New Music Reviews - 2011 Christmas albums - Michael Bublé, Justin Bieber, and She & Him

Happy holidays!  Even though my travel plans are not as hectic this year as they were last year, I decided to keep the tradition of posting my Christmas album reviews this week.  Have a holly-jolly holiday season!

 Michael Bublé Christmas - The multiple Grammy and Juno award winning crooner from British Columbia releases his second holiday album, his first being the five track EP Let it Snow from 2003.  This album checks in with 15 tracks total and lasts over 50 minutes so it is much lengthier than his previous EP.  There are a also couple of special guests lending their talents on the album; Shania Twain provides help on "White Christmas," Latin star Thalia teams up on "Feliz Navidad," and The Puppini Sisters do backup vocals on "Jingle Bells."

Christmas features one original song with the other 14 tracks being Christmas standards done in, primarily, a classic jazz or contemporary lounge style.  Most of the songs are like the two that open that album, "It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas" and "Santa Claus Is Coming To Town," which are done in the adult contemporary style one would expect with Buble's music in that it has instantly recognizable melodies but with more modern effects and instrumentation.

The real highlights are the whimsical adaptions like "Jingle Bells," a song I typically despise, but the quirky backup vocals by The Puppini Sisters (sounding even more like The Andrew Sisters than they normally do) make the song a real delight.  The same can be said of Shania Twain's work on "White Christmas."  Bublé's new, original song is fun and grows on you with repeated listens although it's not instantly catchy like the best Christmas songs are.

Christmas is the best holiday album released this year.   Bublé's natural crooning style is a perfect fit for the Christmas music genre evoking memories of classic holiday albums from the likes of Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Mel Tormé.  Yet Bublé is able to make the album his own not only through his unique vocal style but also with a jazzy accompaniment that is both retro and modern at the same time and with smartly used guest vocalists.  Definitely the album you'll want playing when trimming your tree this holiday season.

Score: 9/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Jingle Bells" [sample it below], "White Christmas" and "All I Want For Christmas Is You"

Justin Bieber Under the Mistletoe - Teen pop sensation Justin Bieber's second studio album is this Christmas release that features a ton of collaborators.  The likes of Usher, Mariah Carey, Busta Rhymes, and Boys II Men all lend guest vocals on individual tracks while people like Sean Kingston, Taylor Swift, Randy Jackson and Chris Brown worked on the composition and production side of things.  All of those guests make it a competently done album although there is a feeling of too-many-cooks-ruining-the-soup with the album struggling to find its balance between wanting to be a more classic Christmas album or being something Bieber's teen fans would adore. About half of the songs are original although the best of the new songs is the already heavily played "Mistletoe" which has a jaunty hook and a fun holiday feel.  It's a step up from, say, the Disney Channel Christmas Album but it unfortunately lacks the childlike fun and whimsy of The Jackson Five's classic Christmas album that a teen heartthrob's holiday album should have. 

Score: 5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Mistletoe" [sample it below] and "The Christmas Song (ft. Usher)"

She & Him A Very She & Him Christmas - The indie folk/pop part-time collaboration between M. Ward (Monsters of Folk) and Zooey Deschanel (actress from Elf and "New Girl") release an album of Christmas standards.  The disc has a dozen songs done in an intimate, slow tempo style featuring dual acoustic guitars providing most of the instrumentation on the album.  As usual, Deschanel is the primary vocalist and she warbles in her limited but sultry way.  Ward does sing both lead and backup on a couple of tracks and tracks like his "Christmas Wish" offer a nice respite as Deschanel's voice does come off as somewhat monotonous when sampled in large doses.  Interestingly, the duo do duet on "Baby It's Cold Outside," a song she famously sang in a more memorable manner in the movie Elf.  Overall, this Christmas album is very laid back, almost to the point of excess where it waivers between being treacly sweet and overly droll.  But the brevity of the disc works in their favor here as by the point you start to feel yourself about to yawn it has already neared its end.  Not an album you can listen to repeatedly while wrapping your holiday presents but if you intersperse it with your other Christmas favorites, A Very She & Him Christmas won't let you down.

Score: 6.5/10
Song(s) to Sample: "Christmas Wish" [sample it below] and "Sleigh Ride"