|PIC1|A Very Rosie Christmas! by Rosie Thomas is a spirit-warming Christmas album that ditches the traditional sticky sweet gush in favour of a healthy dose of realism. If Alanis Morisette were to release a Christmas album it would sound something like this.

The melancholy overtones seem to imply that the star doesn’t always sit straight atop the Christmas tree in the Rosie Thomas household and, well, it’s basically a Christmas album for grown ups who’ve been around the block enough times to know Santa isn’t real and the presents under the tree don’t include a cheque big enough to pay off your mortgage.

Depressing? You would think so but it’s not. Reflective is more the word.

But it wouldn’t be a Christmas album if it didn’t include some classics. ‘Winter Wonderland’, ‘Silent Night’ and ‘Let it Snow’ are all there. It’s just that they never sound quite as you expect them to. The bittersweet folk-style renditions on this album give the old favourites a modern, soulful twist, while 'O Come O Come Emmanuel' is simply beautiful and reminds us of what Christmas is really all about.

The gentle pace of this album is not so much dashing through the snow as a quiet meander down an empty snow covered street. Did we say quiet? Yup, a word not commonly associated with Christmas time. But if you do get the chance to clear the family, the cat and the clutter out for just a moment, we strongly recommend you grab it and use it to just sit back in your comfiest chair and let this album play while you enjoy some of the deep and meaningful soul-searching best reserved for a dark wintry night with the fire stoked and snow falling outside!

This fantastic album gives you enough room to simply take in the moment and reflect on where you have travelled from and where it is you would like to go.


On the web: www.myspace.com/rosiethomasmusic