George Winston - December 1982 (Christmas 2014 Post)

Happy Christmas Eve everyone! For this year's post, it will be a late one due to the fact that the holidays came by too quickly for me to prepare myself. Tonight I will be reviewing George Winston's 1982 album, December.

To learn more about George Winston, click the link here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Winston

Now to begin, December is George Winston's fourth solo piano album, released in 1982 as a holiday album, follow up to the album Autumn, and as a tribute to the winter season. In 2001, a 20th Anniversary Edition of the album was released, including two bonus tracks not included on the original release. As of last year (2013), the album was again reissued by Valley Entertainment with Dancing Cat Records, since the original Windham Hill label is now defunct. This most recent reissue has been packaged in a Digipak and features a revised cover art, making the image wider and blending the text onto the art cover rather than above it.

For comparison's sake, here are the three versions of the album cover:

Here is the original album cover art.

This is the 2001 20th Anniversary edition of the album cover art.

unAnd this is the 2013 reissue in which the white border background has been removed and the text is labeled onto the cover art background image.

Here is a description of the album, as quoted by Richard Price:

"December holds the distinction of single-handedly putting Windham Hill on the map and being the new age album most likely to find its way into music collections of all ilk. In spite of being relentlessly overplayed during the holidays, the solo piano recording has aged quite well. Winston shapes holiday war-horses and original compositions into a captivating contemporary statement. His spare, understated style captures the feel of the dark season, employing ample resonance to evoke a reflective spaciousness. The album's straightforward simplicity conveys both the celebration and quietude that characterize the best of the Yuletide spirit."

Here are two of the customer reviews from Amazon.com:

One of my favorite holiday "mood" albums

By Joanna Daneman on October 2, 2002

"I have a hard time grasping that this album is 20 years old. But because these solo piano arrangements are classic holiday pieces, it never seems to age. In fact, I've had this for years, and I wore out a cassette tape of this before I replaced it with a CD.
The music is George Winston's solo piano arrangements of folk Christmas carols like "Greensleeves" and "The Holly and the Ivy", plus some classical tunes "Pachelbel's Canon" and his own compositions. My particular favorite is the usually-boring "Carol of the Bells," which is arranged wonderfully here. If you like solo, modern piano and you like Christmas music, you might like this album as much as I do. I even play it when it's not Christmastime."

Beautifully, contemplative music!

By E. M. Holderman on April 3, 2000

Format: Audio CD

"A friend introduced me to George Winston several years ago with this very cd. Am I ever glad she did, as it opened a new world of music for me! I enjoy all the Windham Hill artists. I love Winstons' "Carole of the Bells," "Joy," and "Thanksgiving" arrangements. This entire cd is so beautifully contemplative and although it has Christmas music on it, it is a cd that I enjoy year round. Everyone that I introduce to it, has the same reaction as I initially did...."It's beautiful." I have since collected several other George Winston releases, but I believe this is my all time favorite. Pure, classic GW. It's certainly a "must-have" for the Holiday season! If you enjoy solo piano, then you're sure to enjoy December."

Click the video below to hear the full album:

Here is the track listings:

1. Thanksgiving

2. Jesus, Jesus, Rest Your Head

3. Joy

4. Prelude

5. Carol of the Bells

6. Night: Part One: Snow

7. Night: Part Two: Midnight

8. Night: Part Three: Minstrels

9. Variations On the Kanon By Pachelbel

10. The Holy and the Ivy

11. Some Children See Him

12. Peace

To purchase your own copy of the album, click the link here:

http://www.amazon.com/December-George-Winston/dp/B000000NFI

Happy Holidays from Windham Hill Memories! Let's hope 2015 is a more active year for this blog as the past year has been a slacking one.