First issued in the early '60s, this collection of musical Christmas cheer is packed full of the smoothly sung, sentimental favorites associated as much with
Nat King Cole himself as with the season. The singer's performance of "The Christmas Song" is an unforgettable classic reprised here twice, once in an updated version that includes a contemporary vocal from his daughter,
Natalie, and also in
Cole's original 1946 recording. Other traditional religious favorites like "I Saw Three Ships" and "Away in a Manger" are also featured, in a setting that, with its well-arranged orchestral accompaniment, manages to sound both sophisticated and folksy. [
Christmas Song was re-released on LP in 2014.] ~ Steve Goulding