Smokie was one of those British pop bands from the early 70s that came along on the tailwind of the glam-rock era, associated with the production and songwriting team of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. The pair had also worked with such bands as Sweet, Mud, Suzi Quatro and Hot Chocolate. Smokie's celebrity was mostly confined to the European sphere, with such hits as "Don't Play Your Rock 'n Roll To Me," "If You Think You Know How to Love Me," and "Living Next Door To Alice." Lead singer Chris Norman also duetted with Quatro on the worldwide hit "Stumblin' In." Unlike most of the Chinnichap acts, Smokie persevered onward into the present day, pausing to record this Christmas CD in 1996. It's your basic 20-years-on rock band that's done everything else adding a Christmas record to the repertoire. They long ago left Chinnichap behind, so what we have here is adult contemporary pop-rock layered under synthesized orchestration applied to 14 songs, of which "It Won't Be Christmas," "When a Child is Born," the title song, and "Christmas Isn't Just For Children," all fairly conventional Christmas sentiments. Considering the band once cut an album in Nashville, the countrified take on "Away In a Manger" isn't unexpected, but it is a different arrangement. They also do David Essex's "A Winter's Tale," Chris DeBurgh's "A Spaceman Came Travelling," and an almost folkish "Mary's Boy Child." The rest are traditional carols like "O Christmas Tree," "O Holy Night," "Silent Night" and pop standards like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "White Christmas." This is OK for Smokie fans and those who like their bands to be from the 1970s, assuming you don't pay import prices for it.
Light a Candle, The Christmas Album, Smokie (CMC)
Smokie was one of those British pop bands from the early 70s that came along on the tailwind of the glam-rock era, associated with the production and songwriting team of Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman. The pair had also worked with such bands as Sweet, Mud, Suzi Quatro and Hot Chocolate. Smokie's celebrity was mostly confined to the European sphere, with such hits as "Don't Play Your Rock 'n Roll To Me," "If You Think You Know How to Love Me," and "Living Next Door To Alice." Lead singer Chris Norman also duetted with Quatro on the worldwide hit "Stumblin' In." Unlike most of the Chinnichap acts, Smokie persevered onward into the present day, pausing to record this Christmas CD in 1996. It's your basic 20-years-on rock band that's done everything else adding a Christmas record to the repertoire. They long ago left Chinnichap behind, so what we have here is adult contemporary pop-rock layered under synthesized orchestration applied to 14 songs, of which "It Won't Be Christmas," "When a Child is Born," the title song, and "Christmas Isn't Just For Children," all fairly conventional Christmas sentiments. Considering the band once cut an album in Nashville, the countrified take on "Away In a Manger" isn't unexpected, but it is a different arrangement. They also do David Essex's "A Winter's Tale," Chris DeBurgh's "A Spaceman Came Travelling," and an almost folkish "Mary's Boy Child." The rest are traditional carols like "O Christmas Tree," "O Holy Night," "Silent Night" and pop standards like "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "White Christmas." This is OK for Smokie fans and those who like their bands to be from the 1970s, assuming you don't pay import prices for it.
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