Review: Stuff stockings with holiday music from Alicia Keys, Louis Armstrong and Backstreet Boys

HOLIDAY

Alicia Keys, "Santa Baby" (Alicia Keys Records)

The multiplatinum-selling singer/songwriter/pianist excels in every aspect of her career. So it should come as no surprise to learn that her first Christmas album is terrific. Keys' voice sounds marvelous on this collection of seven standards — "The Christmas Song," "Please Come Home for Christmas," "Christmas Time Is Here" and, of course, the title track — and four original cuts, including the Keys-composed "December Back 2 June."

Louis Armstrong, "Louis Wishes You a Cool Yule" (Verve)

How can it even be possible that it's taken until this year for someone to release the first compilation of Armstrong's Christmas recordings? We figured that this would have happened back in, say, 1962 — not 2022. Oh, well, this is truly a case of better late than never as fans can now enjoy such seasonal Satchmo efforts as "Cool Yule," "'Zat You, Santa Claus?" and "I've Got My Love to Keep Me Warm" (performed as a duet with the equally legendary Ella Fitzgerald) all in one place. It also includes a track of him reciting the famed poem "A Visit From St. Nicholas," recorded just months before his 1971 passing.

Backstreet Boys, "A Very Backstreet Christmas" (BMG)

This amazing boy band — whose members are now all in their 40s and, in one case, 50s — finally enters the seasonal sweepstakes with its 10th studio album. And it appears Backstreet Pride is still alive in 2022, given that "A Very Backstreet Christmas" debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Holiday Albums chart back in October. The Boys deliver the harmonies on a nice batch of classics ("The Christmas Song," "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," etc.), some relatively newer material (including "Last Christmas," from Wham!) and even a couple of originals.

JIM HARRINGTON, Mercury News

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