The Christmas Attic by Trans-Siberian Orchestra Re-Play

I came across this album by accident and decided to take a chance on the combination of two of my favourite things, rock music and Christmas! Well, what could go wrong?

It starts with a lullaby style song called Ghosts of Christmas Eve which sets the story in motion of a young girl looking through boxes in her attic one Christmas. It reminded me a lot of Land of Make Believe by Bucks Fizz, a song I always liked. The next track is a tune called Boughs of Holly, a guitar powered rock treatment of Deck the Halls that sounds like a song that Europe would have produced in the mid 80s. The World That She Sees returns to the girl with another lullaby start but this soon gives way to a Meatloaf style rock opera tune with a chorus that is sung in the style of Michael Ball. Yes, it’s as bonkers as it sounds, and utterly irresistible! The next song is The World That He Sees, a reflection on what the world could be that introduces an air of melancholy into the proceedings.

Midnight Christmas Eve once again gives us a contrast by developing a gentle tune that is effective and quite beautiful in its own way, but which has a Brian May style guitar solo towards the end just because it can. Then The March of the Kings, a French carol, is combined with my favourite, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, in a flurry of electric guitars as the Trans-Siberian very entertainingly continue to throw the kitchen sink at everything. The Three Kings and I goes into Southern Rock and Blues mode because, well why not?! Christmas Canon is the next song, and by this time in the album the use of an actual cannon wouldn’t surprise me! Instead it is an absolutely beautiful version of Pachelbel’s famous canon, with occasional lyrics sung by a children’s choir, which definitely matches any other version I’ve ever heard. We’re back to electric guitar based carol mash ups for the next track, Joy of Man’s Desire and Angels We Have Heard on High although by way of variation the latter is sung gospel style. Find our Way Home is a song about the way we continue to treat Christmas Day as a day apart in our lives in spite of everything else we might be chasing the other 364 days of the year. Appalachian Snowfall returns to the tune of the first song on the album before the rock element kicks in to good effect.

The Music Box completely changes the mood as we hear a woman reflecting on the Christmases she spent with the person she lost during the year. It is a sad and beautiful song that has a real emotional impact. The Snow Came Down continues the very reflective mood although the music is heavier and the vocals are delivered with a Joe Cocker style growl that is very effective. Christmas in the Air starts with a music box style tune that trips lightly across the words before becoming a song of joy to the new year ahead. Dream Child reflects upon the Nativity, but you don’t have to be a believer to be caught up with the lovely lyrics and reflect on why Christmas alone among all the times of year is seen as special. Penultimate track An Angel’s Share has lyrics that may lead you to expect a quiet tune that sounds like a carol you are sure you have heard. Well it is, in amongst the guitars and bells that punctuate the song at regular intervals in the way that The Darkness may well have enjoyed! The final track is Music Box Blues, and it is a suitably baffling end to a bonkers, brilliant and fun Christmas album.

You can find it on Spotify here https://open.spotify.com/album/0ONDwjJpx82SNMqIzwoyJy if my review has whetted your appetite. However, if you decide to stretch to the CD, the insert contains the story of the album written as a Christmas fairy tale, and there are unsung lyrics (in italics) that give more of the story. The extra material definitely gives more context that you would otherwise miss. In this, as in just about everything else, the Trans Siberian Orchestra play by their own rules. The Christmas Attic is definitely a Christmas album unlike any other!