The Gift
Jim Brickman's 1997 holiday package is all satin bows and glowing hearth embers, precisely the approach his romantically inclined legions would have wished him to take. Those with less sentimental ears might argue that at times the pianist's approach is a touch too sweet. "Joy to the World" would be more affecting as a solo work, for instance, and we could have done without the strings and music-box embellishments heard in "Angels." Yet Brickman compensates by delicately tracing a path to our heart-of-hearts in the album's two superb, nonholiday originals, "Fireside" and "Winter Peace." Three vocal tracks surface here: a breathyKenny Logginssings on the album's obligatory lullaby ("Starbright"), the female gospel groupPoint of Gracetakes a bow ("Hope is Born Again"), and country vocalistCollin Rayeperforms a heart-clutching duet withSusan Ashtonon the title track. It's not Brickman's finest record, but it's a very pretty one.--Terry Wood