David Phelps ‘It Must Be Christmas’ Album Review

David Phelps
It Must Be Christmas
(Gaither Music Group)

With the release of his fifth career solo Christmas album, It Must Be Christmas, David Phelps boasts an incredible holiday catalog with a plentiful scope in quantity and quality. Phelps’ vocal talents provide him with an unmistakable gift in delivering classic songs for the season—songs both sacred and secular and tinged with healthy doses of jazzy fills for which the artist’s voice seems tailor made.

Highlights here include a reworked arrangement of “Tennessee Christmas,” allowing Phelps to croon through the warmhearted lyric while originals “Christmas Rush” and “Catching Santa” offer up playful moments that capture the heart of the season. “Fall On Your Knees,” a duet with Charlotte Ritchie, is a worshipful high point while the inclusion of Burt Bacharach’s “What The World Needs Now” and David Meece’s “We Are The Reason” give these songs new purpose and meaning.

On It Must Be Christmas, David Phelps has crafted yet another timeless collection of holiday favorites bound to brighten up your holidays for years to come.

–Andrew Greenhalgh