Entertainment

CDs celebrate the holiday season vocally and instrumentally

12:28 PM CST on Monday, December 5, 2005

By MARIO TARRADELL / The Dallas Morning News

The air is nippy, the Christmas decorations are up and the holiday shopping is in full swing. That means it's time for the sounds of the season. For most artists, recording and releasing holiday discs is as important as going out on tour.

In fact, some artists make more than one Christmas album during their career – from Barbra Streisand and Vince Gill to the Temptations and Neil Diamond. And many newcomers, such as Il Divo, Marah and Jane Monheit this year, put out a yuletide set early in their trajectories.

But in general, there's never a shortage of fresh seasonal selections to fill the house as you bake cookies or spice up the eggnog. Here's a look at many of 2005's crop of Christmas CDs.

E-mail mtarradell@dallasnews.com

Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass, Christmas Album (Shout! Factory) – The return of the pop-jazz trumpeter and his famed band's 1968 holiday recording reissued with good sound, extensive liner notes and vintage photos. It includes instrumental takes on "Winter Wonderland," "Sleigh Ride," "Jingle Bell Rock" and others.

Captain & Tennille, Saving Up Christmas (R2 Entertainment) – Daryl "the Captain" Dragon and wife Toni Tennille release their first Christmas CD, a three-song single featuring the dramatic ballad "Saving Up Christmas," the quirky, cute original "Tahoe Snow" and a brisk, instrumental version of "Here Comes Santa Claus."

Il Divo, The Christmas Collection (Columbia) – Pop-classical quartet goes the orchestral route on its sophomore album, which features holiday standards such as "O Holy Night," "White Christmas" and "Silent Night."

Kenny G, The Greatest Holiday Classics (Arista) – Pop instrumental saxophonist compiles some of his past Christmas songs, from 1999 to 2002, and tacks on five never-released cuts, including "We Wish You a Merry Christmas" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas."

Tony Orlando & Dawn, A Christmas Reunion (R2 Entertainment) – Reunited after 28 years, Tony Orlando, Telma Hopkins and Joyce Vincent deliver their inaugural holiday disc, a nicely sung, well-produced set of classics and new tunes.

Various Artists, A Charlie Brown Christmas (Peak/Concord) – Take the memorable music of the late Vince Guaraldi, add pop, jazz and R&B artists such as David Benoit, Vanessa Williams, Toni Braxton, Dave Koz and Gerald Albright and you get another fun holiday with the Peanuts gang.

Various Artists, Coming Home for Christmas (RCA Legacy) – Multigenre collection of holiday songs from contemporary Christian (MercyMe, Amy Grant, Michael W. Smith), country (Lonestar, Vince Gill) and pop (Kenny Loggins, Daryl Hall & John Oates).

Various Artists, Merry Mixmas: Christmas Classics Remixed (Capitol) – DJs of the day take lounge-hip seasonal fare from Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Eartha Kitt, Nancy Wilson and Lou Rawls, among others, and transform them into trippy, club-ready numbers.

Brian Wilson, What I Really Want for Christmas (Arista) – Beach Boys mastermind crafts his first solo Christmas album, packing it with two new tunes, "Christmasey" and the title cut, Beach Boys tracks "Little Saint Nick" and "The Man With All the Toys," as well as some standards such as "The First Noel."

The Marshall Tucker Band, Carolina Christmas (Shout! Factory) – The surviving members from the influential Southern rock band return to record a first Christmas album that includes four originals and eight standards.

Reverend Horton Heat, We Three Kings (Yep Roc) – Texas' self-proclaimed psychobilly band teams up with the former Asleep at the Wheel keyboardist, Dallas' Tim Alexander, for a spirited romp through tracks ripe for holiday festivities.

The Brian Setzer Orchestra, Dig That Crazy Christmas (Surfdog, Inc.) – Swing, baby, rockabilly swing. Mr. Setzer and his wildcat players jam to a 13-song batch of traditional nuggets and fun morsels such as "Dig That Crazy Santa Claus" and "You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch."

Kate and Anna McGarrigle, The McGarrigle Christmas Hour (Nonesuch) – Canadian sisters, whose folk-based songs have been covered by country and rock artists such as Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt, go for solemn and secular on this 14-song set featuring guests Ms. Harris and Kate's children, Martha and Rufus Wainwright.

Newgrange, A Christmas Heritage (Compass Records) – Respected acoustic music players Philip Aaberg, Darol Anger, Alison Brown, Mike Marshall, Tim O'Brien and Todd Phillips weave instruments and voices around 13 lovely songs perfect for the season.

Ricky Skaggs, A Skaggs Family Christmas, Volume One (Skaggs Family Records) – Country and bluegrass virtuoso Ricky Skaggs ropes in his wife, his children and members of the Whites musical clan to interpret holiday classics with a decidedly homespun flavor.

Various Artists, Christmas Angels (Capitol Nashville) – Female country singers, and a couple of contemporary Christian music women, round out this 10-song collection of holiday songs. The CD opens with Garland's Amber Dotson crooning a convincing version of "Blue Christmas."

Anita Baker, Christmas Fantasy (Blue Note) – OK, that opening number alone, "Frosty's Rag (Frosty the Snowman)" is worth the price of admission. Ms. Baker cuts loose, turning jazzy and oh so soulful. The rest is more like the Anita you know, classy and subdued.

Craig Chaquico, Holiday (Higher Octave Music) – New-age guitarist, once a member of Jefferson Starship, turns in his first Christmas disc, an easy-on-the-ears collection of nine traditional tunes and three originals. The CD's cover doubles as a nifty die-cut ornament.

Diana Krall, Christmas Songs (Verve) – Jazz it up with Ms. Krall as she, with help from the Clayton/Hamilton Jazz Orchestra, covers mostly tried and true numbers such as "Jingle Bells," "Let It Snow," "White Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland."

Jane Monheit, The Season (Epic) – Vocalist delivers a heavy-on-the-pop brand of jazz on her initial yuletide recording where she covers more contemporary cuts such as "This Christmas," "Merry Christmas Darling" and "The Man With the Bag" done big-band style.

Brave Combo, Holidays! (Rounder) – Dallas' favorite polka band always does things differently. This is no exception. Instead of just focusing on Christmas, BC leader Carl Finch and his gang celebrate many holidays such as Easter, April Fool's Day, Thanksgiving, Groundhog Day and New Year's Eve.

The LeeVees, Hanukkah Rocks (Reprise) – Finally a little holiday humor. Adam Gardner of Guster and Dave Schneider of the Zambonis plant tongue firmly in cheek for a nine-song set of Hanukkah tunes, from "Latke Clan" and "Goyim Friends" to "At the Timeshare" and "Gelt Melts."

Marah, A Christmas Kind of Town (Yep Roc Records) – Philadelphia rock band goes for yuletide kitsch during its funny yet accomplished seasonal effort. They combine originals ("New York is a Christmas Kind of Town") with well-known material ("Holly Jolly Christmas") and throw in humorous skits.

Regis Philbin, The Regis Philbin Christmas Album (Hollywood) – TV host extraordinaire croons his way through classics such as "Santa Claus is Coming to Town," "Baby It's Cold Outside" (a duet with wife Joy Philbin), "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" (with Donald Trump, of all people) and "Winter Wonderland."

Martin Sexton, Camp Holiday (Kitchen Table Records) – Acoustic folkie turns in a surprisingly delightful collection of Christmas tunes, all of them stripped down and quite rhythmically melodic. He does "I'll Be Home for Christmas" and "Silver Bells," among others.

Steven Curtis Chapman, All I Really Want for Christmas (Sparrow) – Contemporary Christian music superstar sings with his first adopted daughter, Shaohannah Hope Chapman, on a collection of traditional and original Christmas numbers.

Aaron Neville, Christmas Prayer (EMI Gospel) – The most recognized voice of the Neville Brothers devotes his fourth gospel CD to religious music for the season, namely the title cut, "Mary's Boy Child," "O Come All Ye Faithful" and the grand "Ave Maria."

Various Artists, WOW Christmas (Word) – Two-disc package showcases 30 seasonal tracks performed by top contemporary Christian music artists such as Amy Grant, Avalon, Matthew West, Jars of Clay, Point of Grace, Natalie Grant, Building 429 and Relient K.

Kid Connection, Absolute Favorite Christmas for Kids (Word/Curb) – Similar to the Kidz Bop series of discs, this religious-themed CD features holiday songs for children sung by the children of Kid Connection.

Various Artists, Nick Holiday (Nick Records) – Animated stars of Nick at Nite cartoon series such as SpongeBob SquarePants, Dora the Explorer, Jimmy Neutron and Rugrats deliver Christmas songs for the young ones to enjoy.