Joy: A Holiday Collection

1	Joy to the World 3:05
2	O Holy Night 3:44
3	Silent Night 3:07
4	Winter Wonderland 3:39
5	O Little Town of Bethlehem 3:11
6	Ave Maria 3:44
7	Hark! the Herald Angels Sing 3:21
8	Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer 1:53
9	Face of Love 3:27
10	Medley: Go Tell It on the Mountain/Life Uncommon/From a Distance 6:31
11	I Wonder as I Wander 1:58
12	Gloria 2:38
13	Hands Christmas Version 4:13

Barnes & Noble

With a special version of her own "Hands" and a batch of Christmas classics, Jewel gets in the spirit with Joy: A Holiday Collection. Not that this sort of musical fare is a stretch for the crystal-voiced Alaskan folk star. Tranquil seasonal selections like "Silent Night," "O Holy Night," and "O Little Town Of Bethlehem" echo the themes of faith, love, and hope she's explored on her pop releases, Pieces of You and Spirit. Here, Jewel layers her clear, soaring voice over quiet chamber orchestrations on time-honored holiday songs, including a reverent choral version of the traditional "Ave Maria," then delivers a spirited "Joy to the World," a playful "Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer," and a country-swinging, pedal-steel-soaked "Winter Wonderland." Add to that a gospelized medley of "Go Tell It on the Mountain," her own "Life Uncommon," and the Bette Midler standard "From a Distance," and it's a Jewel of a collection, indeed. Suzanne McElfresh

All Music Guide

Joy: A Holiday Collection may surprise some Jewel fans, since it isn't a warm, intimate acoustic album. Then again, it may not, since it arrives on the heels of the exquisitely produced, unabashedly pop Spirit, which had lush musical backdrops for her folk-pop tunes. Joy is a full-bodied expansion of Spirit, however -- an unashamed classicist Christmas album, featuring all of the usual carols delivered with strings and choirs. Because Jewel has a big, powerful, attractive voice, Joy works, even if it is a little too predictable for its own good -- the closing "Christmas Version" of "Hands" is the only true signal, musically at least, that this is a Jewel number. Surely, this holiday album isn't a major addition to her catalog, but for hardcore fans, it may be a nice stocking stuffer. Stephen Thomas Erlewine