The Essential Now That's What I Call Christmas

The Essential Now That’s What I Call Christmas Does What It Says

by Kristin Battestella

The Essential Now That's What I Call Christmas is a 2008 holiday collection brimming with 25 tracks for nearly 80 minutes of both traditional and contemporary Yule staples for one and all. Yowza!

Ironically, The Essential gets off to a bittersweet start with Happy Xmas (War Is Over) by John & Yoko and the Plastic Ono Band with the Harlem Community Choir – a lovely but sociological somber that feels more like it should be a penultimate track. Of course, Elvis is on hand to serve up everyone's favorite little melancholy in Blue Christmas, and later on Wham! provides some more recent toe tapping sadness with Last Christmas. Fortunately, several mid century classics including It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year from Andy Williams and Dean Martin's Baby, It's Cold Outside set a more lighthearted seasonal mood as does the whimsical Johnny Mathis version of It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas. Burl Ives' A Holly Jolly Christmas adds some more peppy fun for The Essential alongside Little Saint Nick by The Beach Boys, and the kids can have a good time with Gene Autry's Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and The Chipmunk Song (Christmas Don't Be Late).

The Jackson 5's version of Santa Claus Is Coming to Town shakes up the merriment and Chuck Berry's Run Rudolph Run creates some groove – don't lie, everyone sings along to Elmo & Patsy's Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer and secretly dances to Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree by Little Miss Dynamite Brenda Lee. Oddly, rather than the Brenda Lee or Bobbly Helms versions, Hall & Oates take on Jingle Bell Rock is included here. However, the Now That's What I Call Christmas franchise is also only repeating a handful of songs or renditions on The Essential that were already included on previous Now That's What I Call Christmas Volumes 1, 2, or 3 – shrewdly swaying listeners to pick up this set to complete their holiday music collection. José Feliciano's Feliz Navidad and Paul McCartney's Wonderful Christmastime fit The Essential's catchy theme, but the Donny Hathaway original This Christmas plays suave alongside Elton John's throwback Step into Christmas.

Two new in 2008 singles Mistletoe from Colbie Caillat and Ledisi's very smooth This Christmas (Could Be the One) feel a little less famous and slightly out of place amid the classic names. Indeed, there are a few songs on The Essential I could do without – some are certainly more perennial or timeless compared to others steeped in their dated era. Too much of the engineered pop saccharin sounds the same after awhile, becoming nothing but holiday background noise. As much as this session provides some titular must haves, there are certainly several big songs missing – cough The Christmas Song and White Christmas cough – not to mention the lack of, you know, Christmas carols. The Little Drummer Boy from the Harry Simeone Chorale is an unusually old fashioned choice for The Essential, and Do You Hear What I Hear? by Carrie Underwood and Amy Grant's Breath of Heaven (Mary's Song) mark a brief spiritual block of longer, reverent ballads before The Essential concludes with a slightly misrepresenting but no less gentle and appropriately fitting Silent Night from The Temptations.

Yes, the numbers, volumes, and titles of these Now That's What I Call Christmas sets can become increasingly confusing. The Essential will repeat hits you already have on other combination collections and original albums. This CD is packed with mostly shorter tracks, and the mix is uneven with some songs being louder or at a lower volume than others. There are precious few powerhouse vocals or ballads and only a handful of religious tunes. However, the catch all by design also makes it easy to skip to your favorites. By and large, these are the original editions we want to hear, not generic covers or instrumentals often found on cheap compilation sets. The Essential Now That's What I Call Christmas is a breezy, safe potluck of secular classics, contemporary rock, and seasonal pop. Be it the office playlist or a fast all in one place download, there's a little something for everyone to be found here.

Christmas with the Rat Pack

Christmas with the Rat Pack A Swinging Good Time

By Kristin Battestella

I’m not talking about all this newfangled Clooney and Pitt suavity, no! Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Sammy Davis Jr. shine again in the 2002 compilation Christmas with the Rat Pack. With a blend of swing, secular staples, and traditional tunes, young and old can enjoy this jazzy Christmas of yesteryear.

What better place to start than Dean Martin’s winter classic I’ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm? While not completely synonymous with Christmas itself, this cuddly tune sets the swanky fireside mood of the album. Then again, “Oh by gosh by golly…” Yes, it’s the time of the year to hear Frank’s Mistletoe and Holly. Even if you don’t always care for Sinatra or his music, this tune is now in our traditional Christmas lexicon and adds some humor to our silly notions of Kris Kringle, excessive foods, and of course, presents!

Now, I like Sammy Davis, Jr. all well and good- especially in Robin and the Seven Hoods-but his music gets the short end of the stick here. The previously unreleased Christmastime All Over the World is one of three Sammy vocals lost between his more famous pals. A Shame really, Sammy swinging and spreading solid cheer here. Unfortunately, Frank’s first carol The First Noel seems a little flat and more melancholy then usual. I don’t think we’re used to hearing Sinatra sing on such a slow and down arrangement, and the style of this hymn doesn’t really fit him.

Baby, It's Cold Outside is one of those songs that everybody kind of knows the words to, but can still sing along in the spirit of good holiday fun. Audiences who also aren’t major fans of Martin or old school styles can also enjoy the breeze and wit here. There’s drinks, cigarettes, records, and overnight winter scandals, oh my! Also swinging is Sinatra’s I Believe. It’s barely a Christmas tune but for a few lines; but it’s easy, breezy joy is perfect for Frank. Any fan of The Chairman can back this one.

Dino slows things down next with the Christmas city classic Silver Bells. Even though we’re getting into the traditional December mood with these next few tracks, Martin still adds his hip spin here. Slowed down, yes, but still somehow swinging! Unfortunately, Sammy’s next contribution is a sub par rendition of The Christmas Song. It’s seems slow, too long-winded, and poorly orchestrated against the Nat King Cole original. Even so, it’s still great background party music.

Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is a little better from Frank Sinatra, but it still seems like he’s trying to hold himself from busting out into his happenin’ self. I’ve no doubt he has the talent to belt these carols proper, and I don’t understand some of his restraint. 18 of the 21 songs on Christmas with the Rat Pack are secular or barely Christmas related-but only good Catholic Sinatra sings the three true carols. The lighthearted fun returns with Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Maybe kids today recall other quick and silly renditions, but I suspect the young at heart recall Dino’s version with the fondest memories. His ‘Rudy’ keeps what could be a juvenile track all in good fun. As I listen, I always want to add the ‘like Monopoly!’ quip-and it doesn’t seem out of place.

Yes, some of the traditional tunes are not in the style or arrangement for Sinatra, but there’s no denying him for The Christmas Waltz. Maybe you don’t know the song by its proper title, but we all recognize Frank’s ‘song of mine in three quarter time’ and it has become a big a part of the contemporary Christmas. Where Frank sounds a little obligated in his carols, he gives his genuine voice and holiday blessings here. Adding to the winter bachelor fun is Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Now, there are literally hundreds of versions of this song to pick from, but Dean Martin’s easy delivery makes it seem this song was for him. We can joke about his drunken antidotes, but we shouldn’t forget Martin was also a charismatic and talented comedian, actor, and singer who knows how to put some spirit and holiday mood in a tune.

Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas might be Frank Sinatra’s best track on Christmas with the Rat Pack. It’s in the perfect melancholy style and arrangement. Though a little easier and happier than Judy Garland’s original, the Chairman knows how to bring a tear to even the toughest guido’s eye. By contrast, the Peace on Earth/Silent Night medley serves up a little reverence from Dino this time. Now, it took me several hours of online research before I finally discovered that this mix stems from of all things, Lady and the Tramp! It’s been so long since I’ve seen it, that I couldn’t even remember it opened the movie! Martin takes Sonny Burke and Peggy Lee’s idyllic and Christian lullaby and mixes in his own beautiful melodies and perfectly soft notes. By golly, instead of being so obscure, everyone should be putting this on his or her Christmas albums!

I actually feel bad for good old Sammy. His Jingle Bells is too loose, fast, and out our place between Dean Martin’s traditional sounds. Some of Christmas with the Rat Pack does seem ill placed or poorly chosen tracks. Truly, I don’t know why the producers included these three songs, as they are not the best of Sammy’s stuff. Was it all about marketing and demographics and trying to sell out on the Rat Pack’s name? Where then are Peter Lawford, Joey Bishop, or the associated ladies like Shirley MacLaine and Angie Dickinson? Surely, there are renditions of them laughing it up with gang? Heck, why not have Bing Crosby songs, cashing in on his loose association with the packers at hand? But no, that would have been too traditional and vanilla. Sammy Davis Jr. converted to Judaism anyway, so I wonder what he’d think about being on a Christmas album in the new millennium?

But of course, no holiday album is complete without White Christmas, and Dean Martin delivers it on Christmas with the Rat Pack. Not as tearful as the Bing Crosby original, but not quite the bluesy Elvis take either; Dino keeps us in the old-fashioned sentimental mood. Instead of the hectic hysteria of Christmas, Dean reminds us the best part of the season is sitting with a cup of eggnog in a comfy chair watching the snowfall. Sniff!

The traditional hymns and the other Sinatra tracks here stem from A Jolly Christmas from Frank Sinatra and The Sinatra Christmas Album issues. Those albums are of course split with a secular Side A and religious Side B, and Frank takes on It Came Upon a Midnight Clear as our third carol here. Again, the stilted reverence seems a little forced amid the other easy and hip secular tunes, but Sinatra does have the voice, doesn’t he? Likewise, Dean’s Winter Wonderland has us kicking back and thinking of the good old days again. Secular yes, but it’s the good, mid century Americana secular. Not to be out done, Frank returns to form for I'll Be Home for Christmas (If Only in My Dreams). His slow stylings perfectly linger over every bittersweet note here.

Of course, Christmas with the Rat Pack returns to its hip and happening note with A Marshmallow World and a live Auld Lang Syne. Frank and Dino team up for some loose fun that’s perfect for a drunken swingers winter night. It’s not a serious candlelit church service by any means, but Christmas with the Rat Pack goes out with a lovely toast and holiday hurrah. Originally released with a mixed track listing between our swinging trio, my media player divides Christmas with the Rat Pack between them. It’s nice if you prefer one of our boys to the other, and at a careful listen, the original track listing can seem uneven, too. Then again, the blend is also great for the soundtrack behind your swanky holiday party. There’s certainly a few gems here to choose from. Most of the Martin songs also appear on the newly released My Kind of Christmas CD, and many of the tracks are available for individual downloads on Amazon and such.

If you’re looking for a truly reverent Christmas album, you should probably look elsewhere. Christmas with the Rat Pack is a fun collection blending old hip-ness and Christmas traditions for the easy listening December office or the mature, swinging holiday party. Any fan of the swanky sixties, Sinatra, Martin, or Davis can enjoy this compilation all winter long.