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Avril Lavigne still has time to hewn her skills as a singer, but what she lacks in polish she more than makes up for with soul on O Holy Night, her duet with Chantal Kreviazuk on the pop treat of the season, Maybe This Christmas Too?. Their arrangement is simple, traditional, and sincere. Their contrasting vocal styles made this an odd pairing, but the song tugs hard on the heartstrings.

But, wait, there's more. You also get Rufus Wainwright (distinct from though somehow still quite the image of his father), sibling rock band Eisley, and Lisa Hannigan, for a start. Guster's Donde Esta Santa Claus? is the first show stopper, a retro-pop anthem taking us on a trip in the Wayback Machine to about 1958. After that I would be hard-pressed to choose between Rilo Kiley, The Be Good Tanyas, Martina Sorbara and Sixpence None the Richer's Leigh Nash for Christmas Diva of the Year. Kiley's Xmas Cake is breathy and affecting; The Be Good Tanyas perform a song by Donny Dolinger entitled Rudy. This is a very special pop song, with the pathos of Juliana Hatfield's Make It Home though it is a different song, accousticically accompanied and beautifully harmonized by Trish Klein and Frasey Ford. What a beautiful song this is, especially if you like a song that carries its emotional power on the surface.

There are a couple of weird ones, too. I couldn't get into the groove of Lisa Hannigan's a cappella adaptation of Silent Night, and the Flaming Lips perform a highly stylized arrangement of White Christmas. Both are artfully executed; they just didn't work for me. But nothing on this record is hard to listen to, quite unlike so many of the gratuitously irreverent "edgy" releases from the mid-90s.

Not to dismiss the Dave Matthews Band's The Christmas Song or Badly Drawn Boy's Donna And Blitzen, or a few other highlights on a record seemingly made up mostly of highlights. Nettwerk Productions may have produced the youth power pop compilation of the season. I'll be listening to this one right up 'til The Day.

--Richard Banks
(Reviewed in 2003)

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From the liner notes:

"A portion of the proceeds of this record will go to the Marine Toys For Tots, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that our nation's neediest children will experience the joys and wonder of the holidays with gifts that are bought with charitable contributions." -- from the liner notes.

Various Artists

Maybe This Christmas Too

Artist link

Track List