Norah Jones: I Dream of Christmas
Soulful as ever, Norah Jones takes her laidback voice a notch higher on an album with classics like Blue Christmas, White Christmas and Winter Wonderland, interspersed with her own writing chops on Christmas Calling (Jolly Jones), It’s Only Christmas Once A Year and A Holiday Without You. Her voice can make dew drops shake like jell-o and, if you are lucky, feel snowflakes fall in slow motion. Given the pandemic, one can feel lyrics like It’s only Christmas once a year/ So gather round the tree/ I’ll pour you a cup of cheer/ Please wear a smile for me.
Pistol Annies: Hell of a Holiday
Ebullient to say the least, Pistol Annies is a band of badass women with a mission — vocal whiplash from Miranda Lambert, Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley. This is holiday cheer brought on by drinking country liquor in the form of 10 original songs and three covers, made timeless by buoyant harmonies, like on Come On Christmas Time: I’ve got a crush on Santa/ I wanna ride his sleigh/ He’s got a certain something/ I’d kiss him all the way. If holidays feel like a strain, listen to the Pistol Annies.
Nat King Cole: A Sentimental Christmas With Nat King Cole and Friends: Cole Classics Reimagined
Nat King Cole gets us every time, even more than half a century after his death. That breakfast-y voice lives on through this collection, which has on a few tracks “friends” or contemporary singers who can do justice to some classic Christmas cheers. We have Calum Scott on O Holy Night, Gloria Estefan on A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square and John Legend on The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting On An Open Fire). Eventually, it’s the man who steals the show and makes us feel with his vocal magic that everything will soon be all right with the world.
Pentatonix: Evergreen
The Pentatonix twist is what the world needs — fresh, dramatic a cappella arrangements that will keep you engaged and you can’t help but play the songs again and again, be it I Saw Three Ships, Frost The Snowman (featuring Alessia Cara), Little Saint Nick and how can one forget, We Wish You A Merry Christmas. It’s a selection that will grow on you over time.
Kelly Clarkson: When Christmas Comes Around …
Not since Mariah Carey a Christmas album has been so much fun. She packs it out of the park on her original songs with her energy. There are enough melodic variations to keep you engaged, especially on songs like Merry Christmas Baby, Santa, Can’t You Hear Me and Glow. She can be icy, like on Christmas Isn’t Cancelled (Just You) and the album opener, Merry Christmas Baby. This is ice that goes well with a beverage of your choice. She also shows her prowess on classics like Last Christmas and Jingle Bell Rock, leaving us in a rocking mood.
