Review - December 2010

CHRISTMAS ‘SILENT NIGHT/3 SHIPS’ (RUDOLF MUSIC/USA IMPORT)

What better way then to play a Christmas record on Christmas day! Well, coincidence or not, but 1 day before X-Mas I received 2 Christmas albums, so I put them on of course during Christmas and here’s the review. Normally I am totally not interested in any Christmas record, not even when it concerns Rock or Metal versions of classic Christmas tunes, because usually they sound so cheap, but in the case of the band CHRISTMAS, we are listening to something serious and very interesting. This band features drummer/keyboardplayer/vocalist CHARLES TAPP, who did some excellent AOR/Pomprock in the past with the band EYE and TIMMY (anyone remember?). 2 CDs filled with Christmas related material, both traditionals and originals, but the interesting part comes in the fact that this is actually a Progressive Rock kinda album, which is of course quite rare for a Christmas record. TRANSSIBERIAN ORCHESTRA could be a comparison, although the CHRISTMAS CDs sound a bit more laid-back and modest to be honest. However that is the beauty of these 2 discs as they leave a lot of room open for some nice instrumental progrock elements that feature Christmas ish melodies. Nice job done here and definitely worth putting on during Christmas. More info at: www.rudolfmusic.com

(Points: 8.0 out of 10) Strutterzine - The Netherlands
 

Review - December 2009

  Christmas '3 Ships' Summary: Beautiful orchestral progressive rock  

It has been a season almost devoid of holiday rock CDs. Breaking the drought and filling the void comes "Christmas" the name of Alec Fuhrman and Charles Tapp's holiday pick up band. What a welcome relief! This progressive rock band takes me all the way back to the late-seventies, those halcyon days when rockers still walked the earth. You remember Genesis and Yes, yes? You have a warm place in your heart for Emerson, Lake, and Palmer, right? If so, then you will absolutely love 3 Ships, featuring four original tunes by Tapp and four sparkling renditions of some old-timey carols. Not a lengthy CD by conventional standards of time and space, it makes up for its brevity with irresistable arrangements and cool vocals. Not a huge listener to progressive rock in recent years, this record makes me pine for a time when the world was young and Pink Floyd rocked me to sleep each night.
--Richard Banks

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