Martha Stewart Living Music: Traditional Songs for the Holidays

Liner Note Author: Martha Stewart.
The Martha Stewart Living TV program, if not professional homemaker Stewart herself, has signed on to put its imprimatur on a series of compilations of Christmas music assembled from the vaults of Sony BMG, so this one is a companion to others called Jazz for the Holidays and Classical Favorites for the Holidays. The word "traditional" seems to suggest that the selections should be old hymns and carols, but that turns out not to be the case in these songs from a variety of high-profile performers representing contemporary pop, R&B, country, folk, jazz, and classic pop. In fact, most of the tunes originated in the 1940s and `50s, that prime period for Christmas music. Of course, the point here is not to worry about a little thing like fidelity to the album title, it's to provide background music for holiday activities (especially cooking, given the Stewart connection), with the disc on at low volume and the familiar voices of James Taylor or Frank Sinatra being audible occasionally amid the conversation and clink of cutlery. For that, this musical miscellany will serve just fine. ~ William Ruhlmann