Sara Groves
O Holy Night
INO

O Holy Night is the first Christmas release from singer-songwriter Sara Groves. Interestingly, at the start of the project Groves’ intentions were not to make a holiday release. Instead her desire was to just create a recording for her family. Originally it was meant to be an advent album, but as she got into it she decided to include some classic Christmas songs as well.

The sound of the album stays closely to the typical singer-songwriter style with an acoustic backdrop. As Groves stated, “I wanted to convey this story of Christ that’s been told so many times with as much artistry and creativity as possibly because it bears repeating.”

The album starts with an invocation called “Star of Wonder” that sings of the Good News of the gospel. Another original track that follows this theme is “Peace Peace” which Groves wrote with her band while on a tour bus. In her own words, “our peace comes in a child who meets all of our hopes and all of our fears. Peace is hard to find – impossible to find – outside of that context.”

Lastly, the stresses of the holiday season are not left out either. The original, “Toy Packaging,” tells a story of frustration with the amount of packaging that we battle with – the twist ties, the rivets and plastic all testing our patience. It’s a clever song that I could relate to right away.

O Holy Night is a very original project that departs from the classic sounds of traditional Christmas music with the added singer-songwriter twist, a sound that is a perfect fit for the season.

Ken W.

http://www.saragroves.com

To get a free download of “Toy Packaging,” click here.

Lyrics for the song are below, and for more information on Sara Groves, please visit:

Toy Packaging
Sara Groves and Ben Shive
© 2008 Sara Groves Music (ASCAP) admin by Music Services / ????

Nothing makes me lose my cool like
Toy packaging
Ask the kids to leave the room for
Toy packaging
I have no choice the money’s spent
I’ve worked for hours to make a dent
I guess it’s anger management
Toy packaging

Nothing makes me lose my cool like
Toy packaging
Ask the kids please leave the room it's time for
Toy packaging
I'm drawing up a battle plan
to extricate this robot man
My self-esteem is in the can
Toy packaging

In the old days you could hold a box and shake it
And hear the pieces rattling around
My eyes tear up with these grommets, tape and twisty ties
Remembering their beautiful sound

Nothing makes me lose my cool like toy packaging
Kids you need to leave the room, mom's opening toy packaging
I'm sorry you have to see this sight
You must be brave, no please don't cry
I promise it will be alright
I hope to have it by tonight
Nevermind this dynamite
Toy packaging