In a departure from their previous three Christmas albums, "Chip Davis" and "Mannheim Steamroller" have produced a "themed" record for the fourth entry in their Christmas Collection.

With an original story written by "Chip Davis," and narrated by Chip and "Olivia Newton-John" over music by "Mannheim Steamroller," this CD is a pleasant combination of a simple Christmas story, with past hits from the three previous Christmas albums, and four new songs/interludes to back most of the narration. The only drawback to the album is that it's fairly short, and if you have all the previous albums, most of the music is repeated here. But, it's done in a clever way, and the music is as enjoyable as ever, no matter which album you hear it on. Also, some of the narration is a bit difficult to hear, and if you turn the sound up to hear the story, you get blasted when the music starts - which isn't necessarily a bad thing!

The album begins with Olivia telling the story of the village of Hamler, as the townsfolk gather to place a gold Christmas Angel at the top of the village tree. They say their goodbyes and go home to finish preparing for the big day as the church bells toll. There is a distant sound of bells, followed by "Mannheim Steamroller's" version of "Joy To The World." Soon, the beautiful interpretation of "Stille Nacht (Silent Night)" by MS, backs Chip telling the next part of the story, about a young mother who remains to place all the toys under the tree for the boys and girls of the village. The toys think of Christmas, and of their new homes, and as the church bells toll twelve, the toys come alive!

The next interlude, narrated by Olivia, is accompanied by the song "The Dream," which takes an evil sounding turn musically, as a Gargon arrives, chasing all the toys into hiding and stealing the Angel from the top of the tree, holding her tight in his arms, spreading his cloak and disappearing. This is followed by the sound of the wind, strange and eerie synth sounds, and something like crystals breaking that lead to Chip's part of the story, told during the song "Crystal." The young mother, who put the toys under the tree, suddenly feels something isn't right. She returns to the village to see ruin everywhere and the Angel is gone from the tree. But she looks up and sees shimmering lights that become brighter as she approaches. She moves through the mist and finds herself hurled through a strange, magic place to a dark Netherworld, powerless against the Gargon.

A very dark version of "Carol Of The Bells" accompanies the Gargon's enthusiastic display of the sad little Angel as he preens and prances with her among his minions, the Lost Souls. Meanwhile, to the tune of "Messenger of Christmas," the toys gather and set on a journey to save the Angel, trying to cover their fear. But as they move through the dark forest, scary noises from the shadows take away their courage and each rise of the wind makes them scream. The song is very light and "Renaissance Fair" sounding at the beginning of the journey, but as it progresses the music gets louder and takes on a slightly menacing melody.

But the spirit of Christmas inside the Angel isn't dead, and she rises and dances, with her wings spread, to the tune of a rather slow, stately and mournful "Greensleeves." This makes the Gargon angry, and he casts a great spell so the Angel will stay with him. The Angel resists, the Gargon persists, his evil winning. They spin and twirl all through the night and finally reach "Above The Northern Lights," another stately song that combines a mournful melody with light synth accents and vocals, and grows in power as it progresses. This is by far the the best "new" song on the album!

Back in the forest, the toys find the young mother, cold, afraid and full of gloom. They know they have to help her remember what's at stake - the Spirit of Christmas the Gargon took. If there was no Christmas, there would be no joy for the village girls and boys. Instead, just a sad, empty memory of what the Gargon did. This part of the story is chanted quickly by several voices over the beginning of "Good King Wenceslas," then MS continues the song.

In the Dark Place, with Christmas half-dead, the Angel manages to raise her head, wave her wings and spread all the magic she has left. The magic reaches the young mother from afar, and she's " . . . filled with a light like a grand shooting star." She spins around and focuses the light on the Gargon, who tries to run away, but his terrible mask falls away and a kindly face appears. The Gargon was really an old Christmas Angel who turned villainous. But the magic released the Lost Souls from their "prison" and they were transformed back to Christmas Angels. The famous "Mannheim Steamroller" version of "Deck The Halls" accompanies this part of the story.

The toys rejoice at the turn of events, and hurry back to their places under the tree. The children wake up and find their toys (who had great adventures during the night), while the gold Christmas Angel spreads her wings and gives magic to everyone. "Joy and good will came to everyone's soul/ Through the magic of Christmas and an Angel of Gold." This ends the story, but it's followed by a BIG wrap up of the album with "Angels We Have Heard On High," another fantastic "Mannheim Steamroller" adaptation.

If you're a fan of "Mannheim Steamroller," you'll definitely want to add "The Christmas Angel" to your collection. If you're semi-familiar with them, this is still a great family album and story to be cherished through the years ahead. If you think you don't know who "Mannheim Steamroller" is, trust me you do. There can't be a person walking around who hasn't heard their hit version of "Deck the Halls" from "Mannheim Steamroller Christmas," their first Christmas album, that came out several years ago. It's played on every radio station, television commercials, videos, store muzak, you name it, throughout the holiday season. If you want a "best of" kind of MS Christmas album, this should be your choice!