First Listen: Naturally 7 showers holiday blessings in staggering style with “White Christmas”
Within the landscape of voices that transform melodious sounds into complex harmonies, the prominent a cappella acts such as Take 6 and Straight No Chaser are few and far between, even though this sometimes unappreciated artform is not quite the novelty it used to be. Thanks especially to The Sing Off, another triumphant a cappella artist – Pentatonix – has become the genre’s current best-selling act. Then there is Naturally 7, a group whose claim to fame is their trademark “vocal play,” a style that has been sweeping many European fans off their feet since the group’s 2000 debut.
Continuing in the holiday spirit for 2018, First Listen presents Naturally 7’s perspective of “White Christmas,” paying homage to The Drifters’ R&B smash version that was an Atlantic Records ‘B’ side over sixty years ago. Though the arrangement is recognizable at the beginning, Naturally 7 shifts midway to a superb big band sound, courtesy of a recent live performance from YouTube. For the audio portion, “White Christmas” is now available on their just released, A Christmas Xperience (BMG). Any music connoisseur who truly values the intricacies of a cappella beyond the straight harmony parts will undoubtedly gravitate to Naturally 7’s head scratching brand of vocal play, holiday season or otherwise.
By Peggy Oliver
Naturally 7 – “White Christmas”
