Home Free

Billy Gilman

One Voice

Wishing You Were Here (Radio MIX)

Soldier

Summertime

Wishing You Were Here

Falling

Christmas Time

Say You Will

I'll Be Home For Christmas

Billy Gilman (Explicit)

Everything And More

Music Through Heartsongs: Songs Based On The Poems Of Mattie J.T. Stepanek

Dare To Dream

Classic Christmas

While Nashville's "country for kids" campaign has largely been a bust, this 12-year-old plows fearlessly and headlong into anything and everything thrown his way. Tammy Wynette's classic "'Til I Can Make It on My Own" doesn't faze him. Neither do cotton-candy pop oldies ("Little Things" and "Little Bitty Pretty One"), oddball novelties ("The Snake Song"), or inspirational fare ("There's a Hero"). His credible delivery of "Oklahoma," the moving tale of one boy's trip to meet a long-vanished father, is a fine performance that transcends his age. Don't blame him for the weak spots. Credit for the cookie-cutter arrangements and such soggy ballads as the preachy title track goes to multiple producers Don Cook (Music Row's dean of formulaic production), David Malloy, and Blake Chancey. As always, their goals are to satisfy the one-dimensional country-radio consultants who dictate what gets played, nothing more. Long ago, producers Owen Bradley and Billy Sherrill helped Brenda Lee and Tanya Tucker, respectively, build youthful success into enduring adult careers. If only young Gilman had such visionaries enhancing his talent. 


  Striking while the iron was hot and before the 12-year-old singer's voice changed, Epic Records rushed back into the marketplace with the second Billy Gilman album to be released within six months, this one a holiday collection. The title suggests that standards will make up the fare, which turns out to be true, mostly, though co-producers Don Cook and David Malloy were not able to resist the temptation to throw in a couple of little-known songs with their names in the songwriter credits. But they did resist the temptation to make Gilman sing anything specifically child-oriented, such as "Nuttin' for Christmas" or "All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth." No, what you get here are Christmas classics like "White Christmas" (complete with introductory verse), "The Christmas Song," and "Silent Night." Gilman acquits himself well, still possessed of his pure, elastic tenor and brassy, unabashed style. He even stands toe to toe with fellow child prodigy Charlotte Church, probably because they have been assigned "Sleigh Ride" rather than something on which the classical singer might have been expected to snatch away the spotlight, such as "O Holy Night." There is little to suggest that Gilman's appeal will last beyond its pre-puberty novelty value, but this is a pleasant effort, even given the overly familiar material. 


專輯 | 單曲