Martin Sexton, Camp Holiday

Tracks & Durations

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Review

The powerfully soulful and perennially inventive vocalist Martin Sexton has made a Christmas record that really does sound like it was recorded around a woodsy campfire with friends and family (truth be told it was, in fact, cut in a cabin someplace in the Adirondack Mountains with his father and daughter who help out on "Silent Night"). Other times, it plays like a lost folk music field tape from the Alan Lomax era. Or a Burl Ives demo crossed with a rich streak of delta country blues. However you hear it, the unassuming collection of Christmas standards is one of the rarest and most memorable discs you give to fans of timeless singers like Al Green, Van Morrison or other soul men with uncompromising integrity. Sexton's "Blue Christmas" might be the most vulnerable version ever recorded, while the prayerful a cappella "Let There Be Peace on Earth" is simply beautiful beyond words. An instant classic. --Martin KellerMartin Sexton, called by Billboard "a vocalist of amazing proficiency and sensual conviction," recorded Camp Holiday in a cabin deep within the Adirondack Mountains. You can almost smell the wood smoke as songs like "Blue Christmas" fill the room. Unencumbered by the distractions of big production, the simplicity allows this one-man band to shine like the brightest bulb on the tree using his body as a drum, his voice like a trumpet and his spaghetti strainer as percussion.

Camp Holiday is the perfect winter companion, complete with quintessential festive ingredients: the warmth of a timeless classic in "I'll Be Home for Christmas," the joy of a swinging "Holly Jolly," a family gathering in "Silent Night"--where his father and daughter sit in--and a timely rendition of "Let There Be Peace on Earth."

The holiday spirit of giving is not lost on this album either. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Camp Sunshine, a retreat for children with life threatening illnesses.

Sexton, a Massachusetts-based troubadour who's no stranger to the road, has been widely hailed by critics. The Wall Street Journal called him "an impassioned performer who can bring women and men to tears when they see him live." The New York Times said "he can turn an ordinary song into a jazzy showcase" and "his unpretentious heartiness helps him focus on every soul singer's goal: to amplify the sound of the ordinary heart." And Acoustic Guitar called him "not just a good singer, songwriter, and musician. He's a musical adventurer and innovator" and cited his "mad scientist approach."

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