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Our Review

Guitarist Steve Oliver hits every sweet note on his recent release, Snowfall. Playing both smooth jazz and upbeat new age, Oliver covers a list of primarily sacred carols, with the exception of his own compositions, the languid, idyllic Snowfall and the pensive Crystals In The Snow. Although I cannot remember any Christmases as idealized as the one presented in Snowfall, it is still a pretty love song. The instrumental Crystals In The Snow is more challenging and, for my money, a better new age melody to carry around the iPod all year long.

Elsewhere, Oliver puts a new coat of paint on an old swing, and the paint job looks pretty good in places. His faux-flamenco finish on Little Drummer Boy creates such a good disguise for this maudlin number, that I can almost like it enough to get through the endless rum-pa-pum-pumming. His jazzy arrangements work best, however, on his own songs and on songs like The Christmas Song, which was meant for such treatment.

I enjoy the occasional new age song, but am no fan of smooth jazz. Nevertheless, I didn't have any problem getting through Steve Oliver's Snowfall, a CD that could work well on a candlelit evening with your sweetie.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2006)

Our Review

Nice. Steve Oliver, a multi-faceted optimist with a richly-textured voice, certainly knows his way around a guitar (not to mention keyboards and synthesizers, too). At heart, his Snowfall release largely emphasizes smooth jazz instrumentals, but it does include some nice surprises. First, Oliver includes three true vocals, Silent Night, The Christmas Song, and Oliver's own Watching the Snowfall, and I like the artist's voice a lot. Second, the album is not one boring continuum of homogenous smooth jazz; instead, Oliver nicely mixes tone and mood to provide a tasty brew.

Feeling a bit frazzled after a long and difficult day, I found myself most attracted to the gentle pieces on Snowfall. The classical guitar (Oliver) and flute (Will Donato) on Joy to the World provided helpful therapy, a fragile duet that brightened my mood considerably. I similarly embraced the simplicity of Oliver's acoustic guitar (and some unobtrusive guitar synth) on the artist's creation Crystals in the Snow, which did provoke images of intricate ice crystals blowing through the dark December night air. The percussive touches on Little Drummer Boy had me tapping my foot. By the time I reached the closing Watching the Snowfall, Oliver's positive outlook had vanquished my gloomy mood entirely. His warmly emotive voice is excellent; I hope that he produces an all-acoustic holiday album next year complete with vocals on each track.

Steve Oliver is an intensely talented singer/songwriter who brought snowflakes into my home on an unusually warm October evening in Minnesota. Thanks, Steve, for a beautiful Snowfall.

--Carol Swanson
(Reviewed in 2007)

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From the liner notes:

Produced and Arranged by Steve Oliver
Album Executive Producer Gisela Oliver

Steve Oliver

Snowfall

Artist link

Track List