Produced by Johnny Mandel, who also arranged several songs, this orchestrated recording is as elegant and uptown as Fifth Avenue and the Rockefeller Center. A special guest appearance by Tony Bennett, singing "The Christmas Song" from an arrangement by Gene Puerling, adds extra sparkle, but every carol is meticulously produced. The big band glamour of the "Happy Holiday/Holiday Season Medley" rings all the bells, whereas " A Christmas Love Song" is quietly contemplative. "Snowfall" is arranged by both Puerling and Mandel, and "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" by Puerling; both are as ethereal and heavenly as a choir of angels. |
