Rating:
Genre:
Rock
Release Date: 09/16/2003
Barry Manilow's second seasonal collection, following 1990's
Because It's Christmas, was released on
Columbia Records, but that label berth appears to be a one-off for the singer, who followed his long tenure at
Arista by signing to the
jazz independent
Concord for his last album, 2001's
Here at the Mayflower. Maybe
Columbia offered a bigger budget, since
Manilow is awash in strings on a set of
holiday standards. Those strings are arranged festively, and
Manilow is in an appropriately festive mood, really throwing himself into the proceedings; it's his enthusiasm that makes this
Christmas album a winner. There are songs actually written as Christmas
carols, such as
"Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," but
Manilow also expands the usual repertoire to take in a number of tunes that have become associated with the holiday season over the years, even if they were not intended to be originally, notably
Rodgers & Hammerstein's
"My Favorite Things" from
The Sound of Music and
Joni Mitchell's melancholy
"River" from her
Blue album, which is certainly set at Christmas time even if it doesn't share the usual holiday sentiments. Inevitably,
Manilow ends with his own new Christmas original,
"A Gift of Love," which is a good song even if it isn't likely to join the ranks of the perennial copyrights. This is an enjoyable
Christmas album in a
traditional pop style likely to please both
Manilow fans and others.
~William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
;)
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