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Everyone is rethinking Christmas. God knows, this is the year to do it. Instead of mauling the malls, a lot of people I know are donating to charities (the women and children of Afghanistan is a current favorite), practically nobody is sending greeting cards through the already traumatized postal system, and who needs another fruitcake? This year I'm giving nothing but music. When faith, fear and financial insecurity replace retail rampage, music is the only thing that eases pain, reduces tension, fits every budget and lasts forever. Here's a Christmas list of some of the CD's you might want to consider.
Christmas Memories (Columbia), Barbra Streisand's first holiday collection in 34 years, is a staggering accomplishment. Too many strings in spots, and I could do without another adenoidal "Ave Maria," but mostly a gorgeous collage of new and old, with some real surprises. Except for a beautifully rendered "I'll Be Home for Christmas," Babs eschews the corny dog-eared carols and concentrates on unexpected material from composers like Frank Loesser, Alan and Marilyn Bergman, Johnny Mandel, Don Costa, Ann Hampton Callaway and David Foster that is fresh, moving and just a little bit different. Stephen Sondheim wrote a brand-new verse for "I Remember" that gives the refrain more of a connection to the season, and I cannot recall Babs in better voice. She hangs looser on this CD, bending notes like a jazz singer, with flawless intonation and less tension than usual. This is the sound of a woman in love and at peace, with herself, if not the world.
The killer number: "One God" by the great Ervin ("Good Morning Heartache") Drake. We can't help but be touched by those moments when we become part of history ourselves, and in the aftermath of Sept. 11, love and compassion for all, regardless of what we call the God we worship, is what "One God" reflects. Exquisitely recorded, breathtakingly arranged, this is a song for all ages, regardless of race or religion, and this is a CD to play again and again, for ages to come.
Playing with My Friends (Columbia) is Tony Bennett's collection of blues duets with the likes of Ray Charles, B.B. King, Bonnie Raitt, K.D. Lang, Billy Joel and others. The mixed-bag...