News: Huffington Post Midwinter Graces Review

Midwinter Graces is one of several new releases that Mike Ragogna reviewed for the Huffington Post today (scroll down a bit to find the review, right after Ragogna’s review of Sting’s seasonal album). The record gets good marks in this short but sweet piece.

Thanks to Mark-Alexis Gabriel for the link!

Tori Amos – Midwinter Graces

What comes as a breath of fresh, pine-scented air this holiday season is a flurry of “winter” albums by the likes of Sting and Tori Amos, both artists revealing more about potential future endeavors than perhaps the albums they’ve just released. With John Philip Shenale arrangements holding the waif’s hand as they walk together through musics of older times, Tori Amos’ beautiful vocals and recordings range between visions of an orphan looking at delicacies through frosty restaurant windows to dark stories from a worldly soul who’s seen too many mirthless seasons pass. In either case, whether she’s turning around standard carols such as “What Child Is This?” or “Lo, How A Rose E’er Blooming” (“What Child, Nowell,” “Holly, Ivy And Rose”) or adding her own titles to the secular Christmas catalog (“Our New Year,” and the sultry “Pink And Glitter”), Tori Amos is so at home in this wintry environment, she may want to consider permanently keeping Spring at bay. Start Here: “Snow Angel,” “Star Of Wonder,” “Harps Of Gold,” and “Winter’s Carol”