Kenny G's 1999 Faith album was an unexpected triumph of content and creativity. The album was largely driven by the long "Millennium Mix" buried at the end of the CD--an inspired soundbyte tour of the last century's historical triumphs and tragedies, with the alto sax man playing "Auld Lang Syne" underneath, it's emotionally moving and timely. The Kenny G of Wishes lacks the vision he displayed with Faith. Among the 10 tracks, two secular medleys ("Frosty the Snowman"/"Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer" and "Deck the Halls"/"The Twelve Days of Christmas") are matched by the sacred medley of "Hark the Herald Angels Sing" and "O Come All Ye Faithful," all marred by predictable arrangements. Finally, KG awkwardly revives "Millennium Mix" as "Auld Lang Syne (The Freedom Mix)"by simply adding some 2000 election, 9/11, and New Year celebration bits. --Martin Keller

Average Customer Review: ( 12 customer reviews )
Write an online review and share your thoughts with other customers.

Some holiday songs, like Deck the Halls and Frosty the Snowman, aren't meant to be jazzed up.

This CD feels like a "I don't have much new material to put on a new holiday CD, but my contract says I have to" CD.

Nonetheless, I still remain a big fan of Kenny G.

11 of 13 found the following review helpful:

A Joy to Listen ToNov 07, 2002
By Adam Sternberg "custombinder2"
I really enjoy this album. It contains a terrific combination of slightly contemporary and tradional arrrangements. Its sound is uniformly upbeat and celebratory.

And Kenny G. is at the top of his game, as his playing weaves a beautiful seemless tapestry within each song.

Buy it--you will be glad you did!

5 of 6 found the following review helpful:

The Holiday Magic ContinuesDec 13, 2002
By Pastor Roger "Roger R."
I'm a huge fan of Kenny G. I fell in love with his music when "Songbird" first hit the airwaves in the 80's. I can't say that he's ever recorded a bad song or CD. But there are some that I like better than others. This is one of them. To go one better, I found this for sale in the internet from a used CD shop less than a month after it came out! To go one better, it was less than $$$ and in brand new condition! That in itself was excellent!

I have Kenny G's other 2 holiday CD's. While I love all 3 of them, this is the best by far. 7 of the songs of this disc are what people refer to as religious holiday music. Don't get me wrong. I love holiday music, whether spiritual or secular. But my preference is for the sacred. My favorites on this disc are "Oh Holy Night," "Joy To The World," and "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen." Kenny G adds his own unmistakeable smooth style as he does the rest of his music.

I do have 2 complaints about this CD. First, the last song on it is "Auld Lang Syne, The Freedom Mix." It has some of the same stuff from the 20th Century that's included in "Auld Lang Syne, The New Millennium Mix" on his last holiday collection. The only difference is that he added a few extra historic items that happened since 1999. My other complaint is that this collection is only 38 minutes long. I think Kenny G could have lengthen it a bit. But these 2 complaints are minor. It's still an excellent holiday collection.

Once again, hats off to Kenny G!

See all 12 customer reviews on Amazon.com