Check it:
THIS IS TOO MUCH. Their voices / faces have aged like fine wine and I’m not at all pissed off that their balls dropped with the Millennium. The 20-year wait though? Look, difficult.
“There are a couple of reasons – none of them are because we didn’t want to do it,” Zac Hanson, every 90s girl’s IRL drummer boy, told PEDESTRIAN.TV.
He said that dishing out Christmas nostalgia but staying true to your band’s sound is a difficult balancing act. “I hate it when you hear a band or an artist who changes genres just because it’s Christmas. They don’t sound like themselves anymore, like it’s an excuse to be a bad version of yourself. That’s hard to do – it’s hard to find the balance.“
The new album features Hanson originals as well as covers of Mariah Carey‘s ’94 release ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You‘, mixed in with reinterpreted versions of Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, and Paul McCartney holiday tunes.
“In some ways I think we were waiting around for several songs that ended up on this record to become classics. A song like ‘All I Want For Christmas’, it wasn’t old enough to be a classic when we made ‘Snowed In’.”
“That record became such a favourite so quick for our fans, we wanted to find a way to… we just had to wait for the right timing, like everyone was ready to hear you, reinterpreting that style again. Coming back to this place, where it wasn’t simply putting ‘Snowed In’ next to another record and going, is it good enough?”
That’s essentially the reason you won’t be hearing any of the ‘Snowed In‘ bangers, like ‘What Christmas Means To Me‘ + ‘Merry Christmas Baby‘ on this new record.
“Re-recording the songs would’ve felt like some sort of referendum on them, like, ‘Oh, they weren’t good enough, now they’re better’,” Zac explained. “Never do we want to do that.”
“I think that’s something that’s very core about our band. We’re very proud of our history, musically. We don’t run away from Mmmbop. There’s not a version of our band where we’re gunna be like ‘…And here’s the real us, we changed styles.’ We just simply evolve through time. We wanted to make a musical statement.”
You can buy ‘Finally It’s Christmas’ here or have a gander on Spotify here. But here’s one for old time’s sake:
Image: YouTube / Hanson
Festive pop songs yule be hearing
THE biggest new festive release this year is undoubtably Sia’s Everyday Is Christmas (Atlantic), from the enigmatic pop supremo behind massive hits such as Chandelier and Titanium. She has teamed up once again with superstar co-producer and co-writer Greg Kurstin to create a characteristically slick but offbeat selection of original Christmas pop.
The joyous but slightly ominously named Santa’s Coming For Us is a jazzy calypso jingle with upbeat brass, while Snowman is a lilting, bittersweet piano ballad. There’s probably nothing here that’s going to turn into the next Last Christmas or All I Want For Christmas Is You but it’s still the best totally new Christmas pop we’ve heard in a while.
And if one seasonal pop offering from a massive female solo artist isn’t enough, there’s also Gwen Stefani’s You Make It Feel Like Christmas (Interscope). The album features the No Doubt star’s unique covers of classic Yuletide tunes such as Jingle Bells and Santa Baby, plus a few new and original songs.
The title track is a duet with Gwen’s boyfriend Blake Shelton, the country music giant (and somewhat bemused 2017 recipient of People Magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive accolade). As such, it’s a suitably rollicking but easy-on-the-ear ride that will have you decking your halls with gingham ribbons and sprigs of hay.
Those hailing from the ‘Mmmbop, ba duba dop’ generation will, of course, know that November 18 marked the 20th anniversary of fraternal pop trio Hanson’s 2 million-selling holiday album Snowed In — a mixture of carols, festive covers and original Chrimbo recordings. Following on from their 25th anniversary tour earlier this year, the revitalised band have released their second festive LP, the aptly named Finally It’s Christmas (3CG records).
Isaac, Taylor and Zac, who already have 12 kids between them, have included four original tracks amid eight ‘updated’ classics in an album brimming with typically upbeat rock’n’roll energy. The title track packs in crisp guitars, smooth harmonies, jingling bells and even some chimes — it might just be our not-even-that-guilty new festive pleasure.
And if you need another trip down 1990s memory lane, Nick Lachey and the rest of the 98 Degrees boys are back with their second holiday album, Let It Snow (UMe). It’s packed full of Yuletide covers, and while taking on Joni Mitchell’s heartbreakingly beautiful classic River feels faintly sacrilegious, 98 Degrees aficionados will love the crooning harmonies on their smooth cover of Charles Brown’s 1960 hit, Please Come Home For Christmas.
Finally, if you’re more of a hip hop and club pop fan, Chance The Rapper and Jeremih have promised to release a festive album this year, following on from their 2016 project, Merry Christmas Lil’ Mama.
It’s still being worked on but should be ready to drop into stockings in time for Christmas.
Isaac Hanson and Harry Wayne Casey Join Noise11 iHeartRadio This Week
Isaac Hanson of Hanson have released ‘Finally It’s Christmas’, the band’s second Christmas album. Hanson have covered some Christmas classics such as Paul McCartney’s ‘Wonderful Christmastime’. Isaac will tell you what the Hanson family get up to at Christmas this week at iHeartRadio.
Harry Wayne Kasey is bringing KC & The Sunshine Band to Australia in December for A Day On The Green. His Australian connections go right back to the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack which he shared with the Bee Gees.
Noise11 iHeartRadio will pay tribute to Malcolm Young this week with the first two songs AC/DC ever recorded with Dave Evans before Bon Scott joined the band.
The Age Music Victoria Award winners A.B. Original and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard feature, you’ll hear Iron Maiden live recorded in Sydney and the song Stevie Nicks nicked from Prince.
Stream iHeartRadio Music news powered by Noise11.com here now
Noise11 iHeartRadio playlist 24 November 2017
Alex Lahey – Every Day’s The Weekend
The Doors – Moonlight Drive
Iron Maiden – If Eternity Should Fail
Green Day – Back In The USA
AC/DC – Can I Sit Next To You Girl
AC/DC – Rockin In The Parlour
AC/DC – Riff Raff
AC/DC – Rock and Roll Train
A.B. Original – January 26
LCD Soundsystem – Call The Police
Isaac Hanson interview part 1
Hanson – Finally Its Christmas
Hanson – Wonderful Christmastime
Isaac Hanson interview part 2
Company Caine – Dr. Chop
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard – Rattlesnake
KC & The Sunshine Band interview 1
KC and the Sunshine Band – Boogie Shoes
KC and the Sunshine Band – That’s The Way I Like It
KC & The Sunshine Band interview 2
Prince – Little Red Corvette
Stevie Nicks – Stand Back
Paul Kelly – My Mans Got A Cold
Neil Young – Already Great
Stream iHeartRadio Music news powered by Noise11.com here now
5 to Find: Christmas albums from Tulsa music-makers including Hanson, Leon Russell, Garth
You love Christmas music. You love your local musicians and Oklahoma stars. Put them together, and you’ve got some albums full of holiday tunes to consider listening to this time of year.
‘Finally It’s Christmas’ by Hanson
Twenty years following the band’s last Christmas album “Snowed In” (which was produced shortly after the 1997 mega-success of the “Middle of Nowhere” album, also celebrating a 20th anniversary), Hanson has just released an album full of holiday classics (from older to newer, like “All I Want for Christmas” to “A Wonderful Christmas Time” by Paul McCartney), as well as new songs, including the title tune. You’ll hear children singing, too, and it’s the musicians’ kids on the album.
Review: Hanson delights at PlayStation Theater holiday show in New York
On November 29, Grammy-nominated pop group Hanson performed at PlayStation Theater in New York City, as part of their “Finally It’s Christmas” tour.
They kicked off their show with “Finally it’s Christmas,” the title track of their new holiday record, where they grasped the audience’s attention from the first verse, and they sustained that attention for the entire duration of their holiday concert in Times Square, New York. Isaac Hanson on acoustic guitar and lead vocals was superb, while Zac and Taylor furnished their strong harmonies. It was followed by the upbeat, piano-driven “What Christmas Means to Me,” and “Merry Christmas, Baby.”
They continued with the mid-tempo “Winter Wonderland” and “Run Rudolph Run,” where Isaac nailed the electric guitar. Taylor praised the late Chuck Berry for being the “original rock and roller.” “Someday at Christmas” was a controlled and subtle piano-driven performance, featuring the dynamic voice of Taylor Hanson. They subsequently praised the greatness of Stevie Wonder.
Their a cappella version of “White Christmas” was heartfelt and nostalgic, and it allowed the trio of brothers to display their soaring harmonies. Hanson stomped their feet and had the audience clapping along with them on their follow-up a cappella tune “Joy to the Mountain,” where the song was essentially a mixture of “Joy to the World” and “Go Tell It on the Mountain.” Another crowd favorite for sure, where one can sense their passion for their craft during this remarkable medley of Christmas classics.
They sang “Please Come Home For Christmas” with a great deal of soul, which would have made the Eagles proud. “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” was slower, with a neat orchestral arrangement to it. Hanson was able to give Darlene Love’s “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)” their own, distinct twist, and it worked well. The crowd was reciting the lyrics verbatim, as they incorporated it as a singalong with the audience.
They belted out the rocking “Til New Years Night,” which was quite appropriate for his holiday show. After the cheerful “A Wonderful Christmas Time,” they closed their show covering Mariah Carey’s “All I Want for Christmas” and on a sassy fun note with “Everybody Knows the Claus.”
For their encore, Hanson returned to the PlayStation Theater stage to sing Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas,” and they ended with a soothing rendition of “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” thus leaving their hardcore fans wanting to hear more Christmas tunes.
The Verdict
Overall, Hanson was incredible at the PlayStation Theater in New York City, where they performed in support of their newest Christmas album. Despite messing up on the lyrics for two of the songs, they proved that they are only human. They are worth seeing live, in any capacity, whether it is for a holiday or Greatest Hits show. Hanson never disappoints. The trio of siblings was born to entertain. Their show garnered an A rating.
Hanson’s Finally It’s Christmas album earned a rave review from Digital Journal. Their Christmas album is available on iTunes.
Hanson Share Cheerful ‘Finally It’s Christmas’ Video: Watch
Hanson throw it back to 1997 to their original Christmas special with ABC for their new video “Finally It’s Christmas.” The singing siblings released their first Christmas album, Finally It’s Christmas, back in October, and today (Nov 30) have shared the visuals to the title track.
“We did that Christmas special 20 years ago with ABC, so we’re kind of pivoting off from that point,” Hanson explained to EW. “We sort of take you through [the past] and a little today, performing music like it’s from a Christmas special, and imagining what each of those eras looked like celebrating Christmas. It’s like time travel.”
The word “Finally” in the song and album title is a fun nod to all the times the boys were asked, “When are you making another Christmas album?” Well, two decades after their platinum-selling 1997 hit Snowed In, they were ready to re-approach the holiday with a mix of classic holiday covers and original tunes.
View the cheery new video below, and stream Finally It’s Christmas here.
Episode 26: Double Feature (Finally An Album / Opening The Time Capsule)
Two for one on this episode! First, we look at the recently released Finally It’s Christmas album – going over some highlights, some lowlights, and some unexpected 1997 tie-ins. Then, it’s time to check on the predictions people made way back in summer of 2016 for what would happen with Hanson from then up until the end of 2017. If you think people made a lot of accurate guesses, you’d be wrong!
Guest:
Ginger Dzerk