San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
HOLIDAY SONG OF THE MOMENT
By Adrian Spinelli
With the holiday season quickly approaching, this edition of The Chronicle’s guide to notable new music releases highlights some of the year’s best new festive tunes.
NEW HOLIDAY ALBUMS
She & Him, “A Very She & Him Christmas (10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)” (Merge):
Actor and singer Zooey Deschanel became America’s Christmas darling with her role as Jovie in 2003’s “Elf,” the singing mall elf who ended up living happily ever after with Will Ferrell’s Buddy the Elf. Eight years later, Deschanel and indie folk songwriter M. Ward released the wonderful “A Very She & Him Christmas” album as the duo She & Him. An indie Christmas classic, the album is now out with a 10th anniversary deluxe edition.
Along with the original album’s tracks, like the folksy “Christmas Day” and “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (which Deschanel famously sang in “Elf ”), it comes with a bonus disc of new songs. “It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas” sees Deschanel at her finest, and the same goes for a dashing cover of Madonna’s “Holiday.” As they have in years past, She & Him will be donating a portion of proceeds from the album’s sales to San Francisco’s 826 National, an education nonprofit started by local authors Dave Eggers and Nínive Clements Calegari that provides students with programs to improve their writing skills.
Norah Jones, “I Dream of Christmas” (Blue Note):
It’s hard to believe that the jazz and pop singer hasn’t put out a
Christmas album until now. Jones said she was inspired to finally produce this collection of covers and four original holiday songs when she was wrapped in the comfort of “James Brown’s Funky Christmas” and “Elvis’ Christmas Album” during last year’s pandemic lockdown holiday.
Of the standout interpretations on “I Dream of Christmas,” there’s a slow rendition of Alvin and the Chipmunks’ “Christmas Don’t Be Late” that’s underpinned by a woozy and charming New Orleans jazz brass section, and the pedal steel- and upright bassdriven “Winter Wonderland.” But it’s her take on originals like “Christmas Calling ( Jolly Jones)” and “A Christmas Glow” that see Jones delivering the familiar high-caliber vocal and piano style that made her a nine-time Grammy Awardwinner.
Mariah Carey featuring Khalid and Kirk Franklin, “Fall in Love at Christmas” (RCA):
With two holiday specials and two Christmas albums — including 1994’s now eight-times-platinum “Merry Christmas” — the modern-day Christmas queen is back with more yuletide tunes. Carey’s first new Christmas song of the season, “Fall in Love at Christmas,” features R&B star Khalid and gospel music institution Kirk Franklin. Sung primarily as a duet with Khalid, the song is a smooth number that sees Franklin and his gospel choir punctuating a second movement with a message delivered in preacher-like fashion: “Unconditional love!”
While this isn’t the next “All I Want for Christmas,” it further establishes Carey as today’s preeminent holiday pop music force. She’s also releasing a special, “Mariah’s Christmas: The Magic Continues,” on Apple TV+ in December.
LOCALLY MINDED
Darren Criss, “A Very Darren Crissmas” (Decca):
The award-winning “Glee” alum and native San Franciscan’s first Christmas album is quite a diverse escapade. “Happy Holidays/The Holiday Season — Medley” sounds like it could be a number in a modern holiday musical. A pop-rock drumbeat guides “I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas (Hippo the Hero)” before a bass drum reminiscent of a bustling Duncan’s Toy Store in “Home Alone 2” thumps in.
Former “American Idol” and current Queen vocalist Adam Lambert joins Criss for the show-tune-inspired “(Everybody’s Waitin’ for) The Man With the Bag,” while surging country music singer Lainey Wilson lends her voice to “Drunk on Christmas.”
FROM THE VAULT
Billy Idol, “Happy Holidays” (Dark Horse Records):
The British rocker’s 2006 holiday album is now available on streaming platforms for the first time, with remastered songs and a new bonus track. Early in the album, on a cowboy-western version of “Silver Bells,” Idol slips in a spoken-word wish for fans that sets the stage for a wonderful display of Idol’s Christmas spirit.
It’s amazing how well the rock ’n’ roll icon delivers these standards in jovial fashion, as on “Here Comes Santa Claus” and on “Let It Snow,” where he really gets to show off his range. The new song, “On Christmas Day,” is a modernrock banger with a wild solo from his longtime guitarist Steve Stevens.
“Knowing that family, friends and children might be listening, I wanted a selection that would please all,” said Idol in a statement, “while still exploring the awe and mystery that is Christmas.”