More than sleigh bells ringing

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This article was published 19/12/2013 (4617 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

‘TWAS the week before Christmas and all through the malls, not a creature could escape the sound of carols bouncing off the walls. Despite the fact there is no shortage of existing holiday music, every year, more artists, from country singers to funk legends, put out seasonal collections. Some deserve a lump of coal; some merit a shining gold star. Below, we rate a selection of this year’s releases.

KELLY CLARKSON

WRAPPED IN RED (Sony)

The offering: The original American Idol unleashes her first collection of Christmas tunes, mixing a handful of familiar favourites with a few originals. Clarkson’s voice really is a treasure, and for the most part the songs are beautifully rendered, but she would be well served by an occasional reminder that she’s already won the Idol title and is no longer required to use every song to showcase the full power and range of her pipes.

Classic chestnuts: A beautifully crafted mixed bag, ranging from a honky-tonk countrified Blue Christmas to a full-on, rocked-out Run Run Rudolph to a lovely, simple Silent Night, on which Clarkson receives an assist from Reba McEntire and Trisha Yearwood. Also of note: Please Come Home for Christmas (Bells Will Be Ringing), Baby It’s Cold Outside (with Ronnie Dunn), White Christmas and bonus tracks I’ll Be Home for Christmas and Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel.

New jingles: The anthemic title track, Wrapped in Red, and Underneath the Tree have a Phil Spector/Wall of Sound-ish vibe, while Every Christmas opts for a bluesy approach. Winter Dreams (Brandon’s Song) has a likable up-tempo feel, while 4 Carats heads aggressively in a surf-guitar-driven direction. Just For Now is wispy and quickly forgettable. ****

— Brad Oswald

 

STRAIGHT NO CHASER

UNDER THE INFLUENCE, HOLIDAY EDITION (Atco/Atlantic)

The offering: This third yuletide release from the American male a cappella group features duets with big names like Paul McCartney and the late soul singer Otis Redding, whose voice is resurrected on Merry Christmas Baby. Only Amazing Grace seems out of place, if not filler, on this eight-cut EP.

Classic chestnuts: Straight No Chaser injects some finger-snapping cheer into White Christmas with guest CeeLo Green and the tentet sounds amazingly like a full orchestra backing McCartney’s swinging Wonderful Christmas Time.

New jingles: There are three original tunes, but the star atop this collection is Nutcracker, a ho-ho-ho-clever ditty that attempts to put the nuts in Nutcracker for a husband weary of the “lousy tradition” of seeing the Tchaikovsky ballet with his wife when he would rather be home watching football on TV. ***1/2

— Kevin Prokosh

 

JOHNNY REID

A CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOU (Universal)

The offering: The second holiday album from Canada’s Rod Stewart is a slick, capital-p Production helmed by Bob Ezrin (Kiss, Pink Floyd). Unlike 2009’s Christmas, which rocked around the Christmas tree with lighthearted tunes such as Chuck Berry’s Run Run Rudolph, A Christmas Gift To You focuses on solemn, reverent traditional numbers. There’s no shortage of cheese, but he plays it to his favour. Johnny Reid is nothing if not a showman.

Classic chestnuts: Reid proves he was born to sing Christmas carols with a high-drama O Holy Night and a fists-in-the-air power-ballad reading of Do You Hear What I Hear? replete with a full choir. Go big or go home.

New jingles: Winter Star, a delicate, lilting country number that serves as a refreshing counterpart to the rest of the record’s bombast. ***

— Jen Zoratti

 

GORD BAMFORD

CHRISTMAS IN CANADA (Sony)

The offering: Alberta’s Gord Bamford likes his Christmas country straight up, and he delivers it in abundance, expertly decorated with fiddles and steel guitars.

Classic chestnuts: Winter Wonderland, Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy, Away in a Manger and O Holy Night honour traditional country arrangements. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer starts out like the original but eventually stakes its claim as prime honky-tonk dance-floor material. Meanwhile, The Christmas Song is an exercise in contrasts as Bamford delivers a vocal that evokes a 1940s feel and, coupled with Anna Maria Koffman’s operatic performance, really stands out.

New jingles: Christmas in Canada is a national anthem of sorts, Alberta Christmas Morning celebrates tradition and Baseball Glove acknowledges the commercialism of the season. He also covers East Coast singer-songwriter Dave Gunning’s lighthearted Daddy’s Beer, adding a touch of humour to the collection. ***

— Bruce Leperre

 

NOW CHRISTMAS 6

VARIOUS ARTISTS (Universal)

The offering: The sixth in this compilation series again throws together a sackful of musical re-gifts from Christmases past. The playlist is topped by Justin Bieber’s 2011 yuletide sweet, Mistletoe, Michael Bublé’s new standard Cold December Night and wraps with the naughty screaming guitars of Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s 2004 arena anthem, Christmas Canon Rock.

Classic chestnuts: A restrained Lady Gaga recycles a jazzy White Christmas, to which she adds a verse about dreaming of a white snowman while wishing all our Thanksgivings be bright.

New jingles: American singer-songwriter Colbie Caillant’s bopping Christmas in the Sand will leave a warm glow with all the winter-weary snowbirds escaping south. ***

— KP

 

LEONA LEWIS

CHRISTMAS, WITH LOVE (Sony)

The offering: This 10-track collection from the London-born singer (winner of the British version of The X Factor’s third season) features an appealing mix of traditional favourites and new seasonal songs. Lewis has a powerhouse voice, but exercises admirable restraint when interpreting standards that beg to be spared from the vocal gymnastics and over-performance that have become lamentably commonplace among graduates of the reality TV-competition realm.

Classic chestnuts: Lewis’s layered, classic-rock approach to Winter Wonderland feels like a Shirelles homage, while her bluesy White Christmas stands as the CD’s lone over-reaching misstep. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) delivers a peppy measure of drum-driven energy, while O, Holy Night and Silent Night are stripped down and beautiful. Ave Maria showcases Lewis’s full operatic range.

New jingles: The catchy opening track, One More Sleep, has all the makings of an every-Christmas staple; Your Hallelujah is moody and seasonally contemplative; Mr. Right and I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday harken back to 1960s radio’s approach to the festive season. *** 1/2

— BO

 

KOOL & THE GANG

KOOL FOR THE HOLIDAYS (MapleMusic)

The offering: The first Christmas album from the veteran American funk/R&B/jazz crew (which celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2014, by the way) goes down smooth as eggnog, spiked with a distinctly ’90s R&B flavour. Those hoping to get funky might be disappointed: this one’s tailor-made for fireside snuggles.

Classic chestnuts: Winter Wonderland is transformed into an aggressive disco workout (in a minor key, puzzlingly), but the more traditional R&B renderings of The Christmas Song and Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas — both featuring the mahogany lead vocals of the Gang’s resident soul crooner Odeen Mays — are the stars.

New jingles: The originals are hit and miss. Opening track Home For the Holidays is a bouncy, pure-pop earworm worthy of a party playlist, while Christmas Always sounds like a holiday word association game set to music and can only be appreciated as unintentional comedy. ***

— JZ

 

TENORE

CHRISTMAS WITH YOU (Sing!/Warner)

The offering: Over-produced, bland holiday tunes from the poperatic trio put together by the woman behind the Canadian Tenors. The vocal arrangements are often inventive and quite nice; unfortunately, they are drowned in slick strings and syrupy instrumentation.

Classic chestnuts: The threesome fares best with religious Christmas ballads that gel with their pleasant but unremarkable tenors — Ave Maria is quite lovely, and O Holy Night starts out with just an acoustic guitar, before the inevitable strings come in (the harmonies work well, however). Pat-a-pan is a très ancien French carol, but Tenore’s update is grating and lacks the original’s quaint charm.

New jingles: Home I’ll Be, a Rita MacNeil favourite, isn’t a familiar inclusion on Christmas collections, but the trio’s shmaltzy rendition isn’t going to make it any more so. **

— Jill Wilson

 

SUSAN BOYLE

HOME FOR CHRISTMAS (Sony)

The offering: The largely forgettable followup to the Scottish singer’s 2010 holiday album The Gift. A predictable selection of traditional tunes, safely and traditionally sung.

Classic chestnuts: The album begins with a posthumous duet of O Come, All Ye Faithful with Elvis Presley (yes, that Elvis Presley), which is exactly as awkward as it sounds. Other oldies-but-goodies shine in Boyle’s straight-laced treatment: a demure, retro-flavoured I’ll Be Home for Christmas is simply a lovely version of a lovely song, showcasing a voice as pure as fresh-fallen snow.

New jingles: Only one — the dirge-like Miracle Hymn, which was penned for Boyle’s acting debut in the critically panned Hallmark-style movie The Christmas Candle. **

— JZ

 

THE PIANO GUYS

A FAMILY CHRISTMAS (Portrait)

The offering: The pop/classical crossover duo of Jon Schmidt and Steven Sharp Nelson, who gained fame (and a recording contract) by posting elaborate videos on YouTube, serves up a 12-track collection of instrumental interpretations of seasonal standards. The group’s name is something of a misnomer, as the musical workload is shared evenly between Schmidt’s piano stylings and Sharp’s cello artistry.

Classic chestnuts: Moody, mid-tempo renderings of Angels We Have Heard on High; Oh Come, Oh Come Emmanuel; Good King Wenceslas; Carol of the Bells/God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen; Let It Snow/Winter Wonderland; Still, Still, Still; We Three Kings; Away in a Manger and Silent Night.

New jingles: There’s a gentle, early-rising feel to the Schmidt-penned Christmas Morning, while the Schmidt/Sharp Nelson composition Winter Wind is dark and haunting. The inclusion of the wistful ballad Where Are You Christmas isn’t exactly new, but lends a temporary 21st-century vibe to an otherwise very traditional mix. ***

— BO

 

THE ROBERTSON FAMILY

DUCK THE HALLS: A ROBERTSON FAMILY CHRISTMAS (Universal)

The offering: The most surprising thing about this festive foray from the first family of redneck reality TV is that it isn’t a complete and utter waste of time. Sure, there’s enough swampy silliness from the duck-calling clan to ensure this offering’s place in the gag-gift bin, but when the womenfolk take hold of the microphone, there’s actually some listenable music going on. The Robertsons also get some welcome help from country A-listers George Strait, Alison Krauss and Luke Bryan.

Classic chestnuts: Missy Robertson’s I’ll Be Home For Christmas is delicate and lovely; Sadie Robertson (with Krauss) offers a bluegrassy Away in a Manger; Missy and Jase’s rendition of Baby, It’s Cold Outside is decidedly more redneck than romantic; the variously (female) voiced Silent Night is nicely done. The duck-quack-punctuated Duck the Halls is pretty much what the amended title suggests.

New jingles: Ragin’ Cajun Redneck Christmas will give Duck Dynasty fans exactly what they’re looking for; Christmas Cookies is the Robertsons’ attempt at a cutesy Christmas jingle; Hairy Christmas is the inevitable celebration of the clan’s hirsute style; Camouflage and Christmas Lights is a heartfelt, but overwrought, love letter to troops overseas at Christmas. Uncle Si’s “re-wrote” reading of The Night Before Christmas is, well, lengthy. **1/2

— BO