James Taylor at Christmas

1	Winter Wonderland / Chris Botti 3:34
2	Go Tell It on the Mountain 3:42
3	Jingle Bells 2:57
4	Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 3:52
5	Baby, It's Cold Outside / Natalie Cole 4:17
6	River 3:33
7	Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 3:24
8	The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) / Toots Thielemans 3:52
9	Some Children See Him 4:37
10	Who Comes This Night 4:11
11	In the Bleak Midwinter 4:12
12	Auld Lang Syne 3:38

Barnes & Noble

A thoroughly engaging, warmhearted affair, James Taylor at Christmas trades on JT's friendly tenor and some low-key, jazz-tinged arrangements by producer/arranger Dave Grusin, wishing a mellow Yuletide season to all. A personable vocal trio joins woodwinds and strings for a fireside "Winter Wonderland" (which features trumpeter Chris Botti in an atmospheric solo turn) and a winsome "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Natalie Cole drops by for a flirtatious "Baby, It's Cold Outside," and the great harmonica virtuoso Toots Thielemans adds angular, introspective solos to a string-rich arrangement of Mel Tormé's "The Christmas Song." For a change of pace, a folk trio of Taylor (on guitar), Grusin (on piano), and Dave Carpenter (on bass) offers Joni Mitchell's "River" as a spare, melancholic seasonal heartbreaker; and, backed by only pianist Grusin and a string section, Taylor is quietly commanding on a reverent musical interpretation of Alfred Burt's poem "Some Children See Him." That song launches a powerful four-tune climax to the album, as it's followed by the hymn-like "Who Comes This Night"; a somber, orchestrated treatment of the ages-old evergreen "In the Bleak Midwinter"; and a deliberate, poignant pop reading of "Auld Lang Syne," freshened up by JT's gentle reading. With Grusin on piano, John Pizzarelli on guitar, Carpenter on bass, and Vinnie Colaiuta on drums on most cuts, the band crafts a sympathetic backdrop as Taylor wends his way through the textures and timeless themes of his well-considered Christmas journey. David McGee

All Music Guide

For the most part, holiday-themed albums are about as memorable as what you had for lunch a month ago. As humans continue to evolve, there's a very good chance that we'll develop some sort of yuletide audio bypass valve that will allow us to filter the three-and-a-half million versions of every Christmas song ever made into one solid rendition that either pleases or displeases us, and can be dealt with accordingly. That said, James Taylor's brilliantly titled James Taylor at Christmas is about as inoffensive a collection of seasonal classics as one could hope for. The legendary singer/songwriter's warm voice is the perfect vessel for "Winter Wonderland," "Jingle Bells," and the "Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)" because it makes absolutely no impression on the listener. Reverend Lee Power