We had an amusing moment in our house on Christmas Eve. I was attempting to create a Christmas playlist and was moaning loudly that I hardly had any Christmas music on my iTunes, when My Lovely Fiancée™ handed me an early Christmas present and insisted it be opened. It turns out she'd bought me Harry Connick, Jr.'s Christmas album, 'When My Heart Finds Christmas'! I guess she knows me pretty well! The CD quickly went on and I have to say, checking any musical credibility I may previously have had at the door, that I loved every minute of it. I'm a big fan of Connick's anyway, owning several of his albums, and I'm happy to add this one to the collection. He just has that perfect crooner's voice that really brings Christmassy songs to life and gets you in that festive mood. This is a good thing for me, as I'm normally a bit of a Scrooge. There's a great collection of songs on here; half of them are new compositions and half of them are real Christmas classics. I have to say that his version of 'Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!' is the highlight of the disk, in my opinion, but the whole package is great and, if you're looking for a heartwarming and festive, yet undeniably cheesy, Christmas album, you really need look no further!
You know what I said about checking my musical credibility at the door? Well, not only can I check it at the door but I may as well take it outside and shoot it with this next album! On Christmas morning, Wendy presented me with a second CD-shaped present. I had to laugh when I opened it to discover another Christmas album, this time by Gloria Estefan! I have to say, though (and don't worry; My Lovely Fiancée™ agrees with me on this point so I don't need to worry about offending her), Mrs. Estefan's 'Christmas Through Your Eyes' is nowhere near the classic that Mr. Connick's offering was. Unlike Harry, whose voice suits Christmas standards perfectly, 'Christmas Through Your Eyes' sounds like a band playing about as far from their strengths as they could possibly get (apologies to Gloria for talking in band terms for one of her 'solo' albums, but I think we all know it's just Miami Sound Machine by any other name). Don't get me wrong; I'm a big fan of Gloria Estefan and own a few of her other albums... but this one just doesn't do it for me, I'm afraid. The thing is, while each track taken individually is absolutely fine (and there really are some great tracks on here, particularly the title track... which is also the only song on the album that isn't a cover of a Christmas classic), it simply doesn't hang together as a cohesive whole. I'm sure I'll be happy to listen to any of the songs on this album when they pop up on my iPod (I tend to listen to it on 'shuffle all' mode) and they'll all grace my future Christmas playlists, but I very much doubt I'll ever listen to this album all the way through again.
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