Santa’s bag packed full of CDs of holiday pop, jazz and more

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, December 15, 2005

Silent night? Are you kidding?

Pour yourself an eggnog, and let’s make our annual survey of the CDs cranked out by the North Pole’s recording studios:

The Best

Brian Wilson, “What I Really Want for Christmas.” The first solo Christmas album by the founder/mastermind of the Beach Boys, whose 1964 offering remains a seasonal favorite.

Wilson reprises two favorites from that album – the dune buggy-driven “Little Saint Nick” and delightful “The Man With All the Toys” – and serves up traditional holiday favorites, including a cappella versions of “Auld Lang Syne” and “Silent Night,” that benefit from his continued association with the empathetic musicians and vocalists who helped him revive “Pet Sounds” and “Smile.”

Wilson, who produced and arranged the album, contributes a pair of new songs with guest lyricists: Jimmy Webb on “Christmasey” and Bernie Taupin on the title song.

While the voice is diminished, the spirit is not.

“Elton John’s Christmas Party.” Taupin’s lyrics bookend this collection curated by John, opening with John’s 1973 track, “Step Into Christmas,” and closing with his new “Calling It Christmas,” a duet with Joss Stone. The older song has a Phil Spectorish feel, and John honors that pre-eminent producer by including two examples of his work: the Ronettes’ “Frosty the Snowman” and the Crystals’ “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.”

With a generous 21 tracks, there’s plenty of star power (U2, the Eagles, Bruce Springsteen), peer faves (Rufus Wainwright, Kate Bush) and curiosities (Flaming Lips). Available only at Starbucks.

“The McGarrigle Christmas Hour,” in which the great Canadian singer-songwriters Kate and Anna McGarrigle gather family (quiet sister Jane, Kate’s kids Rufus and Martha Wainwright, Anna’s husband Dane Lanken and their two children, Lily and Sylvan) and friends Emmylou Harris and Chaim Tannenbaum to create their own Christmas revels.

The crystalline “Seven Joys of Mary” and “Old Waits Carol” feature the massed families masquerading as an English church choir, while “Il Est Ne/Ca Bergers” honors their French Canadian heritage.

Harris contributes a serene “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” underscored by a trio of trombones and a chorus, while sweet-voiced Rufus Wainwright has three showcases, including a romantic “What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?” and his own prickly “Spotlight on Christmas.”

You wish there were more of Kate and Anna themselves, but a pair of new songs, “Wise Men” and “Port Starboard Sox,” prove they remain wonderful writers whose sisterly harmonies are as gorgeous as ever.

The San Antonio Vocal Arts Ensemble, “La Noche Buena: Christmas Music of Colonial Latin America.” These are the real holiday oldies, dating to the 16th and 17th centuries. The ensemble, which specializes in musical reconstruction and anthropology, has collected indigenous and European period instruments to re-create some of the first Christmas music written in the Americas.

Music and languages of the Aztec, Maya and Inca, and newly converted African slaves, melded with the traditions of Catholic missionaries and Spanish conquerors to create some of the earliest multicultural expression. This beautiful music deserves a place in the larger medieval and Renaissance repertoire.

“A Skaggs Family Christmas.” A family gathering that moved from the living room to the concert stage and, finally, to the recording studio. In a collection of traditional Christmas songs done bluegrass style, Ricky Skaggs and his tremendous Kentucky Thunder band support the Whites – patriarch Buck White; daughters Sharon (married to Skaggs) and Cheryl; and Ricky’s kids, Molly and Luke.

They all sing like angels, particularly Sharon on the beautiful “Love Come Gently,” Cheryl on a stately “Mary, Did You Know?” and young Molly on a spry “Christmas Time Is Here.” Great voices, rich harmonies. The picking is first-rate as well: Check out the spry instrumental version of “Deck the Halls.”

Diana Krall, “Christmas Songs.” Krall follows up her 1998 Christmas EP, revisiting “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas” and other standards in the company of the swinging Clayton-Hamilton Jazz Orchestra (on seven tracks) and her own stellar quartet.

Johnny Mandel provides lush string arrangements and conducts three tracks. Heartily swinging one moment, ruminative the next, Krall closes with a lovely reading of the odd but somehow appropriate “Count Your Blessings (Instead of Sheep)” by Irving Berlin.

Faith Evans, “A Faithful Christmas.” A mix of secular and religious songs, although the latter sometimes get a tad too secular and slick in their arrangements (“O Come All Ye Faithful” sounds like an R. Kelly production). But when Evans brings her sensuality to the right material – Eartha Kitt’s slinky “Santa Baby,” for instance – she’s just fine, and her reading of Donny Hathaway’s “This Christmas” is lovely.

The originals are OK, but the chestnuts are rip-roaring, and Evans serves up the best distaff James Brown ever on a gritty reading of his “Soulful Christmas.”

Aaron Neville, “Christmas Prayer.” Blessed with an ethereal, tremolo-laden tenor seemingly designed to soar heavenward, Neville comes to this collection with an almost unfair advantage.

Except for Berlin’s “White Christmas” (delivered with doo-wop charm), a wry “Merry Christmas Baby” and reggae-tinged “Christmas Everyday,” the songs are mostly traditional carols delivered gracefully (“Joy to the World” with the Blind Boys of Alabama), energetically (“Go Tell It on the Mountain”) or majestically, as in one more reading of “Ave Maria,” which has become Neville’s signature song year-round.

Odetta, “Gonna Let It Shine: A Concert for the Holidays.” Another majestic voice, though much deeper and richer, given here to a recital of black seasonal songs and spirituals. Odetta, a major presence in both the civil rights and folk movements, is accompanied by pianist Seth Farber and on a number of tracks gets vocal support from the Holmes Brothers, but she can also power a song acappella or lead an audience in inspired singalongs. Providing historical context to the material, some of it dating to slavery days, Odetta gives luminous readings of “Mary Had a Baby,” “Shout for Joy,” the bracing “Freedom Trilogy” and two of her best-known songs, “Somebody Talking ‘Bout Jesus” and “Keep On Moving It On.”

“To Kate: A Benefit for Kate’s Sake.” This fundraising album, put together by E Street Band bassist Garry Tallent to aid a young girl needing a bone marrow transplant (the Children’s Organ Transplant Association will also benefit), features new recordings by John Prine (a breezy “I’ll Be Home for Christmas”), Buddy and Julie Miller, BR549, Rosie Flores and others, including a reunited Jason and the Scorchers, whose “Oh! Holy Night” will not be mistaken for a silent night. Joe Ely revives Bob Dylan’s undervalued “Winterlude” and Steve Earle enlists Allison Moorer on his moving “Nothing but a Child.”

The rest

Jane Monheit, “The Season.” Monheit suggests that this album is modeled on the 1960 classic “Ella Wishes You a Swinging Christmas,” but it’s more Karen Carpenter than Ella Fitzgerald. Working in settings that vary from a subtle quartet to a swinging big band, Monheit generally plays it safe on a mix of carols and pop standards. Highlights: a sultry “This Christmas,” a lively, scat-informed “The Man With the Bag” and a soothing “Moonlight in Vermont.”

Anita Baker, “Christmas Fantasy.” This first seasonal offering from a queen of the “quiet storm” sound mixes traditional carols and pop standards with three originals by Baker and co-producer Barry Eastmond. Baker’s warm, jazz-leaning vocals are well suited to such material, though her tendency to over-scat harms “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen.” Backed by a small combo led by pianist Joe Sample and guitarist Larry Carlton, Baker sounds sunny recounting “My Favorite Things” and blue on “Christmas Time Is Here.”

Marah, “A Christmas Kind of Town.” That would be New York, although Marah’s from Philadelphia. Brothers Serge and Dave Bielanko mix chestnuts (a doo-wop “Silver Bells,” a boozy “Baby It’s Cold Outside” with guest vocalist Christine Smith) and new songs (the rambunctious title track), creating a pageantlike setting via radio skits and odd demonstrations of wassailing. Marah’s “Auld Lang Syne” is shambolic in the tradition of the Pogues, but the album never feels like anything but fun.

Reverend Horton Heat, “We Three Kings.” More sillybilly than psychobilly, this collection of revamped standards includes Chuck Berry’s “Run Rudolph Run” and twangy, reverb-laden guitar versions of “Jingle Bells,” “We Three Kings” and “What Child Is This” riotously realized by guitarist/singer Jim Heath, slap bassist Jimbo Wallace and drummer Scott Churilla. There are sweet moments, too, including Buck Owens’ “Santa Looked a Lot Like Daddy,” a surprisingly reverent cover of Willie Nelson’s “Pretty Paper,” and the album’s one original song, “Santa on the Roof.”

Brave Combo, “Holidays.” A follow-up to 1991’s “It’s Christmas, Man!,” this collection features one standard (“Auld Lang Syne”) and 18 new holiday party songs commissioned by the TM Comedy Network for morning DJs around the country. Only a handful are geared to this particular holiday season, but you’ll hereafter be prepared for every major holiday or excuse for a party, from Halloween to Groundhog Day.

“The Regis Philbin Christmas Album.” Not as awful as you’d think, but confirmation that Regis belongs in a television studio, not a recording studio. The best singing Philbin here is wife Joy (two cuts, including a sassy duet on “Baby It’s Cold Outside”), but the highlight for some will be the cameo by Donald Trump on “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” including this memorable moment: “Rudolph, you’re hired! Blitzen, you’re fired!”

“40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas.” New versions of Vince Guaraldi-penned “Peanuts” classics like “Linus and Lucy” and “Skating,” along with some standards, by a few too many smooth-jazz and R&B artists. The good tracks include Chaka Khan’s “The Christmas Song” and Brian McKnight’s “Christmas Time Is Here,” but the charms of the Guaraldi tunes and others are too often slicked up and smoothed out by the likes of Dave Koz, Gerald Albright and the Rippingtons.

Kenny G, “The Greatest Holiday Classics.” This fourth seasonal album from G draws from its three predecessors and adds four new tracks. His soprano sax can be as invigorating and pretty as fresh snow at times, but the dominant mood is slick as ice.

“Nick Holiday.” Nickelodeon characters Dora the Explorer, Jimmy Neutron, SpongeBob SquarePants and others offer kiddie-oriented versions of standards, along with some originals, such as the Backyardigans’ “Snow Is Cold but I Am Cool.” Cartoony to a fault and possibly unbearable for adults, but great for the tykes.

“Martha Stewart Living Music The Holiday Collection.” A three-disc set – one pop, one jazz, one classical – also available individually and each featuring mostly conventional and familiar choices by the biggest names in each field (Sinatra, Cole, Carey, Bennett, Boston Pops, etc.). We’re sure the humbled homemaker and media mogul made all these selections herself between gathering up the set’s 30 holiday recipe cards, decorating tips and craft ideas.

“Christmas Angels.” In a year lacking major contributions from Nashville, this all-woman country compilation serves the genre well, with vets Tanya Tucker, feisty Suzy Bogguss and Deana Carter and the wondrous Alison Krauss (“Shimmy Down the Chimney”) joined by a bunch of country newcomers (Jamie O’Neal, Amber Dotson, Jennifer Hanson, Cyndi Thomson) and young Christian stars (Bethany Dillon, Nichole Nordeman).

The LeeVees, “Hanukkah Rocks.” Guster’s Adam Gardner and Dave Schneider of the Zambonis are smart indie popsters with a sense of humor and a small void to fill now that Adam Sandler is off the scene. How else to explain a tribute to the latke followed by a debate on latke condiments (“Applesauce vs. Sour Cream”), a celebration of Florida timeshares and “Goyim Friends” and the possibly inevitable examination of the multiple spellings of Hanukkah (“How Do You Spell Channukkahh?”).

“Christmas Remixed 2.” Vintage pop and jazz singers and stylists meet modern remix masters on what sounds like a soundtrack for an Austin Powers Christmas movie. Some classic elements swing fresh, like the Charlie Parker bebop “White Christmas” a la King Kooba, and Mahalia Jackson’s “Silent Night,” still majestic after 46bliss funks it up. Great fun and highly spirited.

“Merry Mixmas: Christmas Classics Remixed.” Not quite as lively, with more of a down-tempo/chill-out vibe, but a similar meeting of masters and remasters. MJ Cole has great fun with Nat King Cole’s “All I Want for Christmas (Is My Two Front Teeth),” and others who get revamped and reinvigorated include Bing Crosby, Eartha Kitt, Lena Horne, Lou Rawls and Ella Fitzgerald.

Betty, “Snowbiz.” New York-based vocal trio Betty brings its quirky worldview to the holiday season, and you’ll be torn between laughing and crying. Sisters Elizabeth and Amy Ziff and Alyson Palmer meld wicked wit and lush harmonies to explore the perils of the “Holiday Office Party” and the incongruity of cross-cultural musical mash-ups (“Dreidle Jingle Fiasco”).

Sloan Wainwright and Friends, “On a Night Before Christmas” Loudon’s younger sister lends her smoky, soulful voice to a wonderfully varied program, ranging from the Pretenders’” 2000 Miles,” Joni Mitchell’s “River” and Queen’s soaring “Thank God It’s Christmas,” to traditional carols, standards and strong originals.