Tony Benett Christmas

The voice of Spandau Ballet’s first solo holiday offering! As front man for Spandau Ballet, Tony Hadley led the acclaimed band through the 1980s with 15 Top 10 singles (including the #1 smash “True.”) The band took a 20 year hiatus before reforming in 2009, again hitting the U.K. Top 10 with their reunion album, Once More. Following an acclaimed documentary (directed by Julien Temple) and a successful tour, Hadley stepped out with The Christmas Album, his first holiday offering, showing the same adventurous spirit, while doing what he does best—making every song his own. Including standards like “White Christmas,” “Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!” and “Santa Claus Is Coming To Town,” The Christmas Album moves effortlessly into the ’50s with Chuck Berry’s “Run Run Rudolph,” the ’70s with “I Believe In Father Christmas” (Greg Lake of Emerson Lake & Palmer), The Pogues’ “Fairytale Of New York” from the ’80s, and into the current century with Keane’s “Somewhere Only We Know” as well as originals.

This collection features a sampling of four Tony Bennett Christmas albums – Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album, Our Favorite Things, Christmas with Tony Bennett, and A Swingin’ Christmas – released between 1968 and 2008. Highlights include such traditional holiday standards as "Silver Bells," "Silent Night," and "Winter Wonderland," plus “Christmas in Herald Square” taken from the album The Playground. This is a nice addition to any Christmas collection.

Bennett, whose recorded legacy has been gathered in a 76-disc boxed set titled The Compete Collection, has been doing that for over 60 years: saving our souls with the greatest songs ever written. The Complete box is an absolute necessity, first because it contains several previously unreleased albums, like On the Glory Road and From This Moment On, a live concert taped in Las Vegas that collectors have been salivating over since 1964.

The Ultimate Christmas Album, Vol. 6: WCBS FM 101.1 is another eclectic collection of pop holiday tunes from the '50s, '60s, '70s, and '80s, including Wham!'s "Last Christmas," the Beach Boys' "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and Andy Williams' "Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!." Aretha Franklin's "Winter Wonderland," America's "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing," and Connie Francis' "White Christmas" are some of the other highlights from this scattered compilation, which somehow mixes different sounds and eras into a festive celebration.