Tony Bennett s warm style is especially winning on classic Christmas material. The Classic Christmas features 17 songs from 4 of Bennett s Christmas Albums, hand-picked by Tony Bennett himself, as well as the previously unreleased "What Child Is This."
The Classic Christmas includes 5 tracks from the Grammy-nominated A Swingin' Christmas (featuring the Count Basie Big Band). A beautiful arrangement on "I' ve Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (which also happens to be a rare duet with his daughter, Antonia Bennett) compliments the great accomplishment of treating standards, like "I ll Be Home for Christmas" and "My Favorite Things" -- as though they were ripe for the re-imagining (which, of course, they are).
Five tracks are pulled from Bennett s 1968 release, Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album, which features a playful orchestral backup, courtesy of Robert Fanon. The versions of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" emphasize the romantic elements to great effect, while Bennett s take on My Favorite Things is superlative. Where so many artists just re-make the same holiday album every other year, Bennett has opted to append new material to his sole original.
The London Symphony Orchestra lend support on 4 more traditional favorites; "Deck The Halls," "O Little Town Of Bethlehem," "O Come All Ye Faithful" and "Silent Night"