Gift

Personnel: John Parricelli (guitar); Eddie Hession (accordion); Steve Mac (piano, organ, keyboards, synthesizer); Dave Arch (piano); Chris Laws (drums); Joanna Forbes, Sarah Ryan, Ann de Renais, Jenny O'Grady, Grace Davidson, Mae McKenna (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Ren Swan.
Liner Note Author: Susan Boyle .
Recording information: Abbey Road Studios; Air Studios, London; Rokstone Studios, London.
Photographer: Jason Bell .
Arranger: Steve Mac .
If ever there was an ideal candidate for a holiday album it's Susan Boyle, the reality TV show contestant who caused a sensation with her pretty, old-fashioned performance of "I Dreamed a Dream" in 2009. If ever there was a genre that calls for old-fashioned prettiness it's the holiday album, a genre that cares not for the whims of fashion, a genre where predictability is cherished. For the most part, The Gift is indeed predictable in its sound -- a continuation of the glassy, stately march of I Dreamed a Dream -- and songs, relying on carols, not secular seasonal tunes. Well, that's not entirely true. There is a very, very large exception to that rule and that is the inclusion of Lou Reed's "Perfect Day," Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," and Neil Finn's "Don't Dream It's Over." These three modern standards are given the same somnolent treatment as the rest of the record and popped right into the thick of The Gift without explanation. Of course, since they sound like as the rest of the record, they don't necessarily stand out, they merely meld into the album, providing an appropriately tasteful soundtrack to any holiday occasion you may choose. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine