Harry for the Holidays
 | Sony, 2003, Audio CD Customer Rating: 84 reviews Recommend |
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Call him the retro Sinatra, the keeper of the big band flame, the swingin' piano man, but Harry Connick Jr., remains one of New Orleans' treasures. His second Christmas CD is as much a salute to his hometown musical roots as it is to the season. Filled with second-line arrangements and fierce horn charts that could blow all that holiday chill back to Canada, Connick's latest revisits upbeat standards such as "Frosty The Snowman," "Blue Christmas," "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town," and others. Most swing and romp, but the hymns are given the reverential vocal treatment that Connick is known for on his more secular love ballads. Surprises include a quirky arrangement of "Silver Bells," in what sounds all the world like a Henry Mancini score for an action film. And there's four Connick originals that don't quite match the level of the covers, except for what must be the oddest pairing of talents all season, the duet with country singer George Jones on "Nothin' New For the New Year," an inspired tune and performance from two master stylists. There's nothing quite as lasting as the chestnut he penned on his first Christmas CD, "I Pray on Christmas," but for fans, here's a merry Harry N'awlins holiday love fest. — Martin Keller
- Frosty The Snow Man
- Blue Christmas
- The Christmas Waltz
- I Wonder As I Wander
- Silver Bells
- Mary's Little Boy Child
- Santa Claus Is Coming To Town
- The Happy Elf
- I'll Be Home For Christmas
- I Come With Love
- Nature Boy
- Little Town Of Bethlehem
- I'm Gonna Be The First One
- This Christmas
- Nothin' New For New Year
- Silent Night
Title: Harry for the Holidays
Sales Rank: 6202 in Music
Artist: Harry Connick Jr.
Label: Sony, 2003-10-28, Audio CD, 1 Disc
Format: Enhanced, Extra tracks
Package Dimensions: 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.4 inches, 0.1 pounds
- Great Christmas CD
- We've about burnt a hole in this disc, we've played it so many times. It has a great mix of hymns, holiday and children's music. "The Happy Elf" is a family favorite and "Silent Night" will give you goose bumps every time.… More reviews
- Harry is truly a crooner!
- Great CD. Lots of original music and different styles of old favorites. Harry's renditions of the classic Christmas music re-ignites interest in your old, sometimes overdone, favorites. Fun and catchy tunes such as "The Happy Elf" and "I'm going to be the first One" are original and entertaining. If you love Christmas music this CD is a must have… More reviews
- over-interpreted
- I am a huge HC fan, and it's hard for me to objective, but this album is just not up to his usual standard. While I enjoyed the different take on 'Silver Bells' and the up-beat jazzy spin on 'Frosty' and "Santa Claus is Coming," too many of tracks are waaaaayyyy too far away from the traditional. Some of the interludes contain melodies and instrumentation… More reviews
- Kick up your holidays!
- This is a great CD that my kids look forward too every year for the holidays. There are a lot of great "full jazz band" songs . More reviews
- I expected much more
- I'm deluded from the track list.
Few classics and not nery notable too.
But the talente of Harry is not discutible. More reviews
