All-Star Christmas
(Epic)
By C. Bottomley (VH1.com)
In Summary : A few oddities sweeten this swag bag.
At least the"A Very Special Christmas"series was for a good cause and attained a degree of consistency thanks to the production prowess of original producer Jimmy Iovine.This rather pale imitation, however, benefits only pockets already swollen by Michael Jackson's back catalog, and is as motley as a Salvation Army wardrobe.So, if there's a special Epic employee in your life, help pad out his or her Christmas bonus by enduring Celine Dion's restrained interpretation of"The Christmas Song,"Gloria Estefan sending a North Pole-full of elves to sleep on her two songs, and hearing the ordinarily fab Cyndi Lauper lose it when the inevitable children's choir comes visiting on"Early Christmas Morning."There are a few oddities to sweeten the swag bag. Charlotte Church is convincingly masculine on"The Little Drummer Boy."Billy Gilman sounds like Patsy Cline crossed with the Chipmunks on"Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer."And George Michael's bereft agony on Wham!'s"Last Christmas"is truly for the ages.
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