By R. Kellach Waddle

While music fans sometimes look to the usual glut of new holiday albums with something approaching trepidation, in understandable fear of being inundated with garbage, surely this album will be met with anxious joy - just like those presents on Christmas morning.

Holiday music is a paradoxical sure thing and caustic trap in the music business. Sure thing in that the material is never going to be taken as esoterically inaccessible, trap for the fact if you are a pretty face with sorry vocal chords who has hidden behind billion dollar production values in your last 10 hits it's sure as hell gonna show when you try to belt out the chromatics in the beginning of "Away In A Manger," or hit the stratospheric heights of "O Holy Night."

But we fans of Martina knew she didn't have anything to worry about. Her voice is a treasured rarity. Its supple, huge, wide-ranging and powerful enough to be operatic, but its got enough grit, soul and dirt from her home state of Kansas to always be country. This album is a joy, despite it being nothing but standards. Her "Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas" is a charming reading that recalls fellow country Chanteuse Crystal Gayle's standard country cover of the song. Her "Let it Snow" is as bright and peppy as a candy cane, and her take on "The Christmas Song" is a special treat for this reviewer, because everyone has one - their choice of the Christmas song that they HATE. The only song that sends more Yuletide nails down a blackboard for me than this Andy Williams Classic is my own family's incessant billion fold repetitions of "Up On The House Top" to every single one of my 8 trillion little cousins as they have their first toddler Christmases. But Martina's take on "The Christmas Song" gives it an almost sexy patina that makes me ALMOST love this song. (ALMOST, don't push your luck Martina and make me worship you less by singing "Up On The House Top" on any holiday TV Specials this year.)

The rest of the tracks are jewels. Her "O Holy Night" (Everyone has one of these too, their FAVORITE Christmas song, and this operatic thrill takes the cake for me.) is the most stirring rendition I have ever heard since John Barry's spine-chilling version on his recent Christmas Album that even titles itself after this classic. Hearing them both sing it must be what Angels want for Christmas. "Silver Bells" and "White Christmas" are lovely takes on these warhorses by this overwhelmingly talented and beautiful lady. "Silent Night" is also a hushed beautiful treat that ALMOST makes me forget my all- time favorite, absolutely bone-chilling version of this song done by Stevie Nicks on one of the "A VERY SPECIAL Christmas" albums.

However, being an orchestral musician myself, I must give my biggest kudos to "Away In A Manger" and "What Child Is This." Wizard-like arranger and producer Dennis Burnside has given "Away . . ." an almost heartbreakingly beautiful and lush string intro, and added haunting woodwinds to the venerable version of the "Greensleeves" tune. Not only has he created lovely, lovely music, he almost achieved the impossible - producing arrangements of these songs so beautiful they almost distract from the miraculous instrument in lovely Martina's throat. But again, only ALMOST.

The only thing that is a slight disappointment, and keeps this album from being a complete bullseye, is that Martina is SUCH an incredible artist, and despite the fact the lady has a RIGHT to make albums of only standards if she dang well wants to, I selfishly wish she would have found one NEW holiday gem that would rock country radio's world and become a classic in its own right. Recent examples of what I am talking about include the wonderful "There's A New Kid in Town," done in great versions by both Kathy Mattea and George Strait, "Merry Christmas, Mary" by Skip Ewing, and perhaps most stunningly of all, the two years ago smash of Colin Raye's "What if Jesus Comes Back Like That?" If you, as the country Christmas fan, do not know any of these tracks, run right out and find them this season - and while you're at it, grab this disc. Martina might not make these classics NEW again or anything, but her stunning takes on these favorites certainly make you see why they ARE Classics. (Even "The Christmas Song")

courtesy of www.music-reviewer.com