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<strong>WoNo</strong> <strong>Magazine</strong> <strong>15.1</strong><br />
Come, Thou Long<br />
Expected Jesus.<br />
Morgan Mecaskey<br />
If I had to write one word it would<br />
be wow. Just wow!<br />
New work by Morgan Mecaskey<br />
was announced on Twitter this<br />
week. I hoped for an EP or more,<br />
but received a Christmas song<br />
instead. Ouch, I thought. Xmas<br />
songs are not my cup of tea, with<br />
some songs in a rock setting as<br />
exceptions. And then I opened this<br />
digital Christmas gift. Things sort<br />
of changed fast in my anti-<br />
Christmas song world.<br />
Hearing is believing, but Morgan<br />
Mecaskey managed to record a<br />
great Christmas song with sonic<br />
explosions, a blistering guitar solo<br />
and all. The song starts in a<br />
traditional way with the sleigh bells<br />
chiming happily as they do on every<br />
Mariah Carey Yuletide song. And then<br />
the magic starts sparkling like it does<br />
there somewhere on the North Pole<br />
where presents get packed and<br />
distributed.<br />
Now I know many a Christmas song,<br />
also in the English language but this<br />
song from the mid 18th century<br />
written by Charles Wesley I had<br />
never heard before. The official<br />
description is an "advent song". The<br />
text can be sung over two melodies,<br />
so that's a bit confusing.<br />
zorgan Mecaskey does a few things to<br />
this traditional. She rocks out in a<br />
The Pretenders kind of way, but not<br />
before she graced the song with the<br />
kind of traditional beginning one<br />
would expect. She sings over sleigh<br />
bells and an ever so soft keyboard.<br />
When the band kicks in it is with a<br />
sound beat. The muted solo guitar<br />
notes give a driving force to the song<br />
that is picked up in the second<br />
stanza.<br />
Next up is an explosion of lead<br />
guitars. Nothing is left of the<br />
Christmas thought here. The gates of<br />
hell are fully opened. They are<br />
pushed firmly shut again as if in a<br />
fright, a nice synth line is laid over<br />
the muted guitars as a cover up. The<br />
hard rocking elements make Come,<br />
Thou Long Expected Jesus the hardest rocking<br />
song by this singer to date. In fact there is some<br />
anger showing through here, while at the same<br />
time a laugh must have been on the faces of the<br />
players when she came up with this arrangement.<br />
All the guitars and keyboards are played by Ms.<br />
Mecaskey. Anthoni Foti plays drums, Jeffery<br />
Sutton the bass.<br />
It is quite easy to conclude that Morgan Mecaskey<br />
surprises again. Even in a Christmas song from<br />
1744. I don't think that anyone ever contemplated<br />
to work on a hymn from the episcopal church in<br />
this vain. In past times people went to hell for<br />
less. If so, she'll find me cheering her on there.<br />
This song is good. Very good. Happy Xmas (War<br />
Is Over) won't be surpassed, but all others?<br />
Easily.<br />
Circa ten songs into her career, I have to say,<br />
once again, I'm a fan. An artist that can surprise<br />
me and win me over with a Christmas song that I<br />
may play the rest of the year without a problem,<br />
has to have exceptional qualities.<br />
Promo photo<br />
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