Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD by Diana Krall: Diana Krall Christmas Songs

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As the song goes, "Merry Christmas" has already "been said many times, many ways." Diana Krall's Christmas Songs is a worthy--though not particularly unique--addition to the holiday catalog. On it, she excels with an approach mastered long ago: elegant delivery that gives extra polish to a very familiar lineup. Some might find her style frosty at times, but that will come as a relief to those who want their carolers to cut through some of the holiday treacle and create a festive, yet grown-up vibe. And Krall does show off her playful side with little, personal touches. In "Winter Wonderland" she promises to "frolic and play the Canadian way," which should draw smiles from her native land. (That'll mean toasting the holiday with Molson, eh?) Elsewhere, she ends "Jingle Bells" with the girlishly giddy statement, "I'm just crazy about horses." Well…can't argue with that. --Leah Weathersby

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD by Michael Buble: Let It Snow [EP]

This audio CD is a special gift for Christmas. Make your Christmas more special with this gift.

Track Listings
1. Let It Snow
2. The Christmas Song
3. Grown-Up Christmas
4. I'll Be Home For Christmas
5. White Christmas
6. Let It Snow (Live)

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD by Sarah McLachlan: Wintersong

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An album like this could cement Sarah McLachlan as a middle-of-the-road crooner ready for the Andy Williams Christmas Show, but there's more beneath the surface of Wintersong than just Christmas chestnuts, over-roasting on an open fire. Longtime McLachlan producer Pierre Marchand blurs the borders with ambient sound effects, distorted guitars, and subtle echoes. He adds a Mark Isham-esque muted trumpet solo emerging out of reverse echoes on "I'll Be Home for Christmas" as if viewing the song through a distorted mirror. Violins that sound like they're being blown through a Leslie speaker combine unpredictably with a banjo on "O Little Town of Bethlehem." And on the seventh song, McLachlan finally kicks the album into another gear, turning "The First Noël" into a storming entreaty backed by tribal drums and surging low strings. Her voice is like the serene angel amidst the raging storm. I wish McLachlan had taken more chances like this, instead of the subtle framing she employs around melodies that remain true to form. Surprisingly, the more contemporary songs by John Lennon, Joni Mitchell, and Gordon Lightfoot are the least inventive. Her reading of Mitchell's incandescently wistful "River" is overly faithful to the original, and Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)" sounds like karaoke, right down to the Spector-esque production and children's choir. But given that Lennon's prayer for peace still remains unanswered, that fidelity could be intentional. Regardless, this is familiar Christmas fare delivered in an intimate and ethereal fashion that will satisfy those who believe in the nostalgic spirit of the season. --John Diliberto

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD by Mariah Carey: Merry Christmas

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She's been hailed for her multi-octave vocal range--a tool that sometimes detracts from her pop recordings, but actually works quite beautifully in the context of this charming holiday collection. Fans will surely approve of Carey's renditions of slinky secular songs like "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)" and a nicely subdued "All I Want for Christmas Is You." But where she really surprises is in her unadorned delivery of a passel of traditional carols, highlighted by "Silent Night" (which she sings quietly, avoiding the temptation to wail those high notes) and "Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child." A must for diehards, and a pleasant surprise for the unconverted. --David Sprague

Track Listings
1. Silent Night - Mariah Carey, Gruber, Franz
2. All I Want for Christmas Is You - Mariah Carey, Afanasieff, Walter
3. O Holy Night - Mariah Carey, Adam, Adolphe
4. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Mariah Carey, Barry, Jeff
5. Miss You Most (At Christmas Time) - Mariah Carey, Afanasieff, Walter
6. Joy to the World - Mariah Carey, Mason, Lowell
7. Jesus Born on This Day - Mariah Carey, Afanasieff, Walter
8. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - Mariah Carey, Coots, J. Fred
9. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing/Gloria (In Excelsis Deo) - Mariah Carey, Traditional
10. Jesus, Oh What a Wonderful Child - Mariah Carey, Traditional

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD: James Taylor at Christmas

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Looking for a smart, never-out-of-style singer who turns in a perfectly solid collection of Christmas songs, including a few surprises? J.T. is your man on James Taylor at Christmas, which is nicely balanced between pop and jazz selections, with more stately hymn-like fare and balladry. Always fine in his charmingly understated voice, Taylor and company try out the old gospel standard "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and the memorable "Some Children See Him." He smoothly cuts through "Winter Wonderland" and "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" with a bit of jazz flavor, and reprises Joni Mitchell's increasingly popular Christmas song (even though it's about getting away from the holiday), "River." One of the album's most satisfying delights is Taylor's funky version of "Jingle Bells," sung in a kind of barroom stomp with the most intriguing phrasing since Barbra Streisand sang it in the '60s. Soulful and bright and moody as well (when Taylor sings "In the Bleak Midwinter," you believe it's indeed rough), there's barely a clinker here. -- Martin Keller

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD: Now That's What I Call Christmas!

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The title doesn't lie, even if it does sounds like a hyperbolic pitch from an old late-night cable TV ad. With 36 tracks of various genres spread over two discs, Now That's What I Call Christmas might be the best, most eclectic "value-plus" holiday record ever released, assuming your tastes embrace crooners such as Cole, Crosby, and Como, plus contemporary boy bands such as Boyz II Men, as well as the ubiquitous Britney Spears.

In between there are the sumptuous classics by Bobby Helms, Brenda Lee, the Beach Boys, Elvis, and Burl Ives on disc one, balanced on disc two by more recent standards, including Bruce Springsteen's live version of "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town" and John and Yoko's "Happy Xmas (War is Over)." You're not obligated to like everything here, but that's why Santa invented the forward button on your CD player. --Martin Keller

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD: A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Original Sound Track Recording Of The CBS Television Special

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The first time you listen to this disc you will undoubtedly be transported directly back to your childhood. Charles Schulz's Peanuts characters will go toe-tapping and funky-dancing through your mind's eye. Play it a few more times, though (ignoring the dialogue snippets, if you can), and you will begin to truly revel in Guaraldi's wonderful, humorous, deep piano playing. You'll hear why he's such an influence on new age ivory tickler George Winston, but you'll also realize that Winston's holiday music never quite sparkles with the underlying passion, and humor, that twinkles in these grooves. Buy it for the nostalgia--keep it because it will remain one of the most enchanting albums in your holiday collection. --Michael Ruby

Track Listings
1. O Tannenbaum - Vince Guaraldi, Traditional
2. What Child Is This? - Vince Guaraldi, Dix, William Chatte
3. My Little Drum
4. Linus and Lucy
5. Christmas Time Is Here
6. Christmas Time Is Here
7. Skating
8. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing - Vince Guaraldi, Mendelssohn, Felix
9. Christmas Is Coming
10. Für Elise - Vince Guaraldi, Beethoven, Ludwig v
11. The Christmas Song - Vince Guaraldi, Torme, Mel
12. Greensleeves - Vince Guaraldi, Traditional

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD: The Ventures' Christmas Album

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Ah, this is jingle bell rock the way it's supposed to be, with driving guitars, splashy drums, and full stereo separation. The Ventures' Christmas Album just might be the best rock & roll holiday record ever made. The instrumental twang kings deliver pretty much what you'd expect--note-for-note renditions of standards, all dressed up with ubiquitous sleigh bells as well as the requisite reverb. What really makes this disc a blast though is the way the quartet weaves 1960s pop signatures into every tune; warping "Woolly Bully" into "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," "I Feel Fine" into "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer," and so on. Spin this and let your party guests have fun guessing which hit single will morph into a Christmas classic. --Michael Ruby

Special Gift for Christmas, Audio CD: A Christmas Gift for You from Phil Spector

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This lavish holiday set has been called the greatest rock & roll Christmas album of all time. That's an opinion that's tough to argue with when you find yourself immersed in the massive sounds painstakingly crafted by legendary producer Phil Spector. His "wall-of-sound" technique is perfectly suited to the music of the season, as he proves with layer upon layer of piano, sleigh bells, buoyant percussion, and, of course, those legendary Spectorsound harmonies. The Crystals turn their sassy interplay into sheer magic on "Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town," The Ronettes stroll sweetly through numbers like "Sleigh Ride," while Darlene Love delivers a real knockout punch with her yearning version of "Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home)." Sure to become the soundtrack for your holidays. --David Sprague

Track Listings
1. White Christmas - Phil Spector, Berlin, Irving
2. Frosty the Snowman - Phil Spector, Nelson, Steve [2] E
3. The Bells of St. Mary - Phil Spector, Adams, Emmett
4. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town - Phil Spector, Coots, J. Fred
5. Sleigh Ride - Phil Spector, Anderson, Leroy
6. Marshmallow World - Phil Spector, DeRose, Peter
7. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus - Phil Spector, Connors, Tommie
8. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - Phil Spector, Marks, Johnny
9. Winter Wonderland - Phil Spector, Bernard, Felix
10. Parade of the Wooden Soldiers - Phil Spector, Jessel, Leon
11. Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) - Phil Spector, Barry, Jeff
12. Here Comes Santa Claus - Phil Spector, Autry, Gene
13. Silent Night - Phil Spector, Gruber, Franz