CeCe Winans ‘Something’s Happening! A Christmas Album’ Review

CeCe Winans
Something’s Happening! A Christmas Album
(PureSprings Gospel/Thirty Tigers)

A vocalist who needs no introduction, legendary vocalist CeCe Winans is back with her first Christmas album since 1998 with Something’s Happening! A Christmas Album. The recording manages to capture a bright, festive note while consistently grounding itself in the real reason for the season—the hope and joy found in the birth of Christ.

Winans makes this a family affair, with five originals written by her son Alvin Love III. “It’s Christmas” captures the hustle and bustle of the holidays over against a Motown flavored backdrop as “Giving Season” mines familiar orchestral seasonal vibes while Winans sings, “Joy is for those who are free.”

The real show-stealer here is “The Grace Of The Father,” a song whose rousing choral backing and arrangement are worthy of Bing and the Andrew sisters and delivers a theologically charged message. The covers are no disappointment either, with the artist lending a magical touch to “O Come, O Come Emmanuel” and putting a signature spin on a hybrid of “Feliz Navidad/O Holy Night.”

Packed with plenty of Christmas cheer, CeCe Winans’ Something’s Happening! A Christmas Album is one of the best gifts you’ll open this year.

–Andrew Greenhalgh