Ken Wank - 'What Could That Be Under The Christmas Tree'

Review By Patrick Joseph & Staff

“What Could That Be Under The Christmas Tree” is a fun song with an engaging story. Like a figure skater or a sled down a hill, this song seems to skate along with graceful momentum. Lots of interesting textures combine to make instrumental lines sound orchestral. Bell chimes, glockenspiel, piano, strings and interesting synth sounds all create an atmosphere of whimsy over which the song floats. The overall feel of the song is energetic and pleasant. A perfect conflation of sounds and rhythms result in a fantastic holiday song. Steve Skinner's soaring production work is magnificent. In addition, the vocals performed by Emily Rath give the song a certain undeniable charm.

Lyrically, “What Could That Be Under The Christmas Tree” is a callback to holiday classics that allow a musical story to unfold section by section. The narrative is about a protagonist who badly wants a proposal as a Christmas gift. “As I see how nice we trimmed the Christmas tree I get to wondering if he’ll ever commit to me.”

Wank does a great job of recalling the childish feeling of longing for a Christmas gift, and the anxiety of waiting until Christmas morning to find out whether or not it will be received. “Out of the corner of my eye as I look below I see this pretty blue box with a big red bow…when he goes to sleep maybe I’ll look inside But Christmas is almost here guess I’ll just let it ride”

The arrangement of “What Could That Be Under The Christmas Tree” shows songwriting maturity. A well-conceived pre chorus and a dropdown bridge build excellently into solid verse and chorus sections. The lyrical evolution is fun and the emotional tone is well controlled. An expertly chosen chord at the end of the chorus elevates the song and delivers an emotional shot which is nicely suited for a holiday song. Superior production techniques and a fantastic vocal performance put a glossy sheen on a great song. A must for your Holiday listening!

Stream on Spotify

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About Ken Wank

Ken Wank has been writing pop songs since the mid-1980's. He was inspired into songwriting by the music of the 1970's and some 1960's primarily songs written by Tony Romeo who had written for many acts of the day including Lou Christie, Johnny Maestro and The Brooklyn Bridge and had a huge number 1 song with "I Think I Love You" by The Partridge Family. He loved their music as well as The Carpenters and many other pop acts of that era.

Ken Wank has received about 30 songwriting awards from various worldwide songwriting contests including The John Lennon Songwriting Contest, VH-1 Song Of The Year Contest and others and have had some songs released as well as licensed some pop/dance songs into fitness DVDs and a dance rhythm game.

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