King of Christmas

Sarah Barnett | 12 December 2005

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King of Christmas
Colin Buchanan
Wanaaring Road Music

Reviewed by Sarah Barnett

After several years working in retail, the notion of Christmas music fills me with dread. The dulcet tones of Bing Cosby or Harry Connick Jnr reminding shoppers of a winter wonderland when it’s 32 degrees outside is more perverse than celebratory. Most Christmas tunes you hear (unless you’re lucky enough to hear carols) are usually culturally irrelevant – think dashing through snow – or spiritually shallow – anything to do with reindeer. Well Colin Buchanan has changed all that with King of Christmas.

Reminding us of the joy and immense importance of the Nativity, King of Christmas is a fun, occasionally silly, but always worthy CD for children and their parents.

The album includes Buchanan’s usual variety of musical styles from the bell-ringing Christmassy numbers through to pseudo-rap and even an attempt at Calypso. But while the music is diverse the message is uniform; Christmas is a joyous time, it is when we celebrate God becoming one of us through the birth of Jesus. It is when he remember the birth of our King and saviour.

From the cheerily upbeat “Happy Day” to the pop “Good News (Sing for Joy)” through to the more wistful “Who is He in Yonder Stall?” the songs never lose their focus on the Lordship of Christ. While some styles may not be to everyone’s taste the quality of the music is undeniable. I dare anyone to listen to “Angels singing glory” and refrain from tapping their feet.

At two and four my children are established Colin Buchanan fans. For my four-year-old, in particular, The King of Christmas, provides a relevant and meaningful alternative to the strange commercialism of Christmas while being highly entertaining. What the album does very successfully is not condemn the secular appropriation of Christmas but celebrate and delight in the birth of Jesus and all that the event means for us. It recognises that this is a joyful time - something I think we forget in our frantic and sometimes guilt-ridden shopping, cooking and eating. In the song “The King of Christmas” the various symbols of Christmas from the Christmas tree to the candy cane are used to encourage us to focus on Jesus and his birth. For children and adults alike it’s a helpful way of reclaiming Christmas.