Kylie Christmas

Personnel: Kylie Minogue (vocals, hand claps, background vocals); Ian Burdge, Richard George, Kate Robinson, Simon Baggs, Nicola Sweeney, Perry Montague-Mason, Reiad Chibah, Frank Sinatra, Charlie Brown , Alison Dods, Richard Cookson, Stephanie Benedetti, Oliver Langford, James Corden, Tom Kemp, Vicki Matthews, Nick Barr, Helen Kamminga, Joely Koos, Iggy Pop, Mary Scully, Sonia Slany, Cathy Thompson, Allen Walley, Chris Worsey, Lizzie Ball (vocals); Matt Prime (guitar, piano); Luke Fitton, Matt Calvert , Mitch Dalton, Stuart Fraser (guitar); Tom Pigott-Smith (strings); James Knight (saxophone, tenor saxophone); Tom Richards , Howard McGill (alto saxophone); Dave Webb, Leo Richardson, Ben Castle (tenor saxophone); Tim Sanders, Jeff Daly (baritone saxophone); John Barclay, Tom Rees-Roberts, Andy Greenwood, Simon Gardner (trumpet); Alistar White, Barnaby Dickson, Trevor Mires, Andy Wood (trombone); Peter North (bass trombone); Steve Anderson (piano, keyboards, programming); Chong Lim (piano, keyboards); Cliff Masterson (piano, programming); Pete Watson , Simon Chamberlain (piano); Dishan Abrahams (upright bass, electric bass); Tom Meadows (drums, sleigh bell); Darren Williams, Angus Burchall (drums); Tully Bloom (hand claps, background vocals); Philip Cook, Ash Howes (programming); Lindsay Field, Lucy Jules, Abbie Osmon, Jaz Ellington, Stefan Demetriou, Chris Martin , Karen Poole, Roxy Rizzo, Adetoun Rattenbury, Yvonne Lewis (background vocals).
Recording information: Angel Studios; Drum Den; Elite Music Studios, Miami; Metropolis Studios, South Melbourne, Australia; Sarm Music Village; State Of The Ark Studios; Westlake Studios, LA; Westpoint Studios.
The Kylie experience has become so all-encompassing it's hard to believe that 2015's Kylie Christmas is her first holiday album. She and her team do it right, providing a varied and diverse selection of tracks and moods. Of course, there are plenty of holiday favorites, and old chestnuts like "Winter Wonderland" and "Let It Snow!" are done up Vegas-style with horns, strings, and plenty of schmaltz. There are a couple of fun diversions, like her snappy cover of the fun Connie Francis song from the '50s, "I'm Gonna Be Warm This Winter," or a sentimental cover of Yaz's "Only You," done as a duet with James Corden. The cover of the Waitresses' "Christmas Wrapping" adds a little punch to the proceedings, her version of the Pretenders' "2000 Miles" adds a few tears, and the originals she adds to the mix -- the modern pop ballad "Every Day's Like Christmas" and two girl group-inspired tunes ("White December," "Christmas Isn't Christmas Until You Get Here") -- all sound like winners. Throughout the album, Kylie sounds very game, merry even, and there's enough holiday spirit on offer to help even the grinchiest customer make it through the season with the bare minimum of humbug. ~ Tim Sendra