Kylie Christmas [Snow Queen Edition]

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