In 2005 R&B group Silk followed up their first album as a quartet 2003’s, Silktime, with a Christmas EP titled A Gift from Silk. On November 29, 2005, the EP hit stores with then group members Big G, Jimmy, Timzo, and John John displaying their vocal talents for the holiday season. A brief interlude, “Happy Holiday,” opens with the project with John John’s trademark falsetto. Next is the lovely ballad “Make Time for Christmas,” featuring lush four-part harmony.
My first encounter with this song occurred in the United Kingdom when I served in the Air Force. The lyrics were very relatable because even though I was single at the time, I knew that God was saving a remarkable woman for me, whom I would meet a little under two years. A great cover of Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” follows and, in my opinion, tops the original and any cover version of the song. Timzo leads the song with a smooth bass, while John John comes in on the second verse. I love this version of the song because the group takes us to church and reminds us of simpler times.
Before closing out the EP with a smooth suite version of “Make Time for Christmas,” Silk gifts fans with another acapella song in the form of “Merry Christmas.” While the EP is brief, the group’s handling of the material makes the listener yearn for more. I would have loved to hear the group cover The Temptations version of “Silent Night” or Alexander O’Neal’s “Our First Christmas” or “Thank You for a Good Year.” Nevertheless, this is a fine EP and a great addition to your holiday playlist.
Final Grade: A-
A Gift from Silk is available on all streaming platforms.
This week’s Second Listen Sunday pick takes us back to 2006 to revisit “So Amazin’,” the third album from Christina Milian. Arriving in stores on April 19 of that year, the project was produced largely by Cool & Dre, sans one song, and saw the singer earn writing credits on nine of the album’s songs.
For this week’s Slow Jam Saturday, I want to showcase love for Rahsaan Patterson and his album track “Can We Wait a Minute” from his self-titled debut album, released in 1997.
For this week’s Second Listen Sunday, I wanted to take a trip back to 2000 and show some love to the R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo and their third album, “X,” which was released in stores on December 5, just in time for a holiday stocking stuffer. Arguably, the group suffered from the sophomore slump with their second album, as only two singles were successful.