The fifteenth release from Brenn and sixth on the Defender’s Recording Label, Songs for a Winter’s Ride is perhaps the artist’s best work yet. Released on iTunes November 14th, 2019, this collection of Holiday favorites intermingled with poignant originals carries its listeners through the Christmas Season, New Years, and possibly beyond.
Recorded at Funk Studios in North Salt Lake City, Utah, the recording features some of Utah’s finest instrumentalists including Ryan Tilby, Ryan Shupe, Mel Shore, and Bart Olson. It’s a broad stroke of sonic pleasure that takes its listener from the high and windy snow-capped peaks of the Rocky Mountains to the sultry Jazz lounge.
There are classics like “Walkin’ in a Winter Wonderland”, “I’ll Be Home For Christmas”, and “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” that will make you believe you’re listening to a fine acoustic Jazz ensemble while “Angels We Have Heard On High”, “Joy to the World”, and “Little Drummer Boy” speak to the heart of the Christian’s ‘reason for the season’.
Hill covers two classic songwriting legends with Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December” and Gordon Lightfoot’s “Song for a Winter’s Night”. Both risky attempts bring a fresh and contemporary feel to the timeless hits of two of North America’s most accomplished songsmiths.
Hill’s own self-penned season-specific additions articulate the westerner’s plight in the brutal western winter with light and deep-hearted tunes like “Cowgirl For Christmas”, “Christmas in the Bunkhouse”, “Learn to Love the Cold”, and “Hard Cancer Christmas”. Listeners will laugh, remember, visualize, and cry throughout the whole recording as Hill takes us once again on a ride through the indomitable West – this time in Winter.