Natalie Cole - Holly & Ivy (1994)

Family songstress Natalie Cole's 1994 first holiday release Holly & Ivy mixes old and new thanks to swanky touches and paternal homages as Jingle Bells makes an entrance with a jazzy, night club, swinging rendition. Fun accents, brass, winks, and groove make this usually kiddie reduced tune now cool and suave for the adults to cut a rug. Caroling, Caroling, however, is deliberately reminiscent of beloved dad Nat King Cole with a sweeter, breezy pace and children's choirs so the whole family can sing along with the pleasantries. The nostalgia continues with the reverent The First Noel. Slow and tender verses make room for Natalie's big notes whilst remaining humble alongside the gentle orchestration. This track may be too slow or under produced for some expecting bang on crescendos, but there's nothing wrong with just a familiar melody and the voice to carry the spirit of the season.

It's not surprising that the opening bars of No More Blue Christmas sound like “The Greatest Love of All” thanks to songwriters Goffin and Masser also having worked extensively with Whitney Houston. Although pleasant and unoffensive, the sentimental lyrics and power ballad pacing sound like every other nineties love song. The seemingly louder exaggeration and enunciation on the word 'Christmas' feel as if a few words were changed to make this a holiday song, and the contemporary push is out of place compared to the rest of the throwback traditionals on Holly & Ivy. The Jingle Bell Rock, Winter Wonderland, Little Drummer Boy, I'll Be Home for Christmas medley is the longest track on Holly & Ivy at six minutes, but it's an odd mix where each could have been their own tune. The minute plus Jingle Bell Rock is in the same style as Jingle Bells – making the case that the whole album should have been such a la Ella swing. The casual Winter Wonderland is likewise martinis smooth, but the shorter, sightly synth Little Drummer Boy doesn't belong with the melancholy, brooding, vocal toppers of I'll Be Home for Christmas, which is almost two minutes and practically its own song anyway.

Merry Christmas Baby continues the December blues, taking its time with groove, beats, guitar strings, and sass. More please! Holly & Ivy feels seemingly obligated to include carols, and Joy to the World is the shortest single track of the four carols here. Fortunately, the rock out choir echos, organ, and clapping put an amen to it – fitting in to the overall swanky here. The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot would also seem to add brass, smooth, and earlier thirties sway, however, this is one depressing little Depression ode. It's quite understandable why this isn't an oft recorded holiday tune. A Song for Christmas is a new composition that better captures the season in mid-century style. Nevertheless, it is a little too sweet, generic even, and going through the motions when there are better holiday songs fitting this jazzy theme deserving a spin with Natalie's big notes such as “Christmas Baby Please Come Home” or even the kitschy “Santa Baby.” Sometimes it's just nice to hear someone who can, you know, sing, rather than having to bend the carol to her own compromising orchestration, and Holly & Ivy's longest stand alone track Silent Night brings all the creche necessary. So many singers make the somber echoes and poignant notes too soft, but Cole keeps the tender while holding every pitch. It should have been the final track, but otherwise, the repose is excellent.

Of course, after their 1991 duet of “Unforgettable,” one may expect The Christmas Song to break out in a similar remix. Fortunately, the already famous reminder of Nat King Cole stands on its own with penultimate breezy and warmth and doesn't go for any kind of album single stunt – which does come later on Natalie's The Magic of Christmas. Although it's the titular song, The Holly and The Ivy should have come before the medley – the old fashioned end of Side A record break – leaving the previous two stellar songs as the big finish. This rendition is slower than usual, which gives Natalie time to make the reverent lyrics clear, but it misrepresents the album somewhat. This eponymous track is sweet and tame in comparison to the overall ritzy session, ending in a whimper when the opener took it to the next level. Holly & Ivy has a few out of place, problematic, or slightly inferior tracks straying from the ritzy. Today, thankfully, these can be skipped in favor of an otherwise sweet and sophisticated listen for an older audience. Holly & Ivy is perfect for a night in candlelit dinner for two to reminisce or make holiday memories anew.