Marc Martel, known for his astonishing Freddie Mercury-esque vocals with his old band, Downhere, and now with the official tribute of Queen, The Queen Extravaganza, follows up last year's The Silent Night EP the brand new The First Noel EP. It serves as a refreshing and eclectic addition to an evening get-together with family and friends. In only 6 songs, the EP explores a large swath of traditional and modern sounds from intimate jazz trio to bombastic choir arrangements, and is chock-full of moments that would cause anyone to stop and listen.
The title track is an emotionally grandiose and reverent take on one of the season’s all-time sacred favorites. While the lead radio single, “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas feat. Plumb” is a duet set against a party anyone would want to be invited to. Martel steps up the collaboration game by calling on the talents of upright bass player, Scott Mulvahill, who plays for Ricky Skaggs, on the mood-setting “The Christmas Song.” He also teams up with Buddy Greene, co-writer of “Mary, Did You Know?” to re-interpret his own song, which has become one of CCM’s modern classics. To add to list of surprises, “The Hallelujah Chorus from Handel’s Messiah” has been ambitiously and painstakingly recorded by Martel, all by himself, layering his voice dozens of times to create the sound of a large choir. The track list is a diverse, yet cohesive, selection of six Christmas classics, all tied together by the common thread of Martel’s brilliantly versatile vocals.
