Noël - Josh Groban

Sarah van Delden | 18 December 2007

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Noël
Josh Groban
Warner
2007

Christmas. A time to celebrate Jesus’ birth. A time to avoid the shopping centres at all costs. A time in which, it seems, any and every artist decides to release a Christmas album.

Usually this thought has me cringing and staying away from commercial radio. But I’m surprised to say Josh Groban had me enthralled by his latest Christmas themed release Noël.

Anyone who has followed the likes of Michael Buble will be familiar with the name Josh Groban. A sultry, baritone voice with a ruggard face and unkempt mass of brown hair… hey, what’s not to like?

In a recent press release, Groban commented, “I was inspired by all the Christmases I’ve been fortunate enough to celebrate with my family over the last 26 years. I was committed to making a classic Christmas album yet one that sounded different than anything that’s been heard on a holiday record”.

Noel consists of thirteen songs, four of which are traditional carols, including ‘Silent Night’, ‘Little Drummer Boy’, ‘O Come All Ye Faithful’ and ‘The First Noël’. In true Josh Groban style, the arrangement of each of these songs is quite enchanting.

The ebb and flow of orchestral movements, vocal choirs, beautiful harmonies, upbeat contemporary twists on classics means it’s quite a treat. The most unusual is the arrangement of the classic ‘I’ll be home for Christmas’. Groban has interspersed the music with recorded messages from those serving over in the war in Iraq and their families back home sending their Christmas greetings. The result is a rather moving song that juxtaposes the warmth of a song about Christmas, a time of peace, to the loneliness of families separated by war.

My personal favourite would have to be ‘Little Drummer Boy’. The guitar finger picking, rolling snare drums and Irish fiddle certainly had me toe tapping. The fact that this song is actually about the story of Jesus’ birth is just a huge bonus.

Unlike ‘Silent Night’, which has very clear references to Jesus Christ being “Saviour” and the “Son of God”, ‘Little Drummer Boy’, clearly refers to “the King” but never states that this is Jesus. This is the same in ‘The First Noël’, which talks about the “King of Israel”. The assumption is that anyone listening, who knows about the true story of Christmas, could fill in the blanks and know that this is Jesus Christ. Sadly, I suspect that these days in a time where the name Jesus is most commonly used as an expletive, this assumption probably can’t always be made. But Jesus is the King. He said so himself. “You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth.” (John 18:37).

Unfortunately, tracks like ‘The Christmas Song’, which refers to Santa as being the source of “toys and goodies” remind us how sad it that Christmas has become so commercialised. That the Lord Jesus, with his gift of eternal life, can be overshadowed by a man in a red suit baring plastic, breakable toys that will perish and fade, is tragic.

When the greatest gift on offer is the life of Jesus that he gave up to death so that we might have eternal life, what can any ‘toys’ have on that? “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

Even though this album, I’m sure, was not intended to preach the gospel, when Jesus is spoken of as Saviour, Christ, Lord and King, surely giving it as a gift a non-Christian friend or relative who likes Josh Groban can do no harm.