No snow for Mumbai, forget about winter wonderland and reindeer sleighs. Here's the next best bet to jazz things up.
Warming up to the opening notes of track one — It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas, nearly had us re-check the CD jacket. Perhaps, a younger Frank Sinatra? Exactly what Micheal Buble must have heard a million times. So, we’ll spare him the comparisons. It doesn’t take much for the‘The Voice’ to get us in the mood, especially when you have the very 1940’s Swing-meet-Jazz rendition of crowd favourite Santa Claus is Coming to Town, in cue.
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The trumpet, cello and bass harmonies on this track and a few others (Winter Wonderland, Frosty the Snowman) will get even the most reticent couples to the dance floor for those festive season house parties. And, the party goes on with Mr Buble’s take on classics like Jingle Bells, Santa Baby, Silent Night and Blue Christmas.
Duets have been a popular addition on most Christmas compilations, for decades now. Thankfully, this one doesn’t disappoint. Shania Twain’s up-tempo duet with Buble for White Christmas was a refreshing departure from the slower, bordering on weepy renditions that we’ve heard before.
The adorable Puppini Sisters brought back memories of grainy videos from The Supremes when they rocked the Christmas charts on both sides of the Atlantic. Buble’s cracker duet is with Thalia; it hits the spot, never mind if it’s sung mostly in Spanish, only to end on a feel-good, festive crescendo — our favourite on this compilation. All isn’t cheery and jingle bells-ey, however. There are the odd melancholic tracks that tend to slow things down; cheek-to-cheek dancers won’t mind these. But we are nitpicking. It shouldn’t deter you from picking this delightful album. No harm in ringing in Christmas a bit early.
— Micheal Buble, Christmas — Deluxe Special Edition, Virgin Music, Rs 395. Available at music storesu00a0