Chris Squire's Swiss Choir

I am so absolutely sick of the obligatory "holiday-song-collection-sell-out-crap" that most "rock-stars" dish out all-too-often. Thankfully, this is quite the opposite.This is a 5-star rating for a "Christmas Album", not a regular rock release. So please consider that as you read on.The TRUE, true-meaning of Christmas is in-your-face on this recording and I absolutely love it. Thank you Chris for having the cahones to proclaim the truth about the Christmas story. If you don't like hearing about the birth of Jesus Christ, then don't buy it because that message is in just about every song.This is a class-act, huge-sounding production that is an all-new sonic experience for most of us Americans. Like another reviewer stated, there are some very, very old European classics here that are unfamiliar to American ears. They are truly awesome masterpieces, treated with respect and beautifully done with a touch of tastefully added flair in the form of Squire's bass, Steve Hackett's guitar, Squire's unmistakable voice and many professional, high-quality singers.Chris seemed to be re-discovering his choir-boy roots here.This CD should be in everybody's Christmas album rotation during the holidays.What a very pleasant surprise this CD was.Thanks Chris.

Chris Squire and Steve Hackett add their talents to a group of classic English carols literally sung by a choir (but an English choir, not a Swiss choir). The results are fantastic. Beautiful voices, powerful bass undergirding the songs, and fantastic guitar. This is a family favorite in my house. And as a bonus, you get Chris Squire and Alan Whites delightful and mysterious Christmas song, Run With the Fox.

What's nice about this is that Squire was a choirboy in the Church of England for a few years and hie choirmaster helped instill in him the love for music that served him so well in later life. The song selections and treatment reflect that background as well as his inclinations as a bassist, arranger, and vocalist in Yes. Some of the songs like "Personent Hodie" are ancient classics that are probably going to be unfamiliar to American Christian audiences (I was baptized Presbyterian) but it's nice to hear Christmas music that's solidly from within the European Christian tradition like this. Good use is made of guest guitarist Steve Hackett (of pre-pop Genesis; he and Squire would later team up and record an album as Squackett) on many of the tunes. If the holiday music of, say, Trans-Siberian Orchestra is just too bombastic for you, you might find this album to be more to your liking; while there are some uptempo selections and segments they seem more sensible and earnest here, like it's less forced. I credit this to the unique sensitivities that Chris Squire embodied; it really makes this album seem like more of a gift. I especially like "I Saw Three Ships" (with its five-string-bass dive below the usual low E), "Past Three O'Clock," and "Run with the Fox," which was actually recorded in 1981 along with Yes' longest-serving drummer, Alan White. If you love Squire's bass playing, you will listen to this with a smile on your face and he sings lead on a few of the tracks as well.

I absolutely adore this CD! And in the past, I've never been a big fan of Christmas/holiday music. I just happened to be a big aficionado of YES and decided to venture into some of the musicians' solo projects. I love repeatedly listening to this CD in the month of December. It is amazing. It is fantastic. I recommend it to anyone/everyone who happens to read this. This CD has greatly enriched my life. This is the first review I have ever written on Amazon (and I've been a customer for years). That's how much I love this CD.

I must say that I didn't expect much from this recording, but I was pleasantly surprised. I am not a big fan of the "Christmas music done as rock song" style of groups such as the Trans Siberian Orchestra. This cd is really quite different. The songs are done in a much more traditional style, featuring a full choir, with just the right touch of the modern instruments to enhance the music rather than overpower it. A great purchase for anyone looking for a Christmas cd, not just for fans of Chris Squire.

Just discovered this classic and love it. Baroque choir singing traditional English Christmas tunes with rock-inspired guitar and bass. Rich sounds, strong arrangements, and wonderfully mixed. Look forward to enjoying this many Christmases.

I have been a fan of Chris Squire for years. All of the different iterations of "Yes" have always sounded like "Yes" because Chris is the constant thread. His counterpoint approach to vocal arrangements and bass lines is always interesting.This album of Christmas music is very different from the typical new offerings from other artists. Being from the US, I am not familiar with some of the melodies and songs. But it is a very enjoyable mix. It is a little "heavy" in the choral arrangements - which I am not used to. As a whole, it is not a selection of songs that you have playing in the background, although there may be some you could extract to make a multi-artist personal mix. The music is challenging.Like most challenging music, I expect Swiss Choir will grow on me. I do recommend it for Yes fans and for those who enjoy chorale music.

Great treatments of classic Christmas songs as well as some I'd never heard.

有名アーティストのクリスマス企画物は沢山ありますが、これは素晴らしいですよ。有名曲も多く、クリスマス感たっぷりながら、クリスのベースもハケットのギターも手抜き無しで本気の超絶的な演奏を聴かせてくれてます。期待以上です！YES臭も漂っています。クリス・スクワイアがスティーブ・ハケットと共に、本気で作ったX'masアルバム。聴く価値ありますよ。

It is Christmas Day evening, my job has been... well, not so good lately, but d'you know what has lifted me up, made my Christmas bright, made the journey to and from work tolerable and given me a big silly grin on my face? You got it... Mr. Chris Squire, former choir boy and keeper of the faith with a certain well-known band, taking the notion of carols, spinning them up to speed and underpinning them with a perfectly arranged rock foundation for the new century. Frankly, like most of humanity, I'd got pretty sick of "Now That's What I Call Christmas", so finding this album was a joy and a delight. Chris & Co. don't destroy the carols, they keep the original timings, a strong and incredibly tight choir and just pump this up into a virtual euphoric mix. I've NEVER before enjoyed a drumkit in a "church" environment, but the re-interpretations are faithful, bouncy, playful and VERY uplifting. Messrs Squire and Hackett do drop out of the strict regime for the odd prog-rock noodle along the way, but - to quote Frank Zappa - sometimes there is "good noodling!". If you want to try something stimulating, out-of-the-ordinary and infinitely more pleasing than Slade for next Christmas (or any other one, for that matter), then shell out a few bob for the "Swiss Choir". You won't be disappointed. Now then Mr. Squire, how about a Concert of Carols with the band for '13??

Chris Squire ist es auf diesem Album gelungen, weihnachtliche Chormusik geschickt und auf vielfältige Weise mit dem Instrumentarium und den Stilmitteln der Rockmusik zu verbinden. Insbesondere die ungewöhnliche rhythmische Gestaltung der Arrangements lässt aufhorchen und sorgt immer wieder für schöne Überraschungen. Hier kommt auch die Squire-typische synkopische Spielweise nicht zu kurz. Natürlich sind Anklänge an verschiedene Yes-Epochen zu vernehmen (auf "Past 3 o'clock"), es werden aus Keyboards und Gitarren filigrane Klangteppiche gewebt, und über allem thront der wundervolle Gesang des English Baroque Choir, dessen Einsätze die Festlichkeit des Anlasses immer wieder in den Vordergrund zurückholen, wenn die Rock-Fraktion sich mal allzu sehr in Selbstgefälligkeiten verirrt hat, was z.B. dem Gitarristen Steve Hackett bei den Titeln 1 und 2 passiert, wenn er dort krass am musikalischen Kontext vorbei soliert, der ansonsten allerdings tadellos und überaus musikdienlich und zurückhaltend agiert. Das musikalische Flussbett, das alles vorantreibt und zusammenhält, liefert stets der sichere, erdige, wuchtige, manchmal fast schneidende Bass Squires. Gesanglich kommt Squire bei vier Titeln als Solist zum Einsatz, wobei er vor allem bei "The three Kings" und der Eigenkomposition "Run with the Fox" voll überzeugen kann.Absolute Highlights sind das an die "Carmina Burana" erinnernde "Personent Hodie" und das alle Schönheit des Winters in sich vereinende "In the Bleak Midwinter" mit der überwältigenden Sopranstimme von Amy George.Dass hier größtenteils wenig bekannte bis hierzulande völlig unbekannte Weihnachtsweisen bearbeitet wurden, passt zum unkonventionellen Umgang mit dem musikalischen Material, das in keiner Weise entweiht, sondern vielmehr um die kraftvollen Ausdrucksmöglichkeiten des Rock erweitert wird. Die Squire/White-Komposition "Run with the Fox" von 1980 bildet den Abschluss und die Krönung dieses wundervollen Albums. Dass hier kein schweizer Chor singt, wie Squire im Booklet warnend verkündet, fällt nicht weiter ins Gewicht.

A l'heure où le groupe YES, à l'aube de fêter ses 40ans de carrière, s'essouffle un peu, Chris squire, bassiste de génie et membre pilier du groupe nous gratifie d'un album magnifique, rehaussé par la présence de Steve Hackett à la guitare.Des chants de Noel, à la sauce prog/rock, fallait oser, et bien ça marche...un album très subtil, avec bien entendu un son de basse royal qui interagit merveilleusement avec la guitare de steve Hackett.Et Chris squire chante aussi, avec son timbre très particulier.à consommer sans réserve...

Generally speaking Christmas albums should be approached with caution, (Jethro Tull's Christmas Album being an honourable exception), however this offering from Chris Squire defies all expectations and convention and really delivers. For a start there's the title - you have to love 'Chris Squire's Swiss Choir'. Whoever thought of that title - genius! But then you start to play it and immediately it's not what you expect. Opening with a full-on choral version of 'Adam Lay Y'Bounden' it seems initially as if the album's title is going to be taken literally, but then after one verse the rhythm kicks in and you are off on one of the most enjoyable and good natured 55 minutes of Christmas music ever recorded. Squire has taken classic Christmas songs and managed both to remain faithful to the spirit of the traditional versions and at the same time to inject some funky rhythms and playfulness to them all. Terriffic stuff, greatly enhanced by some truly wonderful guitar work by Steve Hackett, (himself very much in the ascendancy at the moment). As a bonus at the end we get a polished-up version of Squire's Christmas hit of some years ago - 'Run With the Fox', one of the best seasonal singles in my opinion. I bought this album in 2008 and it comes straight to the top of my Christmas playlist every year now. I defy you not to love it too!