Review by Barry Harrington	Worth a listen For a worthy cause

MAG Records, in association with MCA Records, has just released a Christmas CD that contains within it the true spirit of Christmas. Titled Voice of the Homeless II, "I'll Be Home For Christmas," it is the brainchild of Executive Producer Rex Neilson. Neilson explains, "It always bothered me that homeless people were going hungry in this country, but, I thought, it was their own fault for being lazy. I found out I was mistaken. I was inaccurately judging 100% of the homeless community on the visible 10%."

He was struck by the vision of homeless persons playing instruments on the streets for spare change. A few years ago, Neilson explains, "I made a decision to put some of my good fortune back into the community."

A grassroots project was started, wherein Neilson produced an album of homeless singers from all over the United States. The homeless would earn money from the royalties for record sales and live performances. Nicknamed VOH, the 1994 CD was brought to the attention of Richard Palmese, president of MCA Records, who heard about the project on a national network newsmagazine show. He called Neilson, and asked what he could do to help. The fruit of that effort is VOH II or Voice Of The Homeless II, I'll Be Home For Christmas which now, through MCA, has national distribution and a guest performance by Patti LaBelle. The rest of the musicians were culled from "the streets, shelters and alleyways of America."

All the royalities from the album sales are paid directly to the homeless people. It's a Christmas gift with a special meaning: some music with real soul that also helps some hard working homeless people.

Of special interest is the profiles of the artists (and some surprising songs). Roberto Rodriguez, who performs "Ave Maria" is "from the Bronx, New York, served multiple tours in Vietnam, became addicted to drugs while overseas. He is now clean and sober and living in a 3/4 house while attending trade school." Rodriguez comments, "VOH has done wonders for my self-esteem."

Some bittersweet humor is heard on "Jingle Bells Verse III," where original lyrics are added:

We spent the night outside
In a cardboard box
The snow was piled high
Feet freezing in our socks
Then bells rang in the night
We heard them coming near
It's Santa come to help us out
So wipe away the tears.

Yet all is not pure folly. In the liner notes, the producer tells us that two of the album auditioners died on the streets while this album was being made. He confirms "The National Coalition For The Homeless estimates that there are over 2,000,000 homeless men, women, and teens, and children in the United States alone," and that "homelessness occurs for as many reasons as there are homeless people."

For more information, you can contact: Rex Neilson, Voice of the Homeless, P.O. Box 421144, San Diego, CA 92142.

Musicial surprises abound (some are listed above, another is Sikiliza's "Do You Hear What I Hear" which incorporates translated Swahili to sing the choruses of "Listen to the Wind" and "Listen to the Heart"). These are real songs rendered by people who have true life experiences on which to draw. Most surprising is the quality of these works. But it's more than that. In "Joy To The World" (sang by James Johnson II, who is currently undergoing rehabiliation at the San Diego Rescue Mission and is getting ready to re-enter the mainstream of society) you realize what you hear...is joy. True Joy.

In this time of year when we try to remember the brotherhood of man, and celebrate many aspects of humanity and the spiritual, including (for some) the story of a child born in a manger, it does something to the heart to hear REAL joy and triumph, not as passing words on forgettable cards, but as real life experience soulfully rendered onto CD. The fact that this group of musicians can cut a rendition of "Joy To The World" that is as uplifting, as full of soul, and as rockin' as a Stevie Wonder song, reminds us of the incredible gift this CD gives us merely by existing: sometimes, there is triumph and joy. And there is in all of us an incredible resiliency of the human (and perhaps Divine) spirit.