Snowfall: The Tony Bennett Christmas Album

Disc 1
1	My Favorite Things From The Sound of Music 3:18
2	The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire) 2:36
3	Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town 2:39
4	Medley: We Wish You a Merry Christmas/Silent Night, Holy Night/O Come A 5:47
5	Christmasland 2:24
6	I Love the Winter Weather/I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm 2:12
7	White Christmas 2:06
8	Winter Wonderland 2:14
9	Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 3:04
10	Snowfall 2:51
11	I'll Be Home for Christmas From the Jon Stewart Show 2:02
Disc 2
1	I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm Bonus Track / Dolby Digital
2	Christmas in Herald Square Bonus Track / Dolby Digital
3	Santa Claus Is Comin' to Town Bonus Track / Dolby Digital
4	I'll Be Home for Christmas Bonus Track / Dolby Digital
5	Toyland/Deck the Halls/Toyland Bonus Track / Dolby Digital

Barnes & Noble

Repackaging Tony Bennett's classic and classy 1968 holiday album with a bonus DVD, this warm affair features the interpreter supreme in small-combo settings backed by orchestra and with full choir and orchestra. We get both sides of Bennett: his stentorian singing style as well as the more subtle, sensitive approach he employs on his best pop albums. The title song is a first-rate evocation of the Yuletide ambiance, with Bennett's gentle voice rising over a swirling wash of woodwinds and strings, establishing a comfortable mise-en-scène for the forthcoming traditional carols and holiday fare. A Christmas medley comprising "We Wish You a Merry Christmas/ Silent Night/ O Come, All Ye Faithful/ Jingle Bells/ Where Is Love" is a marvel of contrasting moods -- reverent, celebratory, even melancholy (the lush, crying strings on "Where Is Love" underscore the singer's search for something he lost and now desperately needs to find)-- and spirited ensemble singing, with Bennett sometimes harmonizing with the choir, at other times soaring majestically above their smooth crooning, thus adding an unusual degree of emotional edge to the performance. Enduring standards such as "White Christmas" and "Winter Wonderland" are, respectively, introspective and muted and swinging and festive, beautiful renditions coming from entirely different perspectives. New to this reissue is a more recent, toe-tappin', finger-snappin' small-combo workout with the Ralph Sharon Trio on "I'll Be Home for Christmas," from Bennett's appearance on Jon Stewart's show. The DVD features five stellar performances from the artist's warmhearted 1992 TV special, Tony Bennett: A Family Christmas. Even before this new edition appeared, Snowfall was a Yuletide classic comparable to Sinatra's and Elvis's best Christmas offerings. Suffice it to say, nothing's changed in that regard. David McGee

All Music Guide

With British arranger/conductor Robert Farnon handling the transatlantic sessions, Tony Bennett's 1968 Christmas album turned into a swinging affair, from the version of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music (how did this song become associated with Christmas?) to seasonal standards like "White Christmas" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas." Bennett's warm style was especially winning on this kind of material, making an inevitable assignment a winning combination of singer and songs. [In 1994, Columbia Records added one track -- a version of "I'll Be Home for Christmas" recorded on The Jon Stewart Show -- and reissued Snowfall on CD. That track was also included on Legacy's 2007 reissue, along with an additional DVD of bonus material.] William Ruhlmann