The Magi, wise travelers bearing gifts, are not unlike the troubadours who travel afar bringing the precious gift of their music to their small but dedicated audience. The Magi seek for something obscure and sublime, a baby-king. Singer-songwriters seek the elusive truths of life in the poetry and music of their songs. Darryl Purpose is certainly a prince in this group... ...My favorite song is Purpose's own "You Must Go Home For Christmas." It is a redemptive narrative of a man who awakens under a public Christmas tree and realizes that he needs to return 'to reunite the family I divided.' Every time I hear the part of the song where he phones home to ask for forgiveness and there is a pause on the line before she answers, I feel myself saying, "Please say yes!" This album is a true gift from a modern Magi. ~Michael Devlin (see the entire review at http://www.mmreview.com) Here's what I like about Darryl Purpose's GIFT OF THE MAGI: it's a Holiday record for grown-ups of all ages. It's not a stupid kids' record with dumb songs about inanimate objects coming to life. It's not a treacly Christmas record of smug sanctimony. Instead, it's a cycle of songs with a theme of spirituality, caring -and, dare I say it- humanity. A smart six year old is going to enjoy this. Fans of contemporary folk are going to enjoy this. Wizened grown ups of advanced years are going to enjoy this. If you're going to indulge in any Holiday cds, this is the one that gets my vote. ~Charlie Hunter, (most recently managing Richard Shindell, now claims to be retired) Recorded & Produced by Ed Tree, featuring Daryl S and Julie Beaver, this CD was recorded 'Brown Album' style. Darryl gets down to what he does best - vocal/guitar tracks (with a little fiddle and a little harmony) that make you think you're listening to a roomful of musicians. You'll be playing this one year round. liner notes from Gift of the Magi: Until recently my holiday albums consisted of two vinyl LP's inherited from my parents. When I heard that Darryl was planning a holiday CD, I had a hard time envisioning his usual cast of wayward wanderers, guns and gamblers dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh. About thirty seconds into hearing the studio rough cuts I understood that, as usual, Darryl's musical instincts were several steps ahead of conventional wisdom and more importantly, my own - something we can all be thankful for. Ranging from heartrendingly poignant to wryly humorous, this amazing collection of songs is more about the attitudes and feelings we try to embrace for a couple weeks every year, than about the holidays themselves. In keeping with Darryl's peace activist roots, each carries a message of tolerance, understanding, or hope for the future that rings true regardless of the season. Should you catch yourself being a little more accepting of others during the other fifty weeks of the year and decide to blame it on having listened to this CD one too many times, somehow I don't think he'll mind. Rod Waller - Brockton, Massachusetts Here's some of what people have been saying: Darryl, I LOVE this CD...twice I've been driving through the seasonal landscape listening to the CD and it just fills me. Reminds me what a softie I am and that's probably what the whole Christmas thing is about, at its best. Great songs, beautiful playing and singing..the whole thing. THANK YOU. It is just lovely Darryl. I love it because it is more holiday than actual Christmas music and your guitar work is so beautiful. The album is absolutely lovely. After I'd listened a few times I jumped online and took advantage of the 10-fer special. (Ten cds for $100 / no shipping charge.) It is an aptly titled record, for this work is truly a "gift" for anyone who receives it. I just wanted to commend you on a magnificent piece of work--your interpretations and performances of every one of these songs is so breathtakingly beautiful, so inspiring and heart-wrenching. I can't stop listening to it. And may I say that "Gift of the Magi" just keeps revealing things to me over and over with each listen--something that is true for the entire record as well. I received the new CD today (Monday)....great shipping considering I ordered it Thursday night. I'm listening to it as I write this. So far I LOVE it..especially Christians and Pagans with cool Intro..The Kevin Faherty song...etc.. I'm really enjoying this wonderful new CD of yours, Darryl. Each song is special in it's own unique way. And I like what you did with the interludes of traditional holiday music between some of the songs... that is a great idea. And I really do LOVE that Enya song. I have never heard the original version... but I strongly suspect that I like the Darryl Purpose version even more than the original :) I loved all the songs, especially Granted, The Gift of the Magi, Holy Now, The Perfect Revenge, a personal need to hear for me, and Mary and Joe, another just plain WOW song for me, The Gift of the Magi is truly a gift. What an uplifting, insightful, moving, fun body of work. And from the Critics: KUNI FM Cedar Rapids, IA has ordained "Gift of the Magi" their CD of the month for December. http://kuniradio.org/cdmonth.html Darryl's latest is a thoughtfully-selected and exquisitely-performed collection of songs for the holiday season. A real joy to share with listeners. ~Charlie Backfish WUSB Stony Brook, New York The Gift of the Magi holiday CD from Darryl Purpose is wonderful. His own holiday songs are very moving and his cover of his friend Dave Carter's "American Noel" is brilliant. For fans of the brown album (Same River Twice)...this album has the same spontaneous and gloriously simple sound. ~Michael Devlin Music Matters Review [DP's] new CD will soon be a holiday classic, plus he has some great songs for year-round use!!. ~ Ron Olesko WFDU-FM's TRADITIONS Track List with notes from Darryl: May It Be 2:45 (enya) Gary Thompson's idea. On the very last day of recording and we went to Ed Tree's neighbor's house to watch the Lord of the Rings DVD, to hear this song for the first time. 2 hours later, it was arranged, recorded, and we liked it so much we put it first on the CD! American Noel 3:48 (dave carter) I knew very soon after meeting Dave that I'd be spreading the word about his songs for a long time. Here's another from my favorite songwriter. Holy Now 4:13 (peter mayer) I heard Peter play this song for the first time at the Rocky Mountain Folks Fest. Later, at the South Florida Folk Festival, I sang it back to him, remembering it from that one listen five months earlier. It's an impact song, especially for current or recovering Catholics. I like what Julie Beaver added to this one. Steel String Surprise 2:17 (ken bonfield) My very first Folk Alliance conference - I saw/heard Ken playing this song across the hotel lobby. I was drawn to him and introduced myself. We traded CD's and I have been entertaining myself playing this wonderful piece since then. Gift of the Magi 4:33 (dp & mary sue twohy) Mary Sue and I had the chorus and I played it for Ellis Paul who said , "That's the chorus for the 'Gift of the Magi.' " I walked to Harvard square and bought a collection of O'Henry stories - we fit the words in like an audio jigsaw puzzle. The Perfect Revenge 3:08 (kevin faherty) Kevin has a whole collection of great songs beyond Singer/Songwriter Heaven. This is just one of them. Forgiveness is... Christmas in the Trenches 4:54 (john mccutcheon) Based on a true story from WWI. Mary & Joe 4:22 (christopher smith) Chistopher is a wonderful guy from Marin county whose songwriting has totally charmed me. He does his own version on his CD - "Sweet River Grace". If you ever see him, ask him to play "Dead Horse Trampoline" The Christians and the Pagans 4:23 (dar williams) What a great song. Granted 2:24 (dp & robert morgan fisher) Written for Robert's first son, Grant. You Must Go Home For Christmas 4:12 (dp & robert morgan fisher) I've always thought this was one of mine and Robert's best efforts, right up there with Mr Schwinn and Ring On My Hand. Julie Beaver added a nice harmony to go with Daryl S's violin. Turn, Turn, Turn! 2:47 (pete seeger) Hero is a word that can be overused, but Pete is at the top of my list. The memory of trading songs around the fireplace in the house he built by hand and then sleeping in the barn with Collective Vision is a great highlight for me.