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JFH Music Review


Various Artists, DREAM Christmas Volume 4
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Various Artists
DREAM Christmas Volume 4



Genre(s): Christmas / Pop
Album length: 7 tracks: 27 minutes, 28 seconds
Street Date: November 1, 2019


READER RATING:   


If one didn't know better, they might assume that the folks at DREAM Records are following some sort of predetermined pattern when it comes to their holiday-themed anthologies. The label's first Christmas compilation featured thirteen tracks by eight different artists. By the time Volume 2 saw the light of day, the composition count was trimmed down to eight, making the sophomore offering more like two thirds of a full-fledged album. The third installment in the series found the DREAM team once again ramping up the total song number to twelve. Which brings us to the present where, this time around, fans are greeted with Christmas Vol. 4, a seven-cut extended player.

Theories about the debatable full/half/full/half-album template aside, the most recent edition in the sequence includes at least a few hands-down winners in its lineup. The ethereal sounds that wash in and out of "Joy" render Switch's shuffling, easy-going version of the holiday classic, "Joy to the World," as light and airy as it is engaging. The simple, heartfelt beauty of HillaryJane's mid-tempo ballad, "Emmanuel (God with Us)," make it the collection's most reverent and moving entry. And the irresistiblly lively "Dancing in a Snow Globe" shows that the men of We Are Leo aren't afraid to channel a bit of late-'70s disco when the song calls for it. To be certain, listeners brave enough to lower the convertible top in the middle of December and cruise the downtown hot spots have now found the perfect accompaniment track.

Unfortunately, the remainder of the Vol. 4 run time is filled out with run of the mill radio-fitted fare that does little to distinguish itself from the veritable throng of artists now shoehorned into the sated pop/worship domain. Of course, listeners whose bread and butter lies within the inspirational Top 40 would do well to pick up the Vol. 4 project, given the fact that, even at its most generic, the EP is still arguably on par with most of what they hear on the radio. For everyone else, though, the best course of action would be to add the first three songs to their Christmas playlist and take a pass on the rest.

- Review date: 10/30/19, written by Bert Gangl of Jesusfreakhideout.com



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. Record Label: DREAM Records
. Album length: 7 tracks: 27 minutes, 28 seconds
. Street Date: November 1, 2019
. Buy It: iTunes
. Buy It: Amazon Music (MP3)

  1. Joy - Switch (3:25)
  2. Dancing In a Snow Globe - We Are Leo (3:44)
  3. Emmanuel (God With Us) - HillaryJane (2:52)
  4. Come and Adore - Lifepoint Worship (3:35)
  5. God With Us - Joel Vaughn (3:58)
  6. Unto Us - 29:11 Worship (5:23)
  7. Redemption Song - Canyon Hills Worship (4:32)

 

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This Friday, June 27, 2025
ALBUMS
7eventh Time Down We Praise You [BEC]
The Browns 25th Anniversary: Better Days Ahead [StowTown]
Franni Cash Wild Child - EP [Capitol CMG]
Matt Crocker interlude [Anotherland]
Jimmy Fortune Songs of an American Dreamer [Gaither]
Roxanne Grace Road Trip - EP [DREAM]
JJ Hairston & Youthful Praise The Live Reunion: Washington, DC [James Town]
Kutless The Seventh Seal - EP [BEC]
Evvie McKinney It Ain't Over - EP (independent)
Rusty Shipp Capsized Empire (independent)
SEU Worship A Forgiving God [Provident]
The Shimmering Carnelians The Doorway (Version 2.0) (independent)
We Are Messengers A Thousand Times - EP [Curb]

SINGLES
Anchor & Braille Rattlesnake - Single [Equal Vision]
ANTHNY imposter syndrome - Single [Provident]
Blanca Right On Time - Single [Curb]
Landry Cantrell & Elenee sunshine & rainbows - Single [DREAM]
Eddie Clark Never Content - Single [Syntax]
Colony House Atomic - Single [Roon]
Megan Danielle Preachin' To The Choir - Single [Provident]
Drea LP & OnBeatMusic Don't Try Me (DTM) - Single [Syntax]
Joseph Habedank Running to Me - Single [Daywind]
Lonnie Hunter Flow (Like A River) - Single [Uncle G]
Kashh Kade HELP - Single [Syntax]
KB x KEANU Keanu's Song - Single [Provident]
Tasha Layton Singing In the Dark - Single [BEC]
Tasha Cobbs Leonard The Hand That Keeps Holding - Single [Motown Gospel]
Tim Lovelace Celebration of America Medley (feat. Charlie McCoy) - Single [StowTown]
Lecrae Tell No Lie (feat. Jackie Hill Perry) - Single [Reach]
LO Worship The Perfect Love of Jesus - Single [Integrity]
Patrick Mayberry Thank The Lord - Single [Provident]
Michael Monroe John The Baptist (feat. Chris Renzema) - Single [Provident]
Alexander Pappas A Great Awakening / Un Nuevo Despertar - Single [Integrity]
PEABOD Summer in Seattle - Single [RMG Amplify]
Rave Jesus Walk On The Water Remix (From The Chosen) - Single [Provident]
The Rocky Valentines Nat Song - Single [Velvet Blue]
Saints In Exile & Cutright My Dead End (ft. Jeannie Ortega, Luc DiMarzio, Jericko) - Single [Syntax]
Emilie Weiss Take Care (Studio Sessions) - Single [BEC]

DVD
Jimmy Fortune Songs Of An American Dreamer DVD [Gaither]

Next Friday, July 4, 2025
ALBUMS
Chad Cory America [DREAM]
Tenielle Neda The Way Of Love [Wings]

SINGLES
Christian Back Now - Single [DREAM]



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