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It has become a rite of passage: Seemingly every artist of any longevity eventually gets round to making a Christmas album, and this year’s batch teems with firsts, including sets from the Queen of Lilith Fair and Sweet Baby James. But there’s more than just a “Brad Paisley Christmas” to be had in our roundup.
The best
Of the dozens of discs streaming into stores this season, I’ve found five enjoyable titles I recommend without reservation, plus a more challenging and sprawling set I insist those who think all Christmas albums sound the same should hear.
Sarah McLachlan’s fragile wispiness may have grown increasingly bland and bloodless over the years—to me, she’s now like fellow Canadian Anne Murray for a younger generation—but her austere genteelness is the ideal approach for a twinkling holiday set. “Wintersong” (Arista/Nettwerk) only features one self-penned tune (the title track) but McLachlan deftly places her own chilly stamp on a fine array, spanning from John & Yoko’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” and an angelic reading of Joni Mitchell’s “River” to a horde of traditionals and staples, including a stark reading of “Christmastime Is Here” with Diana Krall on keys.
Thoroughly applying one’s aesthetic is really what elevates these choice titles above run-of-the-mill fare. Albums like McLachlan’s and Aimee Mann’s lovely “One More Drifter in the Snow” (SuperEgo) stand as more than mere Yuletide background fodder; they are welcome additions to these artists’ catalogs that deserve mention alongside their strongest works.
Mann’s sublime set succeeds not only because of her sparse style, curiously moving deadpan voice or her use of unique instrumentation (highlighted by shading from Patrick Warren’s collage of ethereal sounds). It also works because of a wise song selection.
Of course there are some usual suspects—“The Christmas Song,” “Winter Wonderland,” “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” Yet they’re rarely handled ordinarily and they’re complemented by some swell obscurities (Jimmy Webb’s “Whatever Happened to Christmas?”), a Michael Penn/Jon Brion ditty (“Christmastime”) and a jaunty remake of “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” with Grant Lee Phillips adopting an uncharacteristically haughty tone during Dr. Seuss’ more dastardly lines.
“James Taylor at Christmas” and Bette Midler’s “Cool Yule” (both from Columbia) aren’t nearly as surprising. But just because we know what to expect from these American institutions doesn’t mean their assortments aren’t shining examples of what they do so incomparably.
Taylor’s disc, a reconfiguration (including new tracks) of a set first available at Hallmark stores in 2004, is rapidly becoming a personal favorite, primarily because I’ve waited years to hear him grace “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” with his rich, unmistakable tenor. He also gets playful with Natalie Cole on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” and enlists harmonica master Toots Thielemans, guitarist Dave Grusin and trumpeter Chris Botti for extra luster. Spared a lot of fuss and strings, the album just glides along sweetly.
Whereas the Divine Miss M’s is all about swingin’ and wailin’.
There are plenty of ballads to savor, sure, including a Noelicized rendition of “From a Distance” that I could do without and a sultry handling of “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” But what sells it are the bouncy bits, including a nifty revival of Steve Allen’s oft-neglected title track, zippy versions of “I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm” and “Mele Kalikimaka” (a given from this Hawaiian native), plus a duet with Johnny Mathis on (what else?) “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!”
Now, typically I loathe compilations cobbled together so that some talk-show host can slap her name on it, even if Martha Stewart’s from several years ago wasn’t half-bad. So it should not be read that by condoning Rachael Ray’s assortment, “How Cool Is That Christmas” (Columbia), I’m saying she has great taste. She likely had little to do with it; it’s an excuse to include a recipe.
But given the absence of a better oldies set, I can’t overlook the quality of the dozen tracks her handlers chose. Elvis, Sinatra, Aretha, Willie, Billie Holiday, plus “Jingle Bell Rock” as done by Hall & Oates (quite nice, really), a gem from Buster Poindexter and Bing & Bowie’s mash-up of “Little Drummer Boy” and “Peace on Earth”? What’s not to like?
As for the adventurous set, well, I’ll admit that Sufjan Stevens’ “Songs for Christmas” (Asthmatic Kitty) isn’t for all tastes. A compendium of five EPs released annually since 2001 (including this year’s “Peace”), it’s quirky, offbeat, ornate, highly idiosyncratic music – and it’s very often gorgeous, especially when the singer-songwriter sets aside his wry sensibility and simply adapts carols for piano or strings.
That said, I wouldn’t want to be without some of his nuttier sides, like “Get Behind Me, Santa!” (a White Stripes title parody that sounds like a lost Kinks klassik) and such exclamatory nuggets as “Come On! Let’s Boogey to the Elf Dance!,” “That Was the Worst Christmas Ever!” and “Did I Make You Cry on Christmas Day? (Well, You Deserved It!).”
The smooth and the jazzy
You’d think I’d file Wynonna’s “A Classic Christmas” (Curb) in the country batch, but as the title suggests, there’s little about the performer’s album that smacks of Nashville. Though she has reteamed with the production crew behind so many Judds albums, she mostly aims for a Streisand feel, and on an unexpectedly powerful “Ave Maria” nearly achieves it. A mostly predictable but still likeable disc.
Trumpet fave Chris Botti makes like Chet Baker brought back from the dead to cut a Sting album on his first holiday collection, “December” (Columbia). His muted horn is haunting on Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” aching on “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and playful on a bossa nova version of “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”
“Christmas Break: Relaxing Jazz for the Holidays” (Telarc) is exactly what it purports to be, thanks to classic recordings from Oscar Peterson, Mel Torme and Dave Brubeck. The Manhattan Transfer’s “An Acapella Christmas” (Rhino) finds the veteran quartet applying its impressive skills to everything from “Good King Wenceslas” to Charles Brown’s “Merry Christmas Baby.”
Capitol Records has remastered a number of older favorites: “Ella Fitzgerald’s Christmas,” “Christmas With Peggy Lee,” “Christmas With Dino,” “Christmas With the Rat Pack.” The only one I’d avoid is Bing Crosby’s “Christmas Classics.” Fundamental stuff, sure, but spring for the more comprehensive “The Voice of Christmas” instead.
The twangy
Had “Brad Paisley Christmas” (Arista Nashville) featured a few more straightforward songs and few less corny jokes (like “Kung Pao Buckaroo Holiday” and the completely silly “Penguin, James Penguin”), I’d have slotted it in with the best this year. As it is, I suggest you download individual tracks, like his instrumental “Jingle Bells” (which reminds that the guitarist can hold his own against, say, Brian Setzer) and the country-clever “Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy.”
If you’re looking for more traditional fare, well, George Strait to the rescue as usual. His “Fresh Cut Christmas” finds the legendary star sticking to the tried and true: “Joy to the World,” “Up on the Housetop,” “We Three Kings,” “Deck the Halls” and so on. Available only at Hallmark stores.
The soulful
If you’ve worn out your Jackson 5 and Mariah Carey holiday albums, hunt down “The Best of Ultimate Soul Christmas” (Capitol), which gathers up 18 choice sides spanning Lena Horne and Nat King Cole to Boyz II Men and En Vogue. Naturally, it leads off with one of the greatest contemporary Yuletide songs, Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas.”
More daring listeners aiming to get on the good foot will dig Bootsy Collins’ “Christmas Is 4 Ever” (Shout!), which casts the P-Funk bassist as Rudolph (“Boot-Off”), rechristens staples (“WinterFunkyLand”!) and enlists Snoop Dogg for some rhymes.
Gospel lovers, on the other hand, should seek out “A Mary Mary Christmas” (Columbia), which finds the duo blending a few novelties (“California Christmas”) into a smattering of sacred numbers.
The exotic
OK, so the Irish airiness of Celtic Woman’s “A Christmas Celebration” (Manhattan) is no more exotic than the harp twiddling of new-age icon Andreas Vollenweider’s “Midnight Clear” (Kin Kou), with Carly Simon adding vocals. Both are lush to the point of lulling and best suited for inducing naps.
For something more unusual, try “African Christmas” (EMI), which gathers several South African stars who radically rethink songs both sacred (“Hark! The Herald Angels Sing”) and silly (“Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer”). You haven’t heard “Jingle Bell Rock” until you’ve heard it Zulu style.
The kids’ stuff
I don’t advise listening to either of these without a bottle of Advil close at hand, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that kid-bopping duo Aly & AJ have joined the fray with the dreary “Acoustic Hearts of Winter” (Hollywood) while Ali Lohan has invited you to share in a “Lohan Holiday” (YMC), in which sister Lindsay joins on the title track and Amy Grant, the only real singer I’ve mentioned in this paragraph, adds tunefulness to something called “Santa’s Reindeer Ride.”
The odd
I can’t say I’ll ever play it again, but I did let out a slight chuckle while listening to Twisted Sister do “O Come All Ye Faithful” to the tune of “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” By the time “A Twisted Christmas” (Razor & Tie) yanks Lita Ford out of mothballs and concludes with “Heavy Metal Christmas,” however, you might wish that the PMRC had succeeded in shutting up Dee Snider.
