We Three Kings

by The Irish Tenors

Product Description:

The Irish Tenors: Finbar Wright, Anthony Kearns, Ronan Tynan (vocals).

Additional personnel: Czech National Chamber Orchestra.

Recorded at Dvorak Hall, Rudolfinum, Prague and Bennett Studios, Englewood, New Jersey.

Move over, Luciano, Placido, and Jose, here comes the trio from the Emerald Isle. The three esteemed vocalists who make up the Irish Tenors (Finbar Wright, Anthony Kearns, and Ronan Tynan) are no strangers to Christmas songs. One of their earliest efforts was the 1999 album HOME FOR CHRISTMAS.

WE THREE KINGS is a mixed bag of traditional Christmas hymns ("Pie Jesu"), classic holiday pop songs ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), and most unexpectedly, the Pogues chestnut "Fairytale of New York." While it's something of a shock to hear Shane MacGowan's drunken wailing replaced by strong, operatic singing, it works perfectly. Wright, Kearns, and Tynan do a similarly exceptional job throughout the album, offering holiday fare that will, for many, likely be far preferable to some of the more crass Yuletide musical releases so plentiful at the end of the year.