Celine Dion: "These Are Special Times" (Epic)
Pop stars have been producing Christmas albums for nearly 50 years; but this year we have a new phenomenon. The marketing strategists have decided that albums such as this are "holiday" albums, meaning they hope we will buy them, and play them, all year round. Fat chance. Dion's voice is as rich, resonant and even ethnic as ever, but the songs remain largely the same as every Christmas album you've ever heard: Adeste Fideles, Ave Maria, Blue Christmas, Oh Holy Night, The Christmas Song. How many "chestnuts roasting on an open fire" can you take? The only surprises are Celine and her family singing Feliz Navidad and Les Cloches Du Hameau. Even so, this album will, no doubt, sell millions.
By Joe Jackson
Shawn Colvin: "Holiday Songs and Lullabies" (Columbia)
Shawn Colvin is a miniaturist, a songwriter whose meticulous musical observations deservedly won her a Grammy for her last album, A Few Small Repairs. But this time around she has created a work so small it can probably only be seen by herself, her partner in life and their new-born daughter. Indeed, this album was "inspired" by, and is dedicated to, that child, Caledonia - and also stems from Shawn's own memories of these lullabies and "holiday songs". Great idea, right? For a private cassette to be placed in the child's bedroom, perhaps. Apart from that, to hear Shawn sing traditional tunes such as The Christ Child's Lullaby, Silent Night and Now The Day Is Over is really like being forced to watch baby photos you really didn't ask to see.
By Joe Jackson
The Floors: "Morphine Watch" (Tongued n' Grooved Records)
David Donohue may not be blessed with a classic rock'n'roll voice, but his songs certainly have a devilish, off-kilter charm and a rough, tumbling energy. Donohue also has some interesting friends who pop up during this nine-song excursion into chemical unease; John Parish, best-known for his collaborations with P.J. Harvey, adds a stark instrumental edge to Desire Will Leave Me Homeless, while Katell Keineg lifts Love Song To My Guru to another level. The title track mixes the happy paranoia of Spiritualized with the gravitas of the Go-Betweens, while So Cruel sounds like the Smiths gone sex-mad. The Floors' third album is hugely flawed, but sits far enough out to leftfield for discomfort.
By Kevin Courtney
