Ho ho ho! Let’s peek into Santa’s bag and see which artists will goose your Christmas spirit into action with new holiday music!
Everybody loves those kids from Glee. So, how is their new seasonal offering, the oddly titled Columbia release Glee: The Music, The Christmas Album? Not so lovable, as it turns out. While “Merry Christmas Darling” is lovely, and k.d. lang sounds charmingly amused singing lead on “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” most of the other tracks (“God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Angels We Have Heard On High”) are overwrought and unlistenable.
Though no one seemed to be pining for their return, Wilson Phillips released the their second holiday album—remember 1993’s Hey Santa?—titled Christmas in Harmony (Sony Masterworks). It’s as pleasantly chirpy as anything they’ve ever done.
Things pick up with Annie Lenox’s predictably arty and beguiling A Christmas Cornucopia (Decca). The pop chanteuse does right by a variety of songs, including “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” (listen up, you punks from Glee) and “In the Bleak Midwinter.” And while we’re visiting new-wave stars of the ’80s in the wayback machine, ex-B-52 Fred Schneider’s band, the Superions, bring the party to your rumpus room with Destination . . . Christmas! (Fanatic). Charmingly rinky-dink synths are at the heart of this good-time disc, with such cheesy delights as “Santa’s Disco” and “Fruitcake.”
The folks at Bing Crosby Enterprises have been going through Der Bingle’s archives for lost treasures, and the finds have ranged from a kinescope of the final game of the 1960 World Series to this collection of mostly unreleased Christmas recordings. The Crosby Christmas Sessions (Collector’s Choice) spans the 1950s to the ’70s, and includes duets with Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and a certain famous collaboration with David Bowie.
They aren’t really sisters, but they sure sing like a sister act. Retro close-harmony trio the Puppini Sisters’ delightful Christmas With The Puppini Sisters (Verve) is one bright and shiny musical object d’art. They give a selection of tried-and-true standards (“Santa Baby,” “Let It Snow,” “Mele Kalikimaka”) the Puppini treatment, which consists of splashy, swinging harmonies as cool and refreshing—and hard, in a good way—as ice.
Country favorites Lady Antebellum offer up the Target-only EP A Merry Little Christmas. The arrangements seem, well, odd—for lack of a better term—and not particularly country-sounding, but the performances are solid. The best track is a cover of the Mariah Carey classic, “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”
Which brings us to the diva herself: Mariah Carey’s Merry Christmas II You (Island) is pretty wonderful. Her 1994 album Merry Christmas is the gold standard for contemporary, radio-friendly holiday music and this follow up does not disappoint. Highlights include a couple of the usual standards, perky pop tunes (“Oh Santa!”) and a nifty medley of music from A Charlie Brown Christmas. You can’t go wrong with this one.
--Shawn Stone
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