Review: MANNHEIM STEAMROLLER CHRISTMAS BY CHIP DAVIS at Overture Center

When Mannheim Steamroller delivered their first Christmas album back in 1984, their refreshing and original take on the classics was like nothing we'd heard before.

Monday night the band kicked off the holiday season at the Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, with the spectacular synthesized sounds of "Deck the Halls", causing the audience to erupt in applause. A giant screen lit up behind the musicians flashing the covers of each of their many Christmas CDs. Next Chip Davis, creator and founder of all things Mannheim Steamroller, appeared in a recorded greeting turned infomercial on Mannheim Steamroller's new set of products mentioning all of the formats and where to buy them.

The screen continued to distract throughout the night flashing everything from camels, cheesy mini movies, and cartoons, all of which took away from the brilliant performance on stage. The screen was better utilized later to feature video of Johnny Mathis singing "O Tannenbaum" to the live accompaniment of the orchestra, and later Elyse Davis doing the same to "Greensleeves".

During "Angels We Have Heard on High" the horns shined with a clear, pure sound that mesmerized. Especially outstanding was the phenomenal Roxanne Layton on the recorder. Who knew that a simple grade school instrument could deliver a world-class performance? The beautiful combination of recorder and harpsichord delivered a mood reminiscent of Lord of the Rings and Game of Thrones. During the Fresh Aire, non-holiday portion of the show, the skills of the gifted harpsichordist, Bobby Kunkle, who wore red Chucks with his tails, and pianist, John Blasucci, were highlighted.

Experiencing the orchestra live as they performed all their iconic hits including "We Three Kings," "Good King Wenceslas" and "Carol of the Bells" was truly comfort food for the soul, awakening something buried inside us in our normally hum drum lives.

Mannheim Steamroller has sold more than 40 million albums, 28 million in the Christmas genre. Their holiday albums have become synonymous with Christmas and consistently occupy top spots on Billboard's Seasonal Charts every year.

Overture Center for the Arts in Madison, Wisconsin features seven state-of-the-art performance spaces and five galleries where national and international touring artists, ten resident companies and hundreds of local artists engage people in over half a million educational and artistic experiences each year. Overture.org

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