Music Monday: It's Gonna Be A Mary Christmas For Me AND You! (CD review AND giveaway)

Disclosure / Disclaimer:  I  participated in this event on behalf of Wendy's Bloggers for Verve Music Group. I received the A Mary Christmas CD to facilitate my review, free of charge for review purposes on this blog. No other compensation, monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for this post. Nor was I told how to post about it. 

It's Halloween this week, so you KNOW what that means....

Yup!

It's Christmas music time! 

And I am so thrilled to be able to bring you an extra special new Christmas CD this year!

I was able to recently listen to Mary J's FIRST-EVER holiday album! I know I was surprised too! I thought she had already released one too! What makes this CD extra special is that it also marks her first album collaboration with legendary producer (and Verve Music Group's Chairman( David Foster!

Foster has won 16 Grammy Awards, including three Grammy Awards for Producer of the Year,was  inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010 and this year got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame! He has worked with just about every mega-music star you can think of! 

What did David think of working with Mary? “There's so many things that I find inspiring about Mary, but I guess it always comes back to the fact that she has no limits and no boundaries. She doesn't think of herself as black or white, or yellow or red, or male or female. She just thinks of herself as a singer and she's a great singer.” While I couldn't agree more, Mary J was just as gushing about working with David! “Working with David Foster is a singers dream,” she says “I am fortunate to have had the opportunity to make this soulful classic Christmas album with him. David’s music has touched so many lives and I'm so proud of what we’ve created and I believe my fans will love it as much as I do.” 

One of my ultimate favorite Christmas albums is a soulful take on Christmas songs from many years ago (just search Christmas music on the side bar and you'll find that review!), so I was really looking forward to hearing this CD! There were 3 tracks I was most interested in hearing- "When You Wish Upon A Star”, her duet with THE holiday icon, Barbra Streisand (seriously, NO ONE can beat her "Ave Maria"!), her collaboration with Marc Anthony on the Spanish song, "Noche de Paz", and her version of "Petit Papa Christmas" (made famous by Tino Rossi)!

Mary J truly covered an unconventional list of songs, but ones that most of us are very familiar with! I have to say I was REALLY amazed at the range of her voice- I always knew she had a great voice, but David really got her to stretch with these arrangements- there is NOTHING she can't sing! Trust me, this CD  will be on YOUR 'MUST PLAY' LIST for the holidays after the first time you hear it!

Track Listing

1.  Little Drummer Boy- this song has always been best sung by kids, but Mary and David have      given it a new choir arrangement that will have you humming along!

2. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas- another classic that has been wonderfully modernized!
3. My Favorite Things- nobody but nobody can touch Julie Andrews on this song, but I have to confess Mary is the closest ever on this track- LOVE it!
4. This Christmas- Mary at her best- soulful and delightful!
5. The Christmas Song- you can tell this IS Mary's song as she makes it her own classic!
6. Rudolph The Red-nosed Reindeer- this jazzy big band update is PERFECT for  the adults to sing along with! 
7. When You Wish Upon A Star – Duet with Barbra Streisand- amazing, just amazing- you'll forever think of this song as a Christmas carol  after hearing it!
8. Winter Wonderland- how could you not love Mary's version?
9.  Do You Hear What I Hear – Duet with Jessie J.- this song is fitting for this duo and they give it a wonderful dramatic turn!
10. Petit Papa Noël- Love love love! Course we listen to a lot of Cajun music in French, so I was already familiar with this song, but Mary did a GREAT job on it!
11. The First Noel – Duet with The Clark Sisters- this may become a new classic gospel version of this track! It is SO perfect in every way
12. Noche de Paz – Duet with Marc Anthony- different and not what I was expecting, but it really works and ties in well to round out the album!

What made my review of the new CD so special (well besides it being personally autographed by Mary J.!), was the  limited-edition A Mary Christmas Zine Pack - which is the CD and a 64-page booklet, which was just FULL of things about Mary J that I didn't know, and that were so wonderful to find out, like:

• while recording, they used candles to give a warmth in the studio, to help evoke the feeling of Christmas
• Mary wanted 'Mary Did You Know' included on the album, and it turned out to be David's favorite from the album
• Mary found Le Petite Noel and singing in French to be the hardest song on the album, so much so they had to get her a French coach! 
• 65,000 bottles of her My Life perfume sold on its debut day!
• Mary's mom made stuffed bluefish with crabmeat very year for Christmas, her specialty
• Mary's favorite Christmas song? 'The Christmas Song' (Chestnuts Roasting)

Basically the Zine pack is a true fan's Christmas present from Mary J! It is like getting to know her on a one-to-one level, with amazing photos, and even a special pack of Christmas gift labels for you! 

If you don't win this cd, you can Shop "A Mary Christmas" on www.maryjblige.com, or shop for the special "A Mary Christmas" Zine Pack at selected stores nationwide, , or you can tune into to HSN on November 17th at 6 pm, EST, when she will be live with David Foster, during an hour long segment, where he will conduct a live orchestra and choir, to accompany Blige, as she sings 8-10 songs from A Mary Christmas! They will also talk about their collaboration, the making of the CD, and about the meaning of Christmas to Mary J. You will be able to order a special HSN bundle that includes the 12-track holiday album,  plus an exclusive download of six Blige classics: “Be Without You,” “Family Affair,” “One,” “Mr. Wrong,” “Real Love” and “No More Drama.” .Hmmmm, maybe you need to win this one for yourself, and order the HSN pack for a friend/family member for Christmas? 

Be sure to check out Mary J Blige's Twitter page for more appearances by Mary J, this holiday season as well! 

And be sure to check out Verve's Facebook page for more holiday albums from their great lineup of artists, like Natalie Cole, Donna Summer, David Garrett, Diana Krall and the infamous Andrea Bocelli! 

Want to win your own AUTOGRAPHED copy of A Mary Christmas?

Just enter below!

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