Johnny Mathis
' best
Christmas
recordings date from the late '50s, when he recorded
Merry Christmas
for
Mitch Miller
and
Columbia
, and from the mid-'60s, when he recorded
The Sounds of Christmas
Mercury
.
Mathis
was a wonderful
holiday
singer, easily able to summon the congenial warmth and energetic cheerfulness that made his version of
"Sleigh Ride"
a perennial hit.
Gold: A 50th Anniversary Christmas Celebration
compiles six songs from that pair of classic records, along with a handful from 1986 and four from the 2000s. Two rarities are also included: a version of
"O Tannenbaum"
that
recorded with
Mannheim Steamroller
for their 2004
album,
Christmas Celebration
, and a duet with
Bette Midler
(
"Winter Wonderland/Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!"
) that was previously unreleased. The cheer between
Midler
is a little forced, and the disc has plenty of room for a half-dozen more songs from the '50s and '60s, but
is a solid collection. ~ John Bush