Holiday Albums 2022: Snowy Backstreet Hits
Well this post was lost in transition, literally. I never posted my 2022 Album list. I’ve been writing reviews on holiday albums dating back to 2001, on my first personal blog. In 2022, I was pretty distracted with grief, after the loss of my mother on Thanksgiving Day 2022. I was working on write ups from the albums released during the 2022 holiday season and I tried to pull all of them together, but by Thanksgiving I stopped listening, I think. The note I used to write all the reviews shows I stopped editing on 11/20. So here is my original post, with just a few grammar edits and updated content.
Christmas 2021 was certainly the season of Jolly and happiness. With the Holiday Albums of 2022, the sound and common theme to most of the Holiday albums of the season is a somber one. One of the songs I noticed heavily selected on several albums was John Lennon‘s Happy Xmas (Was is Over). A perfect example is Alicia Keys version of it, which couldn’t be any more soulful.
Backstreet Boys First single of Last Christmas is a sock in the gut, is it 1998 all over again? I have to question their voices sounding so young 20+ years later. That said, their rendition of Last Christas on their A Very Backstreet Christmas album is a pretty good track that most young’ns will enjoy. Now let’s just start with the fact that most of you are probably not a big Backstreet Boys fan. Obviously, there is a certain age group that exist on this planet, being targeted for this particular album. But there is actually quite a few catchy songs that are enjoyable because of their arrangements. First, I have to give a shout out to AJ Maclean, not because he won RuPaul‘s drag race celebrity competition but because he had several songs on the album where he off the hook. An example of this is Have Yourself A Little Merry Christmas. Halfway through the song he just starts ripping hooks and there are at least two of them. I wish the entire song was just his voice. I can’t believe I am adding a Backstreet Boys song to holiday playlist. Next, I got hit in the face with Last Christmas, which literally transported me back to 1998 and my boy band fandom kicked up.
I added Last Christmas to my playlist for the year. Jesus, I have two songs on my playlist now. One is just one beautiful harmony after another. I would even recommend buying the whole album which is what I did, considering I had had added a total of five song to my holiday playlist. I also added This Christmas And Christmas in New York, which was a perfect example of their harmony and blast back to the 70’s. Finally I added Kid on Christmas, a duet with Meghan Trainor. For Silent Night, I had to give it a D+. That song was just off!
Joss Stone is an artist I never though I was see a holiday album. Her album Merry Christmas, Love is her first holiday album. Can we just begin with the fact that Joss Stone should be doing more voiceover work. Reading a book or even commercial voice work, she would make bank for speaking the queens English. Motown has arrived with Joss Stone. Especially with her first single What Christmas Means To Me. Right off the bat her that single and Let I t Snow Art were automatic adds to my holiday playlist. The only thing missing on the album was reading the complete storyline for Twas The Night Before Christmas. I was really liked that she Snow on the track list but the arrangement was off. It went too far down the 1980s elevator choral sound. Every season I’m always transparent about my expectations for any artist who tries to pull off Judy Garland’s Have Yourself A Merry Christmas. Joss’s version trys to mimic some of Judy‘s finer moments of this song, for some reason the first half of the song she sounds more like Marilyn Monroe. For the tail end of the song Stone brings it right back around with a strong finish. Bring on Christmas Day is a wonderful addition to the album. Her Silent Night closing track is perfect. I give her version of Silent Night a B-.
Ok, let’s just begin with unpacking the album artwork for Debbie Gibson’s` first holiday album, Winterliscious. She looks amazing in her 50s, but I would have preferred a close-up head shot. Overall, the album is a soft pitch in to the holiday album market. A lot of her songs are drowned out with background singers. Making it very hard to understand the lyrics to figure. I really enjoyed listening to Joey McIntyre on Heartbreak Holiday He sounds amazing in the first quarter of the song but when he lowers his key to pair with Gibson. He gets lost. The song was also arranged with samples from Boyzone songs. I also liked the duet with Daddy Joe, White Christmas. Sadly there were no adds to my holiday playlist, there were just some odd song choice. From Candy Man to Cheers! were odd choices for this album.
You know my opinion of Pentatonix, another holiday album titled Holidays Around the World is out and well let’s just start with the fact that I’m not a fan. Over the years, I’ve written about their albums for the holidays, being Starbucks Christmas. That’s sad I know, the fact that they open the album with a solo singer speaks volumes to me. But, Meghan Trainor’s duet with the group is featured song Kids On Christmas was added to my holiday playlist right away. Yes I have Pentatonix on my holiday playlist. I love the fact this album they are exploring songs of the world and letting soloists shine. It’s The Most Wonderful Time of the Year is a gorgeous song that mixes African tribal beats into the song. While only added one song to my holiday playlist, I will say their rendition of Silent Night is a pretty solid choral representation of the song, in modern day. I would give it a solid B.
I try to not post about compilation or anniversary albums being released. This year I’m breaking the rule for Louis Armstrong's release of a compilation of Holiday songs his new album titled Louis Wishes You A Cool Yule, a culmination of songs throughout his career. From duets with the great Ella Fitzgerald and Benny Carter. This album, and it’s complete entirety is most certainly a add to your holiday playlist. Every single song on this album is a treasure. Cool Yule may be played out, but New Orleans Christmas was a staple from my childhood. There is also his duet with Velma Middleton, Baby It’s Cold Outside. Although I know it’s cliché to say What A Wonderful World is not a holiday song but I’m not going to touch that.
Andrea Bocelli’s, A Family Christmas is Family Choral at its best. His son Matteo on the first single The Greatest Gift was good kick off single. But his rockstar moment on the album was Have Yourself A Merry Christmas, which I did add to my holiday playlist. The album has several great songs by Andrea and his Matteo, but Andrea’s 10 year old daughter Virginia stole the show. She was gifted the chance to sing some of the lesser popular songs on the album, like Over The Rainbow. But she truly shines with her version When Christmas Come to Town. Which many kids will recognize from The Polar Express, which it was written for in 2004.
The album is truly a two disc set. The family released 22 songs for the album. Filled with so many songs featuring all three artists. Just to name a few of the trio songs I added to my holiday playlist was Let It Snow and Il Giorno Piu Speciale. The latter was written by Andrea and his son Matteo, but it’s Virginia who shines on the recording. The album does a few low notes, like their partnering with Pentatonix. The Simpsons singing with the trio is a little cringe as well. Finally I did prefer the italian version of the The First Noel on the album and added it to my holiday playlist. A duet between Andrea and Matteo, it was a great song to finish the album with.
OK let’s just jump into it. Alicia Keys doing a holiday album Santa Baby is probably one of the most headline worthy news of the season. Right off the bat I had to say Please Come Home for Christmas was truly written for an artist like keys. I added this version of this song to my holiday playlist right right off the get-go. Even how she opens the song with her humming ear catching. I truly wanted to like this album by they were little things in each song, but kind of didn’t sit well. Example my teenager noticed in the song, Santa Baby there was this background voice saying words or singing refs like, ooh and ahh. At first, I didn’t even notice the sounds or words. But after listening for 15 more seconds, they started popping up here in there. Happy Xmas (War is Over) seems to be repeat song of the season. The Boccelli’s even sang it, and even better than Keys. Her version was just to slow paced, this pattern can be felt in the remainder of the album. The tempo from song to song, was just to slow, giving a down feeling to the album. Maybe her second album for the holidays will be a little more upbeat. I would love to hear her do Something is Happening, which was written by Alan Love III for Cece Winan’s 2018 album.
For Thomas Rhett’s EP, Merry Christmas Y”all, I’m not sure what’s happening this season of this is the second album where the title is not a song on the album. But to Thomas Brett defense, using the holiday affirmation in an intro to. It’s the most wonderful time of the year. This album just jumps right into some great country sound paired with some great classics. I was bummed to see that the album is only four songs, but all of them had were great treats. I added It’s The Most Wonderful Time of The Year and Have Yourself a Merry Christmas to my holiday playlist. I really enjoyed both songs, even 3 years later after I initially wrote this post and posted it finally to our family site. It may be a short album, but Rhett delivered some solid tracks.
Every year I seem to miss one international album. I am usually good about pop artist holiday releases. I am not sure how I missed Gary Barlow’s first holiday album release last year (2021), titled The Dream of Christmas. The opening song, and title song The Dream of Christmas, I want to love so badly but Barlow strains himself through most of the song, the portion where he sing “the darkest sky” you hear his beautiful voice but then lays back into the strained chords. Skip ahead to Wonder Christmastime and you’ve reached a song you should add to your holiday playlist. I’ve been in love with Gary since his Take That days in the 90’s. There several other great songs on this long album of 16 tracks. If you can hold onto the end of the album, you will get a treat with an original song written by Barlow, Christmas Sweater. It was the last song I added to my playlist.
A Estefan Family Christmas Album, it’s been almost 30 years since Gloria’s first holiday album. I remember getting this album my freshman year in college. For 2022. Gloria and her family treats us all with her whole family recording several tracks on this second album. I have to say her 1993 album Christmas Through Your Eyes is the better album of the two. Her version of This Christmas in 1993 has always been on my holiday playlist. The new holiday album, definitely some good tracks that you can enjoy it through the holiday season. One song that I did add to my holiday playlist, was I Wish I Could Be Santa Clause, which Emilio Estefan sings with his grandson Sasha. Sasha has certainly inherited his Abuela’s pipes. The song is presented with a English and Spanish tracks. Overall, the album is very entertaining. Halfway through the album we get into the Pentatonix rut.
Chris Isaak’s Everybody Knows It’s Christmas is his second holiday album release. Let’s just start with the fact that I already added two songs to my holiday playlist, which I haven’t found newer covers of either of the songs that were playlist worthy. Super stoked with Chris Isaacs. The Chuck Berry sound is very strong and run Rudolph Run. I really wanted to add Oh, Holy Night to my playlist, for some reason, even after the second time I listened to it, the back up singers come on to early and too much. My two playlist songs on the album though, and we’re instant ads to my playlist but I suggest, are two songs written by Chris Isaak. First up is Dogs Love Christmas Too. It sounds like a quirky song. And second, Help Me Baby Jesus, which is a hilarious song. It sounds religious, in the end it’s actually about a nativity display theft. How awesome is that.