Do you hear it? Holiday music in all kinds of packages awaits you!
White Christmas
Try to forget the fact that Bing Crosby probably never had to record another song in his life after he immortalized "White Christmas." If you can do that, you'll find plenty more to like in this crooning Christmas collection. There's the Romantic Bing, charming the tinsel right off the tree with "The Christmas Song," and that cure for cabin fever, "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!" There's the Reverent Bing, solemnly singing "Adeste Fideles." And of course, there's Bing the Showman, belting out "Good King Wenceslas" with a bit of that ole vaudeville shine. But no matter what you're told, "White Christmas" will be the number one reason for sticking this one in your stocking. And who can blame you? It's as timeless now as it was way back when.
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Joy
His third Christmas album, Steven Curtis Chapman's Joy is also his first release for Reunion Records after leaving longtime label Sparrow Records following the 2011 album Re:Creation. Produced by Chapman and Brent Milligan, Joy features Chapman's take on some classic Christmas songs as well as six new originals that fit the season, including the affecting "Christmas in Kentucky" and the 1950s rockabilly-sounding "Christmas Time Again."
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Jazz to the World
Winter Wonderland Herb Alpert & Jeff Lorber; Baby It's Cold Outside Dianne Reeves & Lous Rawls; Little Drummer Boy Cassandra Wilson; O Come Emmanuel John McLaughlin; What Child Is This Chick Corea; I'll Be Home for Christmas Herbie Hancock & Elaine Elias; plus Dr. John, Anita Baker and more!
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Songs of Peace and Joy
Cellist Yo-Yo Ma has long been a giant in the classical world, though he has also made a number of recordings with musicians who play other styles. This holiday disc doesn't exclusively stick to traditional Christmas songs, but covers a wide scope of material in a very ambitious manner. Ma opens with a lovely take of the traditional favorite "Dona Noblis Pacem (Give Us Peace)," playing both the melody and counterpoint via overdubbing. Jazz pianist/vocalist Diana Krall is superb in a swinging rendition of Jerome Kern's unjustly obscure "You Couldn't Be Cuter," adding bassist John Clayton.
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Rockin’ Rudolph
Billed as the Brian Setzer Orchestra's first Christmas album in a decade, Rockin' Rudolph arrives five years after Christmas Comes Alive! and seven years after Christmas Rocks! The Best Of Collection, but the distinction is, this 2015 set is the first studio non-compilation holiday release in ten years. No matter how you count it, Rockin' Rudolph deserves to sit proudly alongside the Brian Setzer Orchestra's other five Christmas albums because it serves up snazzy seasonal swingers, tunes that revel in their retro-kitsch.
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The Classic Christmas Album
A career's worth of precious holiday memories from the legendary Earth, Wind, & Fire.
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Christmas is Here
A fast-rising country singer and songwriter, Gokey shifts gears and looks to the traditional classics for most of the songs on this holiday album. Includes "What Christmas Means to Me"; "The Most Wonderful Time"; "White Christmas"; "Mary, Did You Know?"; "The Christmas Song"; "Lift Up Your Eyes"; "O Holy Night"; "This Christmas"; "Give Me Jesus"; and the title track.
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A Very Kasey Christmas
Kacey Musgraves is often praised for keeping certain country traditions alive but, even so, the retro vibe of A Very Kacey Christmas may come as a bit of a shock. Musgraves crafts her holiday album -- arriving just three records into her career, a relatively swift event -- as an homage to the swinging sounds of mid-century modern, cannily blending lounge with a hint of exotica. Musgraves doesn't spend much time with shopworn standards, opening the record with "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "Let It Snow!" before taking a series of left turns. Many of these twists are clever re-appropriations of novelty songs, tunes that are played straight but delivered with a wink -- a gambit that plays slightly better with the Chipmunks' "Christmas Don't Be Late" than Gayla Peevey's "I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas," which can't help but seem silly in any guise. Such frivolity is charming, though, particularly because Musgraves slyly waltzes right up to the edge of kitsch without ever crossing over into camp.
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Now That’s What I Call Christmas!
The Now series is known for crossing the boundaries of record labels in its attempt to provide definitive collections of hits -- usually from contemporary hits, but also of different eras and styles from the past (at least in its U.K. incarnation). Thankfully, the double-disc, 36-track collection Now That's What I Call Christmas! lives up to the series' reputation by collecting an abundance of pop holiday classics, from Bing Crosby ("White Christmas") and Nat "King" Cole ("The Christmas Song (Merry Christmas to You)") to Britney Spears ("My Only Wish (This Year)") and Boyz II Men ("Silent Night").
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‘Tis the SeaSon
There is a pun to the title of 'Tis the SeaSon, a de facto sequel to Christmas Island, the 1996 album that marked Jimmy Buffett's first excursion into seasonal cheer. That alone shows that Buffett doesn't take 'Tis the SeaSon all that seriously, something that comes to the surface on an updated "Twelve Days of Christmas," where he's celebrating eight vintage 8-tracks and five cheeseburgers. This may suggest that his humor gets a bit overbearing, which is true: Buffett always seems on the verge of a smirk, no matter if he's singing chestnuts or his own frivolous originals, of which there aren't many. The key to 'Tis the SeaSon is that its spirits are light, upending tradition -- which is referred to via skipping hot dance numbers, a revival of "Mele Kalikimaka," and a version of "Baby, It's Cold Outside," which has become a seasonal standard -- by delivering it all with a smile. For Parrotheads, there may be no better way to while away a December.
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Tennessee Christmas
Tennessee Christmas is something of an event in its very appearance, but it also is quite different in tenor and character than Grant's previous holiday albums. Some of that can be inferred from the title itself: although it doesn't explicitly say that this is an intimate Christmas, it does imply this is a homey holiday. Indeed, it was recorded at Grant's home studio -- and there are cameos by her guitarist husband Vince Gill -- and the end result is an album that feels as cozy as a night in by the fireplace.
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A Pentatonix Christmas
The second full-length holiday outing from the Arlington, Texas-based, 2011 Sing-Off-winning a cappella group, A Pentatonix Christmas delivers a colorful set of Yuletide emissions with ample amounts of spirit and a truly impressive command of harmony. Acrobatic takes on "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen," "O Come, All Ye Faithful," and "I'll Be Home for Christmas" fit nicely alongside highlights from 2014's double platinum-selling That's Christmas to Me, but where the former only yielded one original offering, A Pentatonix Christmas unleashes two self-penned Santa jams into the world, the winking "Good to Be Bad" and the festive "The Christmas Sing-Along." Also notable is a soulful rendering of "White Christmas," which sees the quintet teaming up with a cappella, jazz fusion, and pop legends Manhattan Transfer.
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The Christmas Album
You might think that Mathis would have trouble finding Christmas evergreens to record the sixth time through, but somehow he doesn't seem to have gotten around to "Joy to the World," "Away in a Manger," "Frosty the Snowman," "Have a Holly Jolly Christmas," "O Little Town of Bethlehem," or "Merry Christmas" before. He has commissioned one new one, Tom Snow and Dean Pitchford's pleasant "Heavenly Peace," and pressed into service other non-holiday standards, such as Irving Berlin's "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" and '40s bandleader Claude Thornhill's theme song "Snowfall." And since the album only contains ten tracks and runs a mere half an hour, that's enough. Backed by the Irish Film Orchestra, which can be alternately lush and swinging, Mathis creates yet another winning collection.
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Glow
Abandoning all modern trappings, Brett Eldredge chooses to go the full Frank Sinatra on his 2016 seasonal affair Glow. Leaving behind the R&B rhythms that underpin his hit singles is a bit of a risky move for Eldredge, as it pushes the spotlight directly onto his vocals. Eldredge may not take many risks on Glow -- he's determined to adhere to string-saturated tradition, so he never plays with his phrasing -- but he's warm and charming, which gives him enough swagger to ride the snazzy big-band arrangements on Glow.
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Christmas Together
Christmas Together is the second holiday album from both Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, but it's the first the wedded couple has made together. It's a swift affair, with 11 songs clocking in at 28 minutes, its brevity suggesting it may not have been made with much care, but its casualness is also its charm. Neither Brooks nor Yearwood -- who duet on several songs, then have their own showcases -- toss away their performances, but the album does feel like it was recorded swiftly, as if the couple knocked off these tunes in a couple of afternoons.
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You Make It Feel Like Christmas
Showbiz has been in Gwen Stefani's blood since the start of her career, which is the reason why she, unlike many '90s alt-rock veterans, can seem at home within the confines of the televised musical competition The Voice. Her very presence on The Voice, one of the last genuinely popular franchises on network television in the 2010s, guaranteed the existence of an album like You Make It Feel Like Christmas, one that's pitched directly in the mainstream. You Make It Feel Like Christmas plays upon her romance with co-host Blake Shelton, making her bouncy duet with the country singer the album's title track and first single.
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O Come All Ye Faithful: A Piano Christmas
This album features classic Christmas songs performed by world-class pianist José Cabrera. Fusing elements of jazz and classical influences in his style, José also introduces a touch of latin flair from his native Dominican Republic to these brand new original arrangements.
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Christmas in Tahoe
Credit to Train for capturing a specific seasonal vibe on their 2015 holiday album Christmas in Tahoe and, furthermore, for making it plain right in the record's title. Where most Christmas albums focus on afternoons filled with snow and evenings by the fire, Train zero in on a Californian Christmas, one with plenty of sun and margaritas to share. Appropriately, the band isn't big on carols -- only one makes the cut and that's "O Holy Night," its presence vaguely bringing to mind the Letterman tradition of Paul Shaffer singing it as Cher every holiday -- choosing to cover popular favorites from the '50s through the 21st century, throwing in a couple of peppy (and pretty good) originals along the way.
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A Legendary Christmas
John Legend did not need any prodding to record a holiday album and is in the spirit throughout A Legendary Christmas. Produced by Raphael Saadiq, with whom Legend collaborated on Once Again highlight "Show Me," the LP is joyously nostalgic, decked with strings, horns, and a trio of background vocalists including secret weapon Sy Smith. The majority of the material dates from the '40s through the '70s, while the six originals are similarly styled. Most of the new songs hold their own.
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Christmas: A Season of Love
The second holiday-themed album from Idina Menzel, 2019's Christmas: A Season of Love finds the Broadway and film star once again embracing a mix of beloved standards, originals, and popular songs from her various roles. Included are songs like "The Most Wonderful Time of the Year," "O Holy Night/Ave Maria," "Christmas Time Is Here," and "Seasons of Love" from the musical Rent. Menzel also sings a Ladino version of the Hanukkah song "Ocho Kandelikas. Also showcased are a handful of duets with guest artists, including "We Wish You the Merriest" with Josh Gad, "I Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" with Billy Porter, and "A Hand for Mrs. Claus" with Ariana Grande.
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