L. Shankar: “Christmas From India” (2021) CD Review

L. Shankar is a respected violinist and vocalist who has performed, written and recorded with an impressive list of artists over the years, including Bruce Springsteen, Frank Zappa, and Peter Gabriel. His new album, Christmas From India, features his own special approach to familiar holiday songs, with some excellent work on double violin. It contains a mix of traditional holiday fare, more recent pop Christmas songs and a couple of original compositions. Many of these tracks are instrumentals, and when L. Shankar does sing, he generally limits himself to the chorus.

The album opens with “Jingle Bells.” It is not one of my favorite Christmas songs, but this is an interesting rendition with a wonderful introduction. It is mostly an instrumental track, the only line sung being “Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way.” Instrumental versions of this song are generally better, as the lyrics are not that good, and this version succeeds particularly when straying from the song’s main theme. That is when L. Shankar really shines on violin. He follows that with a more recent pop number, Mariah Carey’s “All I Want For Christmas Is You,” a song that was featured in the movie Love Actually. It is a cute and catchy pop song, no question about it, and it quickly became a holiday favorite for a lot of folks. L. Shankar delivers a really good instrumental rendition, featuring some great work on violin.

“The First Noel” is the album’s first track to contain a good part of the song’s lyrics, though there are still instrumental passages, and those sections are the highlights for me. His violin work moves me more than his vocal work, and there is certainly a touch of magic to his playing here. That’s followed by “We Wish You A Merry Christmas,” a song that always reminds me of childhood and those performances our class would be expected to put on around the holiday. On this track, L. Shankar delivers the chorus, but lets the rest of the song remain instrumental. And again, it is the instrumental sections that are best. After all, let’s face it, these lyrics aren’t anything special. And L. Shankar adds some interesting touches to the instrumental parts. “O Holy Night” is one of my personal favorites. As with the previous track, he lets the instrumental sections dominate, while singing the song’s chorus. It is beautiful, and contains a sense of magic. This track is able to transport us. It is certainly one of the album’s highlights, a track that should find a place on your holiday playlist.

“Do They Know It’s Christmas?” was a big song in the 1980s, recorded by Band Aid, led by Bob Geldof. That band was made up of a lot of pop and rock artists of the day, including The Boomtown Rats, U2, Duran Duran, Culture Club, Spandau Ballet, Banarama and Kool & The Gang. It raised a lot of money for anti-famine relief. L. Shankar’s take on it is a largely instrumental rendition, with the only lines sung being “Feed the world/Let them know it’s Christmas time,” coming in the last third of the track. That’s followed by an instrumental rendition of “Deck The Halls.” Again, this is one that is basically always better as an instrumental, for the lyrics are not at all interesting. Then we get one of the prettiest songs associated with the holiday, “O Christmas Tree.” L. Shankar does a wonderful job with it, this track containing some gorgeous moments. It is another of the disc’s highlights.

The first of the two original compositions on this album is “Christmas Time,” an instrumental piece with good, bright, cheerful energy and something of a pop feel. That’s followed by another of the most beautiful traditional holiday songs, “Silent Night,” this version having more of a pop vibe and energy than many versions but still retaining its beauty. While this rendition of “Joy To The World” might feel a bit more subdued than some versions, it still has something of that bright energy and cheer, and features some excellent moments on violin. Then we get a more modern holiday number, Wham’s “Last Christmas,” written by George Michael and originally released as a single in 1984. L. Shankar’s rendition includes vocals, though again just the chorus. The album concludes with its second original number, “Saviour,” which has a beautiful, uplifting feel to it, the work on violin raising our spirits.

CD Track List

1. Jingle Bells
2. All I Want For Christmas Is You
3. The First Noel
4. We Wish You A Merry Christmas
5. O Holy Night
6. Do They Know It’s Christmas?
7. Deck The Halls
8. O Christmas Tree
9. Christmas Time
10. Silent Night
11. Joy To The World
12. Last Christmas
13. Saviour

Christmas From India was released on October 15, 2021 through Cleopatra Records.