Superstar Christmas

Superstar Christmas delivers exactly what it says it does -- 16 superstars singing Christmas carols. Of course, that doesn't guarantee that the album will hang together, since the album contains superstars from all different genres -- Frank Sinatra ("Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"), John Lennon and Yoko Ono ("Happy Xmas [War Is Over]"), Tony Bennett ("Winter Wonderland"), Neil Diamond ("You Make It Feel Like Christmas"), Bruce Springsteen ("Merry Christmas Baby"), Cyndi Lauper ("Early Christmas Morning"), Barbra Streisand ("The Lord's Prayer"), Luther Vandross ("Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas"), Michael Bolton ("Santa Claus Is Coming to Town"), Boyz II Men ("Silent Night"), Amy Grant ("I'll Be Home for Christmas"), Celine Dion ("The Christmas Song"), Collin Raye ("What If Jesus Comes Back Like That"), Placido Domingo ("White Christmas"), and Mariah Carey ("O Holy Night"). The sheer variety of artists means that the album is all over the place in terms of style, but the musical quality is surprisingly high, and it's one of the better pop Christmas albums assembled in the late '90s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine