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Sarah McLachlan - Wintersong

Who better suited to angelically interpret holiday tunes than the angelically-voiced songstress Sarah? Long known for her serene, wistful tones and pretty melodies, hearing this album makes you wonder why McLachlan didn’t do something like this a long time ago. It’s a refreshing view of Christmas songs as heard through McLachlan and her producer Pierre Marchand’s respective ears, as they take traditional carols to another level with, for example, the jungle percussion on “The First Noel,” the effect-laden trumpets on “I’ll Be Home For Christmas,” and the warped violins and banjos on “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” Also here are several more modern holiday songs, such as John Lennon’s landmark “Happy Xmas (War Is Over)” and McLachlan’s own take on the already oh-so-pretty Joni Mitchell tune “River.” It’s a beautiful and, thankfully, different way to hear many of the holiday songs you already know.

Various Artists - Now That’s What I Call Christmas: Vol. 3 - Strategic

Although this compilation CD - or CDs, should we say, since we’re now on Volume 3 - were initially a fresh and festive idea, there are really only so many existing holiday songs out there, and NOW seems to have just about exhausted all of the good ones by the time they got to this set. If you’ve purchased the first two, then you’ve got the bulk of the best; what’s left here are only a few pretty ornaments, while the rest of the tracks seem to be the tinsel that the dog coughed back up. The good: Of course, The Chipmunks’ 1958 novelty Xmas number, “The Chipmunk Song” - Johnny Cash’s “Jingle Bell Rock” - Reliant K’s zippy take on “The 12 Days of Christmas” - and contributions from the never-go-wrong Judy Garland and Dean Martin. The bad: eh, all the rest, including Alison Krauss’ trying-too-hard “Shimmy Down the Chimney,” and (cough) Celine Dion’s version of Jose Feliciano’s classic “Feliz Navidad.” Please.

Sufjan Stevens - Songs For Christmas - Asthmatic Kitty

The beginnings of this disc really happened back in December 2001, when Stevens began crafting holiday EPs of both classic carols and his own zany holiday-themed compositions, mostly to pass out to friends and family members. Now that it’s five years into this quirky (and now yearly) Christmas tradition, Stevens has decided to put all five of those EPs into an EP box set that will raise the holiday spirit of any hipster out there. Some of it is a bit roughly mixed, and Stevens’ piano skills aren’t always top-notch, but with highlights like the quiet “O Holy Night,” it’s all done with feeling, and the rearrangements of many of these tunes are fun to listen to and a nice change-up from the Xmas Muzak you’re going to hear from now until January. Highlights include the quiet “O Holy Night,” the zany “Hey, Guys! It’s Christmas Time,” and Stevens’ reinvention of “Jingle Bells.”

Billy Idol - Happy Holidays (A Very Special Christmas Album) - Edel

At first, the mere concept of Idol doing a holiday album seems laughable, especially if you mentally picture Billy decked out (ahem) in extra hairspray and a holly-berry-red leather jacket. But, surprisingly, the non-aging ‘80s rocker actually takes things down a notch, donning a tie and crooning (yes, crooning) his way through 17 holiday classics in a smooth, dare we say festive, way. Idol, in his liner notes, said that he found these songs a “challenge” to sing, as so many have already recorded them; and, unfortunately, he’s right - there isn’t much difference in his interpretations of tunes like “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen,” “Blue Christmas,” and “Oh Christmas Tree.” But they are at least moderately pleasant to listen to, and, hey, there’s always that novelty factor. Sex Pistol Johnny Rotten once called Idol “the Perry Como of punk” - could it be possible that even Billy Idol enjoys the holidays the traditional way?

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