My Top Twenty Holiday Extra!: "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" - Nicole C. Mullen

When I was a child, we had a Christmas tape that we purchased at Christian Publications in Mechanicsburg. It had a very dramatic three part harmony version of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" by Phillips, Craig & Dean. I liked it, and "O Come" became one of my favorite Christmas songs. The spirit of longing, of waiting for a savior to rescue one from exile and tyranny is palpable. The vivid lyrics are compelling and dramatic. "O come thou dayspring come and free our spirits by thine advent here," I get chills just thinking about it. The origins of the carol are from a Latin text dating back to the 12th century or even further, and you can feel that ancient holiness. The pain and anguish of a captive people, a people that still face religious violence today, is on display.

A few years later, I would have a music and narrative kids tape that featured the voice talent of Nicole Coleman-Mullen. It was really crappy, but I liked her voice. She made a splash a few years later as a songwriter for latin/gospel/pop star Jaci Velasquez, and put out her own album a couple years later. She had a massive gospel hit with "Redeemer" billed as Nicole C. Mullen. On the compilation album WoW Christmas she provided an acoustic version of "O Come, O Come Emmanuel" in which she accompanied herself on guitar. I fell in love instantly, she reminded me of Tracy Chapman. It's one of my all time favorite version of the song. (I also like Enya's version.)