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1. Rockin Around the Christmas Tree
2. Santa Claus is Comin to Town
3. Silent Night
4. Away In a Manger
5. Joy to the World!
6. Jingle Bell Rock
7. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
8. All I Want for Christmas is You
2. Santa Claus is Comin to Town
3. Silent Night
4. Away In a Manger
5. Joy to the World!
6. Jingle Bell Rock
7. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
8. All I Want for Christmas is You
A PureNRG Christmas
[Release Date: September 23, 2008] (Fervent Records)
Track Listing:
Track Listing:
9. Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee
10. 12 Days of Christmas
10. 12 Days of Christmas
 | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  | |  |
4.0 out of 4
3.0 out of 3
2.0 out of 2
1.0 out of 1
10.0 out of 10
Message
Music
Production
Creativity
Overall Score
| 100% A+ |
Okay before you laugh, yes I enjoy PureNRG. You want to know why? They bring
something to the table that few of today’s so-called tween or ‘teeny bopper’ bands as
my mom calls it, rarely does. An energetic style of music that actually has a message.
Not since Jump 5 do I think a band categorized as such has accomplished this. With all
the tween-teen groups out there (most on Disney Channel – Not naming names) claiming
to be Christians, what do they have to offer? Good music, but where is the message? It’
s missing a lot these days in the genre of music.
I was impressed with PureNRG’s debut and their follow up, Here We Go Again. You
see, I have a nine-year-old who loves the Disney Channel and all of the music
(unfortunately) that comes out of it. One thing I don’t like is the proclamation those
musicians make for Christ, and the lack of showing it in their lives. When I first got the
PureNRG Christmas CD, my oldest daughter Mariah was very excited. She too loved
the first two albums, and even got the opportunity to meet the band at Winter Jam in
2008. I also knew that the CD would be something I wouldn’t have to worry about her
listening to.
Sure, there are those so-called ‘traditional’ Christmas songs on there, which I get
irritated with at times. But there are some tracks on here that are very energetic in their
nature and even give the classics a little zing. First example would be, “Joy to the
World”. It’s not your grandma’s version of the song. In fact it kind of knocked me off
guard with the tempo. My daughter really liked it though.
Then comes “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”. While I used to ‘believe’ in Santa Claus,
I don’t implement this belief in my own house. I don’t think Santa Claus should be
viewed as more important then Jesus when it comes to Christmas. I have unfortunately
seen this having an adverse effect in Christian households who choose to fit Santa in
there somehow. I just choose not to go that route, because even those seemingly
innocent ‘white lies’ can have a negative effect on children. Consider that while thinking
of bringing Santa into the equation of celebrating Christmas. I was devastated when I
found out there was no Santa! Having said that, I see nothing wrong with watching the
classics, “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman”. Those films
bring back great memories from when I was a kid.
Onto the more ‘Christ’mas songs in the CD. “Away In a Manger” and “Hark, The
Herald Angels Sing” are the more upbeat songs on the album, while the group slows
down a bit for “Silent Night”. But, for the most part the album features many upbeat and
rock-pop laden versions of Christmas classics. I think the most upbeat song, which was
actually pretty entertaining to listen to, was “12 Days of Christmas”.
Overall, this album was pretty decent. I think the direction of the music is about the
same as their two previous releases, but the only thing I didn’t like was that band picked
a lot of non-traditional, mainstream Christmas songs to cover. It would have been better
to see them ‘speed up’ some more of the real and truly meaningful Christmas songs.
Good effort though, I see this group becoming even more popular as they release more
projects. Let’s hope that they don’t head in the direction of others that have come
before them.
something to the table that few of today’s so-called tween or ‘teeny bopper’ bands as
my mom calls it, rarely does. An energetic style of music that actually has a message.
Not since Jump 5 do I think a band categorized as such has accomplished this. With all
the tween-teen groups out there (most on Disney Channel – Not naming names) claiming
to be Christians, what do they have to offer? Good music, but where is the message? It’
s missing a lot these days in the genre of music.
I was impressed with PureNRG’s debut and their follow up, Here We Go Again. You
see, I have a nine-year-old who loves the Disney Channel and all of the music
(unfortunately) that comes out of it. One thing I don’t like is the proclamation those
musicians make for Christ, and the lack of showing it in their lives. When I first got the
PureNRG Christmas CD, my oldest daughter Mariah was very excited. She too loved
the first two albums, and even got the opportunity to meet the band at Winter Jam in
2008. I also knew that the CD would be something I wouldn’t have to worry about her
listening to.
Sure, there are those so-called ‘traditional’ Christmas songs on there, which I get
irritated with at times. But there are some tracks on here that are very energetic in their
nature and even give the classics a little zing. First example would be, “Joy to the
World”. It’s not your grandma’s version of the song. In fact it kind of knocked me off
guard with the tempo. My daughter really liked it though.
Then comes “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town”. While I used to ‘believe’ in Santa Claus,
I don’t implement this belief in my own house. I don’t think Santa Claus should be
viewed as more important then Jesus when it comes to Christmas. I have unfortunately
seen this having an adverse effect in Christian households who choose to fit Santa in
there somehow. I just choose not to go that route, because even those seemingly
innocent ‘white lies’ can have a negative effect on children. Consider that while thinking
of bringing Santa into the equation of celebrating Christmas. I was devastated when I
found out there was no Santa! Having said that, I see nothing wrong with watching the
classics, “Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer” and “Frosty the Snowman”. Those films
bring back great memories from when I was a kid.
Onto the more ‘Christ’mas songs in the CD. “Away In a Manger” and “Hark, The
Herald Angels Sing” are the more upbeat songs on the album, while the group slows
down a bit for “Silent Night”. But, for the most part the album features many upbeat and
rock-pop laden versions of Christmas classics. I think the most upbeat song, which was
actually pretty entertaining to listen to, was “12 Days of Christmas”.
Overall, this album was pretty decent. I think the direction of the music is about the
same as their two previous releases, but the only thing I didn’t like was that band picked
a lot of non-traditional, mainstream Christmas songs to cover. It would have been better
to see them ‘speed up’ some more of the real and truly meaningful Christmas songs.
Good effort though, I see this group becoming even more popular as they release more
projects. Let’s hope that they don’t head in the direction of others that have come
before them.
Review Written By: Jay Heilman [jay.heilman@christianmusicreview.org] Date Written: September 14, 2008
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