El Niño Jesus │ A Very Special Holiday Presentation

In this very special edition of  Angelfire Love, I am presenting Tony Croatto's magnificent composition, "El Niño Jesus".  This song tells the story of the Boy Jesus visiting a party on Christmas Eve, playing his maracas.  At first He is rejected by the party-goers, but His true self is finally recognized, and He is accepted by them, and brought into the festivities.  It is a very moving story.  Tony Croatto, who was originally from Italy, made quite a name for himself in Puerto Rico, as an aficionado and promoter of Jibaro music. Tony Croatto passed away in Puerto Rico on April 3, 2005.  Please click on the video widgets below to watch three different videos of "El Niño Jesus".  The top-most video of Tony Croatto singing "El Niño Jesus" is extremely rare, and I had a very difficult time finding it on the internet.  The version of "El Niño Jesus" on the very bottom is sung by the great José Feliciano.  Please click on this link to purchase an MP3 of José Feliciano's version of "El Niño Jesus" from Amazon.com:  El Niño Jesus - José Feliciano

Happy Xmas (War Is Over) │ The Mini Beats

The Mini Beats from Germany, is a fantastic musical group that I discovered quite serendipitously, while I was browsing a little known music website located in Russia.  The Mini Beats specialize in performing covers of The Beatles' music, and they do an outstanding job of it.  The members of the group are:  Philip, guitar and vocals;  Andi, guitar; Markus, bass-guitar and vocals; Jonas, drums, vocals.  The Mini Beats was started by Jonas, who got the inspiration for it after watching "Help", and "A Hard Days Night", with his father one night.  In this edition of Angelfire Love The Mini Beats perform John Lennon and Yoko Ono's haunting Christmas anthem, "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", that was released in October of 1971.  It is my most favorite Christmas song in the whole world.  Incidentally, the melody is based on an old American folk song called "Stewball".  It is interesting to note, that Philip, the lead singer on "Happy Xmas (War Is Over), handles the English lyrics quite well.  His diction and pronunciation are perfect!  The original version of "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", by John & Yoko and The Plastic Ono Band, is rather hard to find, actually, it has been always hard to find, but I did locate a copy of it on Amazon.com that can be purchased from this link: Happy Xmas (War Is Over) - John & Yoko And The Plastic Ono Band  Have a Merry, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, from Angelfire Love.

Razvan Dobai │ Recherché

 

Every once in a while an impressive young singer comes along that is far ahead of the pack.  Razvan Dobai, who is from Bihor, Romania is that singer.  I first wrote about Razvan on October 27, 2011 (see post Razvan Dobai - My Way),  and at that time I was impressed with his talent.  He also seemed to me to be a very hard worker who is perfecting his musical styles, and I do mean styles, because  Razvan sings all kinds of songs, and that makes him a versatile performer.  But I have to say this, when I heard him sing "Fairytale" I could not stop weeping.  First of all, I have Roma blood in my veins, and when I heard that soulful violin intro, I cried and cried, as that violin spoke deeply to me about my people.  It was so heartfelt and beautiful.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy Alexander Rybak's original version of "Fairytale", but it does not have the emotional impact, honesty, and innocence of Razvan's cover.  Thank you Razvan for that incredible performance!  God bless you.  Razvan has a cool YouTube channel that can be found at this link:  Razvan Dobai - Official YouTube Channel

MattyBRaps

One of the good things about having a blog is the joy of discovering new talent.  As it so often happens, I was looking for something else, and I stumbled accidentally on MattyBRaps cool "How To Love" video.  I should say that it is super cool.  There is just something so special and magical about "How To Love".  In a way it makes me feel nostalgic for my own youth.  I really like this video a lot.  In MattyBRaps own words "Me and my friends had a BLAST making this music video. We had never launched a rocket before and I thought the "rocket footage" turned out AWESOME!"  By-the-way, I just love that green rocket.  Well, "How To Love" is evocative, wistful and very haunting.  In general I am not a big fan of RAP or Street-music, though I do admire the music of Coolio, Busta/Guf, Nicky Jam, and Lil Wayne.  MattyBRaps is in a class all of his own.  He was born on January 7, 2003, and lives with his parents and siblings in Cobb County, Marietta, Georgia.  His real name is Matthew Morris.  In this edition of Angelfire Love we are featuring him in a parody of Lil Wayne's 2011 mega-hit "How To Love".  Matt, with the help of his father, wrote the lyrics of the parody.  MattyBRaps YouTube channel can be found here: MattyBRaps Official YouTube Channel  Please click on this link to purchase MattyBRaps' MP3s from from Amazon.com:  MattyBRaps MP3s On Amazon  Safe journeys to all the fans of Angelfire Love, wherever you may be.

Климбатика │ Climbatica

In this edition of Angelfire Love we feature a photo-montage from Климбатика (Climbatica).  It is all set to the music of Beethoven's beautiful "Moonlight Sonata".  To say that this video is moving, evocative, hypnotic, and haunting, would be an understatement.

 

The Living Years │ Mike And The Mechanics

"The Living Years" by Mike And The Mechanics, is one of the most evocative songs of the Twentieth Century.  In actuality, most of us, at one time or another, have had difficulties in communicating with our dads.  How many times did we hope to have had one more chance to say "Daddy, I love you"?   Well, now is always the best time to say so.  The American composer Burt Bacharach once said in an interview, “'The Living Years' is one of the finest lyrics of the last 10 years”.   Do we need to say any more?

Heaven Is For Real │ Colton Burpo

"Heaven Is For Real" is the incredible journey of Colton Burpo, and his visit to Heaven.  Colton's story is compelling, powerful and has important life messages for all of us.  I have to admit that this book brought tears to my eyes, it is that emotional in its content.  Todd, his father, took a great risk is publishing this story as he is a Christian minister, and he left himself open to all kinds of criticisms because of the nature of "Heaven Is For Real".  Actually Todd has nothing to worry about as it is a best seller, and has been accepted by many in the Christian community.  There is one incident portrayed in the book that made me smile.  The angels sang to Colton because he was scared when he first entered Heaven.  They sang all of the old-time Christian classics, then they asked Colton if he had any request and he responded with "We Will Rock You" a song made popular by Queen.  The angels declined to sing that one.  The official "Heaven Is For Real" website can be found at this link:  Heaven Is For Real  If you go to YouTube, you can find many interviews of Colton, and his father Todd.  Please click on this link to purchase "Heaven Is For Real" from Amazon.com:  Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy's Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back  Please click on the video widget below to watch an incredible interview with Colton Burpo and his family.