A Classic Christmas

by Stephen Thomas ErlewineWynonna isn't kidding around by calling her 2006 holiday album A Classic Christmas. This is as old-fashioned as it gets, from its string-saturated arrangements to its selection of songs -- all classic carols and holiday tunes, and evenly divided between the two categories, too, with the popular standards taking over the first half and the more religious tunes on the second. But old-fashioned hardly means bad, particularly when Christmas records are concerned, since familiarity hardly breeds contempt with holiday albums: instead, it breeds comfort. So, the fact that there are no surprises at all on A Classic Christmas is a blessing -- it makes it sound like an old favorite upon the first listen. And almost all of that is down to Wynonna herself, who gives an easy, relaxed, charming performance here, one of her most natural in years. It's warm and friendly, as if she were casually singing around the Christmas tree, and it gives the album a warm, friendly charm as well, helping A Classic Christmas live up to the standard its title promises.