Home For The Holidays by Lorie Line: A Chaotic Yet Heartfelt Christmas Mess
Alright, let’s cut to the chase. Lorie Line’s Home For The Holidays isn’t just your average holiday album—it’s a chaotic explosion of Christmas feels wrapped in New Age vibes and sprinkled with pop sensibilities. Released back in '97 (yeah, that's right, we're talking pre-Y2K), this thing is like an overdecorated tree: messy but oddly endearing. And before you ask—yes, there are repeats. Three versions of "Away In A Manger"? Two takes on "Carol Of The Bells"? What gives? It's either genius or someone hit copy-paste one too many times.
Now, onto the tracks. First up: "What Child Is This?" Holy smokes, this tune grabs you by the soul and doesn’t let go. Lorie’s piano work here is insane—like, I-don’t-even-care-if-you’re-not-religious kind of good. She plays it slow, soft, almost haunting, and then BAM!—it builds into this epic swell that makes you wanna cry in your eggnog. You can tell she poured her heart out on this one. If you’ve got a fireplace and some bad memories from last Christmas, put this track on repeat and feel all the feels.
Then there’s "Joy To The World", which honestly sounds like Santa decided to throw a rave at the North Pole. This version has more energy than a sugar-high kid tearing through presents. The tempo’s cranked way up, and Lorie goes nuts on the keys. By the time the final note hits, you’ll either be dancing around your living room or questioning every life choice that led you here. Either way, it sticks with you.
But hey, let’s not ignore the elephant in the room. There’s so much repetition on this album it’s borderline obsessive. Did Lorie run out of ideas? Or was she just trying to make sure we really remembered these carols? Who knows. But somehow, weirdly enough, it works. Like when Grandma insists on telling the same story five times during dinner—you roll your eyes, but deep down, it’s kinda comforting.
Here’s the kicker though: after listening to this whole thing, I realized something wild. Home For The Holidays isn’t really about reinventing Christmas music—it’s about drowning you in nostalgia until you can’t help but love it. Sure, it’s cheesy as hell, and yeah, maybe it tries too hard. But damn if it doesn’t leave a mark. It’s like that ugly sweater Aunt Linda gave you—it’s ridiculous, but you secretly keep wearing it because it makes you happy.
So yeah, give this album a spin if you want Christmas shoved down your throat in the most beautiful, slightly unhinged way possible. Just don’t blame me if you start humming “Joy To The World” while stuck in traffic next July.
