Carols new and old get fresh sound

For whatever reason, 2009 is not going to go down as one of the better years for holiday albums. The main reason is that there weren’t as many releases as usual. In any event, here is this writer’s takes on the best and worst of this year’s seasonal releases.

Bob Dylan: “Christmas In The Heart” (Columbia)

Even before Bob Dylan’s voice evolved into its current sandpaper rasp, singing was not his strong suit. This makes the idea of a Dylan holiday album a bit of a dicey proposition. As it turns out, Dylan’s performances are a mixed bag, in tune on some, creaky on others. Musically, Dylan pretty much sticks to traditional treatment of the holiday songs — the one exception is his pumped-up polka version of “Must Be Santa,” which is rowdy fun. Too bad the album — with all its vocal warts — isn’t quite so enjoyable.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars out of four

Barry Manilow: “In The Swing Of Christmas” (Arista)

Considering Barry Manilow has always had a sensitive — well, some would say wimpy — quality to his singing and music, he is well suited to Christmas music. Even his detractors will have a hard time faulting him on “In The Swing of Christmas.” The songs suit Manilow’s voice, and some inventive arrangements give the album added spice.

Rating: 3 stars

Straight No Chaser: “Christmas Cheer” (Atco/Atlantic)

The snappy 10-man a cappella vocal group focuses mainly on Christmas standards here, and brings plenty of nifty vocal arrangements to this material. The CD is solid throughout. The real highlight is “The Christmas Can-Can,” which cheerfully skewers the downsides of the holiday season — namely, a shopping season that nowadays threatens to begin around the 4th of July, and the tedium of hearing the same songs a thousand times in four weeks.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars

Neil Diamond: “A Cherry Cherry Christmas” (Columbia)

This release isn’t as new as it might seem at first glance. “A Cherry Cherry Christmas” mostly brings together songs from two previous holiday releases from Diamond, supplemented by a pair of new originals (the title song and “Christmas Dream”) and three covers. If you don’t own the original CDs — “The Christmas Album” and “The Christmas Album Volume II” — “A Cherry Cherry Christmas” is well worth owning. Otherwise, the additional songs, while decent enough,

aren’t really essential listening (although “The Chanukah Song” is a hoot).

Rating: 3 stars

REO Speedwagon: “Not So Silent Night” (Commercial Music Group)

It would be all too easy to envision REO shifting into power-ballad mode and making a schmaltzy album of Christmas standards. Fortunately, the veteran Midwest band lets it rock often enough to make “Not So Silent Night” a refreshing take on the Christmas album.

Rating: 3 stars

The Irish Tenors: “Christmas” (Razor & Tie)

It really is time to get over the whole Irish vocal and dance trend that has given us Riverdance, Celtic Woman and too many other pseudo-Emerald Isle concoctions. Sure, the Irish Tenors can sing, but there’s not even much that’s Irish about this album. “Christmas” is just a crass attempt to cash in on all things Irish.

Rating: 1 star

Michael McDonald: “This Christmas” (Razor & Tie/Chonin)

The former Doobie Brothers singer goes soulful on this holiday album, which suits his choice of material well. McDonald also ups the ante by including three worthy songs he co-wrote — two earnest ballads and the sprightly “Every Time Christmas Comes Around.” All in all, this is one of the season’s best musical offerings.

Rating 3 1/2 stars

Andrea Bocelli: “My Christmas” (Sugar)

The famed vocalist brings his stately (and multilingual) voice to a collection of holiday standards that range from “White Christmas” to “What Child Is This” to Elvis Presley’s “Blue Christmas,” plus several carols with international origins. Needless to say, one can’t go wrong with Bocelli’s rich voice inhabiting these songs.

Rating 3 stars

Various Artists: “Merry Kidsmas: Created by the Song Trust” (Giantslayer)

This CD offers something a bit different for the holidays. The Nashville-based songwriting collective, the Song Trust, assembles a dozen holiday songs (nine of them originals) sung by kids, bringing us Christmas from a kid’s perspective. The songs are alternately funny, charming and just plain cute. What’s more, a portion of the proceeds from the CD will go to the USO.

Rating: 3 stars

Various Artists: “A Christmas Gift For You From Phil Spector” (EMI/Legacy)

It seems like odd timing to re-release this album, considering the publicity surrounding Spector’s April conviction for second-degree murder. Now that’s a buzz kill for any holiday. But the fact is that his album, originally released in 1963 and better known as “Phil Spector’s Christmas Album,” remains a standard-setting holiday release that helped define Spector’s “wall of sound” production style.

Rating: 4 stars

David Archuleta: “Christmas From The Heart” (Jive)

Aside from one Renaissance-era Spanish song, “Riu Riu Chiu,” the former “American Idol” finalist plays it safe by singing familiar holiday standards. There’s nothing particularly wrong with this approach, but it also means there’s nothing particularly exceptional about this CD, either.

Rating: 2 1/2 stars