Home for the Holidays

Personnel: Glen Campbell (vocals, guitar); Russell Mauldin, Ellen Musick, Guy Penrod, Sherilyn Huffman, Lisa Glasgow, Mark Ivey, Travis Cottrell, Vince Gill, Chris Willis, Gary Robinson (vocals); John Willis (acoustic guitar); Dann Huff (electric guitar); Cynthia Wyatt (harp); Jim Horn (flute); Bobby G. Taylor (oboe); Don Sheffield, Dan Oxley, Richard Steffen (trumpet); Thomas McAninch (French horn); Dennis Good, Ernie Collins (trombone); Shane Keister (keyboards, synthesizer); Owen Hale (drums); Farrell Morris (percussion); Lura Foster, Jana King, Lisa Silver (background vocals).
Audio Mixer: Warren Peterson.
Recording information: Javelina Recording STudio.
Ensemble: The Nashville String Machine.
Photographer: Peter Nash .
Unknown Contributor Role: Vince Gill.
Arranger: Bergen White.
An excellent Christmas album, flawed only by Glen Campbell's decision to wear an extremely ugly sweater in the cover photo. The program manages to split the difference between traditional seasonal songs ("It Came Upon a Midnight Clear," "O Holy Night") and pop holiday tunes (Mel Torme's "The Christmas Song," "I'll Be Home For Christmas").
Campbell is in very good voice, without a hint of the wider vibrato he sometimes displayed in the '90s. Far and away the standout track is the "Away in a Manger Medley," a duet with Vince Gill; Gill is a real musician's musician and his presence seems to inspire Campbell, particularly on the genuinely thrilling "First Noel" finale.